Millbrook Celebrates 40th Anniversary
Millbrook has enjoyed forty years as one of
Since Millbrook opened its doors 40 years ago the sheer range of work carried out on site has grown vastly. The business now specialises in the following areas; vehicle research and development, quality, durability and reliability testing, emissions and fuel economy test and development, powertrain technologies and homologation and type approval. This is relevant to all sectors from petrochemical to military through to aerospace and all vehicles from motorcycles, to lorries and buses.
Millbrook is a unique company in that it offers vehicle manufacturers a test and development package in one location. The site includes state-of-the-art laboratories as well as 45 miles of tracks. These simulate varying driving terrains including undulating hills, off-road, motorway and city.
Due to the unique nature of the site, one of Millbrook’s key areas of strength is the ‘real-world’ testing of vehicles. This is an area where Millbrook undertakes extensive work for the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Millbrook is home to the MoD’s Battlefield Mission (BFM), which offers repeatable, vehicle-based development programmes to defence forces and vehicle manufacturers. Millbrook delivers complete programmes to organisations such as the MoD, for whom it supports bringing Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) vehicles into service.
Millbrook is also undertaking an extensive programme of ‘real-world’ testing for customers in the petrochemical sector as part of their development of the fuels and lubricants of tomorrow. Proving fuel savings is crucial and accurate test validation is vital, as often they are looking at very small margins of perhaps just one or two per cent. While this may seem insignificant, to a large fleet of vans for instance, this is an important cost-saving.
When it comes to being at the forefront of changes in legislation, Millbrook is privileged to have a permanently manned VCA office on-site to assist with type approval and interpretation of legislation.
Presently, Millbrook’s experts are leading the way with a programme of vehicle vibration testing to ensure local authorities comply with new EU legislation. Termed Whole Body Vibration (WBV) and Hand Arm Vibration (HAV), the new regulations bring with them a range of testing needs and Millbrook is on-hand to help organisations gain compliance.
Modern day Millbrook is not just a site of engineering test and development excellence. It also runs successfully as a location for film and photographic shoots and is home to leading events venue The Concept Centre.
The high-security nature of the site, along with the acres of room and variety of backgrounds, make it an ideal venue for the media industry. As such, in 2009 the site enjoyed one of its most varied and action-packed years yet thanks to the range of projects carried out on-site by clients.
Highlights for the 700 acre site have included playing a starring role in British film, Dead Man Running, starring Danny Dyer and rapper ’50 cent’. Location Millbrook provided the range of vehicle terrains needed for dramatic driving stunts, coupled with the necessary high security to keep the scene under wraps.
The BBC also spent time filming driving scenes and stunts for a new comedy series, while a leading fuel manufacturer shot an internet advertising campaign using Millbrook’s hill route.
In terms of automotive clients, an F1 team shot a recent advert at Location Millbrook and a vehicle manufacturer used the site’s outer-handling circuit to capture exclusive footage of the new specialist vehicle, driven by a former Formula 1 World Champion.
Over recent years one of the most high profile projects filmed on-site was the complex stunt in Bond film Casino Royale which involved a record breaking roll of an Aston Martin.
The Concept Centre, which consists of four modern event spaces, has opened its doors for product launches, corporate parties, government exhibitions and MoD showcases alike.
The site won the contract to host one of the biggest events in the
National Low Carbon Vehicle (LCV) event chose The Concept Centre as the venue for its inaugural event in 2008, retuning for a much expanded exhibition and conference in 2009. Organisers Cenex and partners chose the site to showcase the rapidly expanding low carbon vehicle technology sector and serve as a focal point to demonstrate the current state of technology development and government support for this important sector.
Millbrook is built on strong foundations and has a history to be proud of. Whilst celebrating the success of the past forty years, the company’s focus is very much on the future which is looking bright. Millbrook continues to invest in its technology and infrastructure with enhanced sun load and rain simulation facilities (rain and shine!) aimed at the military sector, and state-of-the-art engine test control software.