Evtec acquires Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty Aluminium Technologies, Essex plant to close down

The founder of Liberty House Group and the Executive Chairman of GFG Alliance, Sanjeev Gupta has sold out two aluminium parts factories after Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) set its foot to acquire a vital part of its supply chain.

The single source, a tier-one supplier of assembled products, working with OEMs around the world to support the automotive industry's shift to electrification, the Coventry based Evtec will buy out Liberty Aluminium Technologies casting plants in Coventry and Kidderminster in the West Midlands, safeguarding 170 jobs. Even so, GFG is shutting down a site in Witham, Essex, which will lay-off 64 jobs.

Gupta’s GFG Alliance, since the fall down of its primary lender Greensill Capital in March 2021 has gone through months of restructuring. The collapse of the lender evoked Sanjeev Gupta to hound for scouting new lenders to finance his businesses. It is apprehended that Evtec paid more than £10 million for the two sites.

The UK’s largest automotive manufacturing employer, JLR mediated to solicit Evtec to take over the sites due to the concern over whether Liberty’s distress would disrupt supplies of vital components, as the Midlands sites manufacture lightweight aluminium parts primarily for car powertrains.

Although, the Essex plant that produced engines at Dagenham had stumbled following Ford discarded it.

The British automotive suppliers are striving with a downfall in sales due to the global shortfall of computer chips, which propelled carmakers to decelerate the production of their models. Simultaneously, several small-scale suppliers are also countering for looking out of major investments, otherwise, they are out of the business track, if they do not shift from manufacturing parts for internal combustion engines to electric vehicles.

Since the beginning of 2021, Evtec is shoving towards production for electric cars and also bailed out Arlington Automotive, a JLR supplier who went sick.

David Roberts, Evtec’s owner, said: “I’m thrilled that we’ve managed to save some high-quality jobs. Somebody has to invest in the supply chain of automotive or else we won’t have one.”

A GFG Alliance spokesperson said: “Liberty Aluminium Technologies (LAT) has been under significant commercial pressure in recent years as a result of structural changes to the automotive sector which have created very challenging conditions for customers, particularly carmakers.”

“The company had to regretfully announce that the Essex plant would close, and thanked workers for their dedication during a period of uncertainty”, the spokesperson added.