09/01/12….Thame automotive technology company prepares to expand

THAME based Formula One and supercar exhaust manufacturer, Primary Designs, is set to expand its
offering with a move to a new and larger factory in the town.

Increased demand from F1, coupled with the company?s decision to grow its range for Ferraris, Porsches and other supercars as well as develop entirely new sectors, will also lead to the creation of new manufacturing jobs.

The firm has recently taken on an apprentice who attends a local college and additional staff plans for the rest of the year are not yet finalised but there is potential for at least one more to be recruited in the next six months.

According to founder Pat Barrett, formerly an engineer at the Williams F1 team, Primary Designs? F1
heritage together with the new factory, creates an opportunity to produce very high quality components for other customer groups including defence, marine and sports car owners: ?The design, materials and welding technologies we have can be applied to make durable, beautifully finished exhausts that sound great and release more power and be more efficient,? explained Pat.

Pat Barrett believes that the new factory at the Thame Park Business Centre and enlarged workforce, up
by 25 percent in the last 12 months, will help offset the seasonal demands associated with professional motorsport. This includes more work in the aerospace sector where Primary Designs? ability to weld specialised alloys is already leading to business enquiries and development projects.

?The factory is designed to be flexible; anything from a one-off system to significantly higher volumes can be accommodated,? added Pat.

In addition to the exhaust manufacturing, Primary Designs could offer other sub contract services
such as surface finishing processes and measuring technologies that enable companies from any
industry to use F1 grade equipment on an ad-hoc basis.

?We had to invest in the highest standards
of equipment for Formula One,? explained Pat, “and we plan to offer such services in the coming months.”