Nifco wins biggest job from Ford for EcoBoost

Nifco UK Ltd, of Eaglescliffe, Stockton-on-Tees in the north-east of England, has won a 10-year contract from Ford Motor Company that could be worth as much as £50 million.

Nifco won the multi-year deal following a competitive tender process that saw the firm go head-to-head against companies from the UK and around the world.

The contract sees Nifco produce a complex thermostatic control assembly for a next generation Ford’s EcoBoost low-CO2 engine.

Work starts immediately with engineers from Nifco working with Ford’s product development teams at the Dunton Research and Engineering centre, Essex. It is expected the new deal will secure up to 50 new jobs for the region, added to the 295 jobs that will have been maintained and secured since 2012.

Mike Matthews, managing director and European operations officer, said that the contract was a hugely significant win for the company.

He said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won this contract with Ford. The scope and size of the deal is unprecedented, and is made even more significant by the fact we have managed to displace competitors from right around the world”.

“It is further proof of just how far Nifco has come, and the way in which the close relationships we build with our clients are helping us to better understand their business and the ways in which we can support them,” added Matthews.

“The jobs this will secure and the impact it will have locally is such a boost, and we’re thrilled to have been chosen to deliver it,” he said.

The contract is another positive boost for the company, which claims it has an order book that is full for the next five years.

The contract must hold significance for the UK firm in another direction. Ford is not usually keen to have suppliers praise the announcement of recently placed contracts.

There are many examples of major suppliers around being instructed to hold back from making major components and technology announcements without the ‘say-so’ of Ford Motor Company. At least one of these contracts centres on Ford’s ground-breaking 2.7-litre V6 gasoline engine announced last year and produced in Lima, Ohio. Such suppliers live in fear and trembling of upsetting the OEM in any way.

Nifco group designs, develops and manufactures quality interior and exterior components for the global automotive industry. The company is TS16949 accredited and ISO 14001 as well as Ford Q1, Renault Nissan ASES Grade B and Jaguar Land Rover JLRQ.

Established in 1967 in Tokyo, Nifco has expanded into 17 countries with more than 35 production plants and four R&D centres. The company has 8,000 employees worldwide working within five facilities in Europe, six in North America and 28 in Japan and Asia.