An exclusive tour of the McLaren Technology Centre
The five companies that form the McLaren Group are located under one roof at the stunning McLaren Technology Centre, located on a 50-hectare piece of land situated approximately three kilometres north of Woking, Surrey in Great Britain.
Auto123.com was the only North-American media invited by Canadian company Processia Solutions -- new technical partner with the McLaren Formula 1 team -- to visit the McLaren Technology Centre. The building is stupendous. A height limitation was given for the building -- 11 metres above ground level -- and so the low-built building was sunk into the landscape. The main floor is above the ground and there are two underground levels, serviced by an impressive number of huge elevators capable of lodging a complete F1 car. The building is very bright, essentially made from aluminum and glass, and the walls are painted off-white. The amount of glass found inside is simply breathtaking. In certain places, it is possible to see through the entire building. The floors are almost entirely covered with perfectly aligned tiles, and there's just a hint of carpet in certain administrative areas. There is a strict dress code in effect: dark Hugo Boss t-shirts for the workers (with their surname embroided on the front pocket), and shirt-tie-jacket for the executives, engineers and administrative staff. The bean-shaped building is split in two by a long corridor that runs from one end to the other, called the Boulevard. Along this alley are aligned some of the most successful McLaren race cars and road vehicles. At the other end are located the numerous and huge cabinets storing the trophies won by the team along the years. This glass and aluminum structure creates a very peaceful working environment. All Formula 1 factories basically house the same departments: R&D, a wind tunnel (or sometimes two), design offices, administrative offices, machine shop, composite departments with a certain number of autoclaves, quality control, 7-post rig, storage, race bays for assembling the cars, and more. McLaren has all this. However, every little detail counts in the McLaren Technology Centre. Everything is outstandingly immaculate, more than any other factories I visited in the past. Attention given to details is crucial. The off-white paint is used everywhere, from the floor tiles to the working surfaces, from the tool cabinets to the numeric tooling machines, and from the autoclaves to the vein of the wind tunnel!
These rules may sound ridiculously stiff to some, but this is how Ron Dennis wants things to be done: Absolute perfection! And we must admit that it works. Although the building looks a bit austere, everyone working inside is extremely passionate. Everyone is proud to work for one of the most successful Formula 1 teams. The proof is that several older employees, such as past pit crew memebers, still work at the MTC.
It's unfortunate that the McLaren Technology Center is not open to the public. In fact, it is normally completely sealed to visitors. Hordes of fans are regularly turned back at the security gate. For that reason, Auto123.com has been extremely privileged to visit it, and we are happy to share some memories with our readers! The structure of the McLaren Group: McLaren Racing The core of the company, handling the Formula 1 programme, and employs some 700 persons. McLaren Automotive Founded in 1993, produced the McLaren F1, the Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR and about to begin the production of the new McLaren MP4-12C supercar, the first production vehicle to be built from a one-piece composite monocoque. McLaren Electronic Systems Created 15 years ago and makes electronic systems used in NASCAR, IndyCar and other series, as well as the standard ECUs used by all F1 teams. Employs 150 people. McLaren Applied Technologies Began their work in 2004, and produces high-tech components issued from F1 such as the Beagle 2 Mars Lander landing structure, a composite knee-brace, a patient monitoring system that uses telemetry, and more. McLaren Marketing Handles all aspects of marketing. Department grew from 3 to 50 persons in just a few years, and manages 37 business partners. |
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