Mark Prisk, Business Minister, visited the Home of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in Goodwood, West Sussex to learn how the company will expand in 2012.
Rolls-Royce is investing in a significant expansion of its Assembly Hall and Surface Finish Centre. The Minister toured the manufacturing plant to meet the craftsmen and women responsible for building the company’s super luxury cars. Mark Prisk unveiled a commemorative banner to signify the start of construction.
Mark Prisk said, “I am delighted to have been invited to the start of the building expansion programme at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. The company’s hand-built luxury models are flag bearers for British manufacturing and we should join Rolls-Royce in celebrating this great British success story.”
The news follows significant growth in Rolls-Royce sales over the last 18 months and a greater demand from customers for highly personalised Ghost and Phantom models. The expansion includes an increase of more than 2,500 square metres for the Assembly Hall, completing the final phase of development from original site plans for the production area. A new extension will also increase the Surface Finish Centre by about 1,000 square metres.
“I am delighted to host Mark Prisk at the Home of Rolls-Royce and to discuss our expansion plans,” said Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “We are extremely proud of our achievements and Rolls-Royces are rightly lauded as “the best cars in the world” by press and customers. Our investment demonstrates confidence in this unique brand, our commitment to our Home at Goodwood – the only place in the world where Rolls‑Royce motor cars are built – and signals the next phase in the development of our company.”
The new space, and a number of additional infrastructure changes, will allow the company’s manufacturing and Bespoke operation to expand. This year, Rolls-Royce has seen a considerable increase in demand for personalised Bespoke models, and the company recently announced a doubling in the number of Bespoke experts throughout the business.
Construction work is planned to commence early in 2012 and will take around nine months to complete.
Cornish born Mark Prisk is the UK Business Minister and Enterprise and Conservative MP for Hertford and Stortford.