Fox Fuel Rail

The Challenge:

Unipart Manufacturing wanted to develop a new high pressure fuel rail for the next generation of Ford Gasoline Engines in order to develop cleaner and more efficient engines.

The Impact:

Using APC funding and utilising the technical skills assembled in the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering, the team were able to redesign the fuel rail to meet the functional and cost targets, and for ease of manufacture.

The APC funding is enabling Unipart to move up the value chain from manufacturer to development partner. The funding is also supporting the development of the engineers of tomorrow.

Unipart Manufacturing have subsequently been nominated by Ford/Continental for the volume production of the Ford Fox Fuel Rail (1.4m+ units lifetime, 2017-2023), further strengthening its position in this market.

The alternative suppliers of Fuel Rails are all based outside of the UK, so this investment has indirectly helped Manufacturing within the UK, safeguarding existing and creating new jobs. Unipart has also gone on to secure orders from VW Germany and Ford in China.