Staff at a former Sunderland car parts factory have been taken on by a new firm that has snapped up its old employer’s base.
ZF announced plans to close its Sunderland base at the end of 2020, after 30 years in the city. The firm had around 110 staff, but said it has seen volumes of orders fall significantly in recent years. Now AIM-listed Saietta Group taken over the lease on the ZF site in Rainton Bridge, which it will use to accelerate its expansion plans.
Oxford based Saietta Group – which designs, develops and supplies powertrains for electric vehicles on land and sea in bases around the world – is set to onshore work from China to the North East, after signing a deal for the facility. The firm – which was floated on the London Stock Exchange AIM in July 2021 – aims to grow capacity to manufacture around 100,000 electric propulsion motors per year.
Read more: Despair in Sunderland as beloved family run ristorante closes
It has been supported with its move by Sunderland City Council, as well as ZF, which still has a large facility in Peterlee, County Durham. Saietta has offered new jobs to 39 former members of ZF staff. Following their redundancy, the majority of ZF staff have already gone on to secure jobs elsewhere.
Saietta has also purchased four motor production lines and an electronic circuit board production line for £1.1m. ZF will be ceasing operations at the Sunderland factory and, alongside the assignment of the Lease to Saietta, the company has reached agreement to acquire the majority of the remaining assets contained in the Sunderland Factory, such as machinery and IT equipment. With modification and additional equipment this will enable Saietta to use the assets to operate its own business at the Sunderland factory.
The newly appointed Saietta employees will form the basis of the firm’s operational team in Sunderland. Duncan Hedley, former ZF Sunderland Plant Manager, who has been offered a role with Saietta as the firm prepares to ramp up production in the city, said: “The loyalty, professionalism and pride of the Sunderland ZF team was absolutely incredible and I’ll always be proud to have been part of such a major business in Sunderland.
“I’m very much looking forward to leading Saietta as it establishes its base in Sunderland, tapping into the talented skills base we have in the North East.”
Saietta’s move into Sunderland is a welcome boost for the city and wider regional manufacturing sector following by a number of positive announcements, including Nissan’s EV36Zero Electric Vehicle Hub in partnership with Envision Group and Sunderland City Council.
Wicher Kist, chief executive of Saietta, said: “This is a landmark achievement for Saietta, providing us with a UK pilot production facility almost two years ahead of schedule, accelerating our capability to supply our innovation to clients in high volume globally.
“In addition to the lease on the large premises in Sunderland, we are also acquiring automotive production lines and are ready to employ a fantastic, proven team with decades of experience in manufacturing electric motors between them. The UK is a hot spot for electric powertrain innovation and we are committed to building up the engineering and manufacturing of our technology in the UK and exporting to mainland Europe and beyond. This is a very clear signal of our intent.”
Peter McIntyre, executive director of city development at Sunderland City Council, said: “This is a fantastic announcement for Sunderland, that will secure jobs for people from the city and further afield and increases the city’s contribution to the move towards a net-zero economy.
“We have established Sunderland as a globally recognised hub for engineering and advanced manufacturing, and to attract Saietta is further vindication of that. We’re delighted to have been able to support Saietta with its move into Sunderland and look forward to seeing them go from strength to strength in Sunderland.”
