Electric motor manufacturer Saietta is to establish a manufacturing facility in Sunderland, UK, at the former ZF Automotive site in the city. The factory will enable the company to meet its stated objective of establishing a UK pilot production facility ahead of its 2024 target. Saietta will adopt a phased approach to motor manufacture, with the first stage targeting a capacity of 100,000 units per annum.
The Sunderland plant is a specialized automotive electric motor manufacturing facility with a history of manufacturing over 20 million electric motors for a range of automotive applications since 1999. Saietta has purchased a total of four motor production lines as well as an electronic circuit board production line, and states that a considerable amount of this equipment can be re-purposed to meet its needs.
The company intends to use the facility to scale up the production of its proprietary AFT (axial-flux technology) motors for multiple applications. It will also locate the manufacture of its e-Axle commercial vehicle drivetrain technology in Sunderland which was previously manufactured in China.
Company CEO Wicher Kist said, “This is a landmark achievement for Saietta, providing us with a UK production facility more than two years ahead of schedule, further speeding up our capability to supply our innovation to clients in high volume globally. In addition to the lease on the large premises in Sunderland, we are also acquiring automotive production lines and are ready to employ a fantastic, proven team with decades of experience in manufacturing electric motors between them.”