New Business Secretary Vince Cable visits Bentley

The £25 million facility enables Bentley's craftsmen and women to work alongside robotic technology to produce the bodyshells for the new Mulsanne. Given the complex shape of the Mulsanne, new production techniques such as superforming had to be combined with traditional hand brazing and polishing, The new facility allows these techniques to be undertaken side by side before the bodies go on to paint and final assembly. Conceived, designed and engineered entirely in Crewe, each Mulsanne takes nearly 500 hours to build with individual elements of the car, like the famous V8 engine, still being hand-assembled. Doug Dickson, Bentley's Member of the Board for Manufacturing, said: "We were delighted to welcome the Secretary of State to Crewe and are proud that he has chosen Bentley as one of the first companies to visit in his new role. We are greatly encouraged by his comments that the manufacturing sector and companies like Bentley have a key role to play in developing a stronger and more balanced economy. "The Government must encourage people into the industry through apprenticeships and other schemes as well as committing to increased training of those who already working in it. Above all it must promote it internationally if the UK is to have a strong manufacturing sector and thus a strong economy." Dr Cable said Britain needed to develop a stronger, more balanced economy … "by building on the strengths of our manufacturing and other knowledge industries. The UK is open for business and we welcome the investment that is being made here by manufacturing companies, like Bentley, creating highly skilled workforces that will ensure our future growth." Bentley Motors employs just under 4000 people in Crewe which is home to all its operations including design, R&D, engineering and production.