Project Kimber News

Project Kimber news 6th December 2006
Project Kimber news 31st August 2006
Project Kimber news 20th July 2006
Project Kimber news 19th July 2006

Project Kimber news 6th December 2006

STATEMENT ON PROGRESS FROM PROJECT KIMBER

Project Kimber is pleased to announce that it is now in the final stages of assembling a £65 million investment package from a consortium of investors from Hong Kong and Europe. Once completed, this will enable Project Kimber to resume production of the former smart roadster and coupe models under the world - famous AC brand.

Lord James of Blackheath, chairman of Project Kimber said, “Although it is taking longer to achieve than we originally hoped, the commitment and support that we have been shown by our investors has been hugely encouraging. We have a number of significant investors who are close to commitment and require at least one more to do so before we close the book. We expect to be able to announce that this has been completed in the near future.”

In a significant step forward smart and Project Kimber confirm that they have now finalised the contracts that replace a Memorandum of Understanding signed by them earlier this year. These contracts are subject to a timely closing of Kimber’s ongoing round of capital raising. They agree the terms under which Kimber will acquire production equipment that is no longer needed by smart and provide a license to redesign, produce and sell the former smart roadster and roadster coupe models under the historic British brand of AC.

Depending on the successful completion of the investment package, Kimber expects to commence production of the re-branded roadster and coupe models during 2007. Further announcements will follow.

Project Kimber news 31st August 2006

STATEMENT ON PROGRESS FROM PROJECT KIMBER

Project Kimber is pleased to confirm that it has secured an exclusive option which will allow the re-branded and re-engineered smart roadster to be re-launched under the world-famous marque of AC.

This has been agreed with the owners of the AC sports car brand, Acedes Holdings, LLC, and provides a sub-licence for ongoing use together with the option of an acquisition at a later date.

If this option is triggered it will not affect the production of any product manufactured through Acedes Holdings, LLC, producers of classic AC models. The option is subject only to a successful closing of Project Kimber’s funding.

The Welsh Assembly Government announced at the London Motor Show in July that it had made a conditional offer "in principle" to Project Kimber of regional aid. A number of possible assembly locations in South Wales are now being studied. Wales's economic circumstances allow it to grant the maximum funding permitted under European Union rules for regional assistance.

AC Cars Manufacturing Limited, a company controlled by Acedes Holdings, LLC will continue as a separate legal entity at its operational base in Malta, from where it exports its US$115,000 AC MkV heritage sports cars to UK, Russia and Japan.

As well as confirming the selection of the AC brand, Lord James of Blackheath, the leader of Project Kimber, announced today that the world renowned Formula 1 and road car designer Professor Gordon Murray has agreed to lead the Project Kimber engineering team.

Formerly with McLaren Cars, Gordon Murray is best known for engineering the McLaren F1 road car and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. Murray has used a smart roadster coupe as one of his personal means of day-to-day transport for three years. As a result, he not only brings to the project his extensive knowledge of design and engineering, but a unique understanding and experience of the core product.

He will oversee the work of a team headed by Coventry-based Visioneering’s John Piper, formerly of Williams Grand Prix, Benetton and Reynard. John Piper, as project chief designer, led the Visioneering team which supplied the engineering capabilities to JCB for the Dieselmax car which earlier this month set a new diesel land speed record.

A further progress report is expected to be made at the end of September.

Project Kimber news 20th July 2006

Group picks Wales for Smart assembly site

Reuter News Agency

20 July 2006 - The Globe and Mail

A business group has selected Wales as its preferred site to assemble around 8,000 small cars a year. Project Kimber, a consortium headed by businessman David James, is scouting sites in southern Wales to make rebranded versions of DaimlerChrysler AG's discontinued Smart roadster and coupe models, International Business Wales said. The agency said production could start by the middle of next year if the consortium lines up enough investors and signs a firm contract with DaimlerChrysler to replace a February memorandum of understanding. “Today's announcement follows a detailed study by Project Kimber into a number of locations, including sites in the U.K.'s West Midlands and in the German states of Saxony and Thueringen,” the agency said.

