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“ From an environmental perspective, there is a global push to move to electrification, but the reality is that for commercial vehicles, particularly long-haulage, we’ re not there yet,” Steve elaborates.“ Full electrification will be achieved at some point, but in the meantime, traditional diesel internal combustion engines will continue to have strong demand, and our concepts allow us to adapt our products to cater for alternative fuels.”
When it comes to product development, for GT, innovation is everything. The company boasts its own in-house R & D capabilities, with a dedicated R & D team who are focused on advancing engine air technologies to meet the evolving demands of performance, efficiency, and environmental responsibility. From initial concept and rapid prototyping through to final validation, the business’ process is built on collaboration, precision, and continuous improvement, ensuring that every product is expertly developed to the highest standards.
“ For R & D, it’ s all about having close working relationships with our customers,” Steve affirms.“ We do a lot of CAD work to trial and prove the concepts that we innovate, and we also have good relationships with various labs who are specialists in specific materials. As such, we understand the best materials to use and are then able to build prototypes and test in our own in-house R & D test facilities. Following the MBO, we now have better ability to visit our customers and suppliers to fully understand their needs.”
As a part of its future plan, GT is committed to modernizing its manufacturing processes. With a stronger understanding of customer requirements and greater control over development, the business has been able to invest confidently in advanced production technologies designed to improve efficiency, consistency, and overall quality.
“ From a production standpoint, we’ re doing many things to improve our processes. One of the most significant developments
for us was that we invested £ 4 million in a fully integrated automated assembly line. It includes a lot of robotic functions, allowing us to produce up to 17 different types of products with changeovers, and is highly automated with better process controls,” Steve explains.“ The line is doing extremely well – certainly in improving our efficiency and quality capability.
“ Another significant part of our assembly line is our new vertical storage system, provided by Kardex,” he adds.“ These storage systems are normally used for storage of
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