Nottingham Company Helps Engineers Of The Future Triumph At Goodwood

Green technology is off to a flying start for the 2012 racing season, with support from BPD Manufacturing Solutions.

The Pinxton based company is a supply partner to the Greenpower programme to encourage engineering as a career for junior and senior schools, whereby teams from schools and the commercial sector design, build and race one-seater electric kit cars at professional racing circuits.

In the opening fixture of the 2012 programme, at Goodwood Motor Circuit, two of the three cars supported by BPD Manufacturing won their respective endurance races. The 11-16 years-old F24 St Paul's Catholic College team covered 115 miles, 2.5miles more than the nearest competitor and beat over 40 other teams despite having started 25th on the grid, while the 16-25 years-old Horsfall Racing teamcompleted 55.2miles and achieved fastest lap (of 3mins 45 secs), beating teams from Jaguar LandRover and Electrack Young Engineers.

Greenpower Goodwood WinnersFor the Stealth Aero and Zytec Aero, both from St Paul's Catholic College in W Sussex, and the Horsfall Racing's F24+ iWhoosh cars, BPD Manufacturing Solutions has assisted the teams with production detail and training including vacuum forming and aluminium fabrication and welding of components, and spray painting of the vehicles. The assistance compliments the existing partnership between BPD Manufacturing Solutions and Greenpower, whereby the engineering company manufactures and supplies the Goblin kit car for use in primary schools to give children a taster of the engineering experience.

Greenpower's managing director Jeremy Way observes, "On average 200 Goblin cars take part in the race series, so we need quantity and reliability of supply, and quality, as we are dealing with a machine that will be transporting children on a race track. The Goblin is unique in that it can be assembled and disassembled each years, so all children can benefit from the experience.

"BPD Manufacturing Solutions has proven from the outset it can and will deliver a high quality product that meets our requirements, and works as a partner to create a finished product that is the best achievable within our strict criteria. Its commitment goes beyond the core agreement, providing engineering expertise to teams across the whole Greenpower programme."

Graham Dronfield, BPD Manufacturing Solutions managing director, said, "The success proves that thinking outside the box, applying strong engineering principles and good teamwork will triumph."

BPD Manufacturing Solutions offers a comprehensive range of services, including surface finishing, coating, vacuum forming and light engineering, on runs from 'one-offs', to thousands, enhanced by an in-house design, tool production, testing and post-production services and assembly, delivering a finished component for the customer. Its customer base includes Honda, Lloyds Pharmacy, Synseal, Network Rail and Lear Corporation.