Snubbed Kimber moves to Wales

By John Cranage Automotive Correspondent

20 July 2006 - Birmingham Post

Project Kimber, the business and automotive engineering consortium that launched an unsuccessful bid to buy MG Rover out of administration, is to build a new sports car in Wales. Hopes that the venture to build re-branded and re-engineered versions of the DaimlerChrysler Smart Roadster and Coupe sports cars would come to the West Midlands died yesterday. It was announced at the British International Motor Show in London that Project Kimber had chosen Wales over the West Midlands and sites in Germany as its preferred base. No location has yet been revealed but it is believed manufacturing could take place at a former Panasonic car speakers plant at Port Talbot which closed last year with the loss of more than 200 jobs. The group chose Wales after consultation with prospective investors and with the support of the Welsh Assembly Government's International Business Wales team. "A significant conditional 'in principle' offer of regional selective assistance grant aid has been made by the Welsh Assembly Government," a statement said.

Three-way meetings are now taking place between Project Kimber, Smart and Daimler Chrysler to replace the memorandum of understanding signed in February with firm contracts. These are expected to be concluded in the near future, as are negotations with potential investors in the UK and North America. Production is expected to start in mid-2007 and a target output of 8,000 cars has been pencilled in.

"A combination of factors made Wales the preferred location," the statement from the Welsh Assembly Government said. These included the offer of grant aid, the strength of the Welsh automotive supply chain, the availability of R&D expertise and facilities, and a skilled workforce. Andrew Davies, Welsh Assembly Government minister for enterprise innovation and networks, said: "The proposals by Project Kimber are very interesting and if successfully concluded will be a major boost for the Welsh automotive sector. Wales has a mature infrastructure to support the development and manufacture of niche vehicles - typically, low to medium volume, specialist vehicles.”

"Its strengths include highly specialised automotive component manufacturers in the supply chain with the capability and flexibility to deliver low volume niche products to OEMs."

Professor Garel Rhys, an automotive expert at Cardiff Business School and a leading commentator on the industry, said it was a "very significant development not just for Wales, but for the UK as a whole".

He added: "It demonstrates that the UK and Wales are still good and efficient locations for the motor industry. "This particular investment is well founded because it is based upon a proven product originally developed and made by one of the world's foremost automotive companies.

"It is clear that the care and attention given by Project Kimber to this development means that it has every chance of even greater success in the future. Indeed it could be the basis of a major specialist automotive cluster in Wales."

If negotiations are successfully concluded Project Kimber will be the first car manufacturer to set up in Wales. About 50 major international component manufacturers and some 300 smaller companies operate in Wales. Major plants include Ford's engine plant at Bridgend.

Automotive is Wales's biggest manufacturing sector. It employs about 28,000 people and has collective annual sales of about £2.5 billion.

Smart plan to create Welsh car jobs

20 July 2006 - The Independent

Lord James of Black-heath, the corporate troubleshooter, is to bring hundreds of jobs to South Wales after deciding to build the Smart Roadster there rather than in eastern Europe. His Project Kimber group plans to start production in mid-2007 and make 8,000 cars in the first full year. Four sites are being examined along the M4 corridor' the plant will be backed by regional aid from the Welsh Assembly. The decision was announced yesterday at the British Motor Show by Garel Rhys, Professor Emeritus at Cardiff University's Centre for Automotive Studies. He said it would create 150 jobs initially, rising to several hundred as production grew. The bulk of production would be exported to Europe and sold via the dealer network of Daimler-Chrysler, which owns the Smart brand.

Smart move poised to help Wales realise its carmaking ambitions

By JOHN GRIFFITHS

20 July 2006 - Financial Times

The long-held ambition of Wales to become the location for a sizeable car manufacturing plant, as the flagship for an automotive sector that already employs 28,000 in the principality, is poised to become reality. South Wales has been chosen by Project Kimber, a consortium led by Lord James, the corporate turn-round specialist, as the location to build an initial 8,000 cars a year of revised versions of DaimlerChrysler's Smart twoseater roadsters and coupes, starting in mid-2007.

