The Right Track’s regular feature, ‘Spotlight on’, gets under the skin of the different Millbrook departments. This time, it’s the turn of Millbrook’s Conversions department, so read on to find out who, what, where, when and why.
What many people don’t know about Millbrook is that, in addition to the test and development work that is carried out on-site, there’s also a design team and a production line boasting an output of up to 15,000 vehicles a year. These capabilities belong to our Conversions department which is home to a team of over 30 engineers and production staff members.
Millbrook’s Conversions work had been part of our Powertrain department but became a standalone business unit in 1998 when our workload diversified. LPG legislation and a general focus on low vehicle emissions brought a volume of work to Millbrook, largely including LPG up-fits, meaning that Conversions needed to function as a department in its own right. Both this and the progression in Hybrid and Electric vehicle technology led to the separation and expansion of Millbrook’s Conversions and Powertrain divisions. Today, overseen by head of Vehicle Operations, Carl Field, the work of the Conversions department falls into two main areas – engineering and production.
On the engineering side, work is primarily CAD-based and conversions are designed to fulfill the bespoke needs of individual clients. This could be anything from a high specification addition to a vehicle for a manufacturer or a specific conversion to enable use for a different purpose, such as an emergency services vehicle or LPG up-fit. On the production side, once the engineers have designed the conversions, Millbrook’s production team builds and converts the vehicles to the new specification.
A Cut Above
One of the strengths of Millbrook’s conversion capabilities is that our engineers design and build to OEM standards, so all parts and vehicles meet legislative and safety requirements. For example, if a conversion requires that additional switches are fitted to operate increased functionality, we ensure the vehicle, with its modifications, is still compliant with the strict legislation that governs the manufacturing and design of vehicles. The vehicle aftermarket is not as tightly-legislated as the design and build process but Millbrook understand that businesses converting vehicles still require the high level of safety they get from OEMs. Millbrook Conversions are designed to minimize occupant risk; ensuring businesses comply with stringent health & safety legislation.
Keeping it in the Family
The Vehicle Conversions department benefits from close working relationships with the other departments here at Millbrook which are responsible for vehicle test and development work. For example, after engineers have designed a conversion on the CAD system, they can then work with colleagues to ensure the converted vehicle is tested for its Crash performance or Durability.
One such case was the conversion of Vauxhall’s Vivaro van for use by police. For this project, our Crash department completed the first HyGe Sled test on a vehicle prison cell, which the conversions team designed and produced to be housed in the Vivaro. This project was a particular highlight for the conversions department and Millbrook as a whole. The team worked extensively designing the prison cell and the crash team then subjected it to a series of 30mph impacts to ascertain its safety level.
Looking forward, the Conversions department is working on development of the Vauxhall Mirvano for fire service use – another interesting project for the emergency services sector.
Thriving on a Challenge
Unlike some of Millbrook’s departments whereby projects can be extremely varied in length – some may last a matter of days, some months – projects for the Conversions department usually last for a number of months at a time. From planning through to the last vehicle coming off the production line, the team works tirelessly to bring the project in on time and within budget. So it’s really exciting for everyone when the first vehicle passes through production and the client is happy with the end product.
The future for the Conversions department is an interesting one, in that the conversions requested from different clients can be hugely diverse, so there’s always a new challenge for the design engineers and production team to get stuck into. It may be a fairly standard addition to a vehicle, such as an LPG up-fit or a first-of-its-kind, ground-breaking development, so watch this space!
For more information about Vehicle Conversions please call Peter Davies on +44 (0) 1525 408210 or email peter.h.davies@millbrook.co.uk, or call our Business Development Team on +44 (0) 1525 408408