The Welsh assembly ann-ounced yesterday it had made a conditional offer "in principle" of regional aid, which is expected to total more than Pounds 10m out of an initial investment of about Pounds 50m. Wales's economic circumstances allow it to grant the maximum permitted under European Union rules for regional assistance. The decision ends months of speculation about where the project might be located, with two sites in Germany and one in the West Midlands having been under consideration.

The project has two main hurdles still to overcome. One is to finalise with DaimlerChrysler a memorandum of understanding to acquire the rights and production assets of the cars signed in February. The other is to reach a financial agreement between the project's intending investors, a mix of UK, continental European and North American interests.

"We expect to have completed both within the next few weeks; certainly by September," one insider close to the negotiations told the Financial Times last night.

The project is expected to employ 150 initially but this could rise to 600, according to Garel Rhys, Cardiff Business School's motor industry guru and adviser to the Welsh assembly. The Smart models Project Kimber is acquiring - open and closed two-seater sports cars - were selling at 15,000 a year when DaimlerChrysler decided to take them out of production as part of a streamlining of its still loss-making Smart business.

The Kimber group, which was an unsuccessful bidder for the MG sports car business now owned by China's Nanjing Automobile Corporation, is to give the vehicles a facelift and rebrand them, although the name has yet to be disclosed. The concept is thought to be to produce low-priced models, to fit below Mazda's MX-5 sports car and the MG TF, production of which is scheduled for revival by NAC in the middle of next year. The Welsh-built cars would compete in one of the motor industry's few fast-growing market sectors, for "budget" two-seaters. More than 250,000 were sold across Europe last year.

Prof Rhys said the project "has the best chance to succeed of any car project in the past 10 years. This is not a back street car. It's fully developed by one of the best carmakers in the world."

Project Kimber news 19th July 2006

New car plant hopes for Wales

19 July 2006 - South Wales Echo

A new car assembly plant could be coming to South Wales.

The Welsh Assembly Government is expected to announce the deal at the British International Motor Show today. The car's brand name and the factory site have not been revealed.

Production is expected to start some time in 2007 and up to 8,000 cars could be assembled in the first year. DaimlerChrysler stopped making Smart roadsters last year. It signed a memorandum of understanding with Project Kimber, led by Millennium Dome trouble-shooter David James, to make a car based on the same design.

Wales picked to assemble new version of Smart car.

19 July 2006 - Reuters News

Britain's tarnished image as a place to build cars got a boost on Wednesday when a business group selected Wales over Germany as its preferred site to assemble around 8,000 minicars a year.

Project Kimber, a consortium headed by businessman David James, is scouting sites in southern Wales to make re-branded versions of DaimlerChrysler's discontinued Smart roadster and coupe models, International Business Wales said.

The investment promotion agency said production could start by the middle of next year if the consortium lines up sufficient investors and signs a firm contract with DaimlerChrysler to replace a memorandum of understanding reached in February.

"Today's announcement follows a detailed study by Project Kimber into a number of locations, including sites in the UK's West Midlands and in the German states of Saxony and Thueringen," the agency said in a statement. Smart dropped the roadster and its coupe derivative last year as part of a broad restructuring of the brand, which has not made a profit since the first quirky two-seat model made its debut in October 1998.

The agency cited the strength of the car parts supply chain, the desired British flavour of the new cars, a skilled workforce and government political and financial support for a Wales site.

"It demonstrates that the UK and Wales are still good and efficient locations for the motor industry," it quoted Garel Rhys, head of the Centre for Automotive Industry Research at Cardiff University, as saying. Britain has been shaken by a series of car plant closures and cutbacks including the collapse of MG Rover last year and French carmaker PSA's plan to close its Ryton facility in 2007.

Wales Selected as Preferred Location for Production of Smart Cars

19 July 2006 - PR Newswire (U.S.)

Wales has been chosen by Project Kimber, a consortium of international auto executives, as the preferred location for a new assembly plant for the production of its re-branded and re-engineered versions of DaimlerChrysler's smart roadster and coupe sports cars.

The decision, which ends months of speculation, was made by Project Kimber in consultation with its prospective investors and with support from the Welsh Assembly Government's International Business Wales team. Project Kimber is now looking at a number of suitable sites in South Wales.

Today's announcement follows a detailed study by Project Kimber into a number of locations, including sites in the UK's West Midlands and in the German States of Saxony and Thueringen.

A series of meetings between Project Kimber, smart GmbH and its parent company, DaimlerChrysler, are under way to provide firm contracts to replace the Memorandum of Understanding signed in February. Discussions with potential investors in the UK and North America are at an advanced stage. If these talks proceed according to plan, production is expected to commence around mid-2007 with an initial first twelve months' volume of 8,000 units.

A combination of factors made Wales the preferred location, including the strength and flexibility of the automotive component supply chain, the relevance of the location to the 'British-ness' of the re-branded and reengineered sports cars, the level of expertise and R&&D capability within Welsh University Centres of Excellence, the availability of a skilled workforce, a significant conditional offer of grant aid, and the support of the Welsh Assembly Government and the Wales Automotive Forum.

The International Business Wales team has worked with Project Kimber to ensure that the full advantages of locating in Wales would be realized. Wales has a mature infrastructure that supports the development and manufacture of niche vehicles -- typically, low-to-medium volume, specialist vehicles.

Garel Rhys, Director of the Centre for Automotive Industry Research at Cardiff University, described the decision as significant not just for Wales, but for the UK as a whole.

"It demonstrates that the UK and Wales are still good and efficient locations for the motor industry," he said.

"This is a well-founded investment based upon a proven product originally developed and made by one of the world's foremost automotive companies."

Wales favourite for new car plant

19 July 2006 - BBC News Online

Wales has been chosen as the preferred location for a new car assembly plant, BBC Wales has learned. A group under the name of Project Kimber bought the rights to produce DaimlerChrysler's Smart Car roadsters earlier this year.

Since then the group has been looking for a suitable location.

An announcement is due at the British International Motor Show in London that Wales has beaten Germany and the West Midlands to be the preferred location.

A source close to the project has told BBC Wales that a deal to bring the assembly plant to Wales has taken a major step forward.

Project Kimber will not as yet confirm where in Wales they want to set up the plant, or how many jobs will be created.

But if all goes to plan, it is understood it will be making 8,000 cars by next year.

Rebranded Smart car to be made in Wales

By SION BARRY

19 July 2006 - The Western Mail

Wales will today be confirmed as the location to build a new generation of the Smart Roadster and Coupe sports cars. An announcement that production of a rebranded and re- engineered version of the sleek cars will be based in Port Talbot, is expected to be made at the British International Motor Show in London today.

The investment would see the first major scale car manufacturer setting up in Wales - and would be a huge boost to the economy's automotive sector.

The final Smart Roadster made by Smart GmbH, a subsidiary of motoring giant DaimlerChrysler, came off the production line last November.

However, after a memorandum of understanding struck earlier this year, acquisition group Project Kimber, is expected to confirmed it has acquiring the rights to produce a new version of the Smart cars. Project Kimber, which is made up of an experienced team of international automotive executives led by Lord James of Blackheath, had identified a number of sites, including those in the West Midlands and mainland Europe, before opting for Wales.

The new version of the Smart cars, which will be given new brand names, will be assembled at the former Panasonic factory at Port Talbot.

Earlier this year the Japanese electronics company announcement it was ceasing production of car speakers at the plant with the loss of more than 200 jobs.

The Assembly's Minister for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks, Andrew Davies, along with officials from International Business Wales, has been in discussions with the Project Kimber team for the past year. Mr Davies made a strong case for Wales in a presentation to executives last November, at a time when other locations were considered to be more favoured.

The Kimber team were said to be impressed by a number of factors, including the quality of the workforce in Wales and the fact that a mature infrastructure to support the development and manufacture of niche vehicles was also identified.

As part of the deal the Welsh Assembly Government, in principle, has pledged significant backing in regional selective assistance.

Yesterday the Welsh Assembly Government refused to comment on whether the new Smart car venture would be established in South Wales.

However it is understood that Project Kimber is looking to start production by the summer of next year. It is unclear how many direct jobs would be created at Port Talbot, but if a target of 8,000 cars is reached within in a year, it could create hundreds of direct jobs.

And more importantly it would offer potential contracts to companies in the Welsh automotive supply chain.