Jaguar Car Manufacturing Tours at Castle Bromwich

In Brief.

Jaguar provide a number of experiences, one of which is a tour of the Castle Bromwich factory.  The Jaguar factory is in a sprawling historical site, originally built as an aircraft factory just before the 2nd World War, and is currently used to manufacture F-type, XE and XF models. The tour includes some history of the site, but focuses on all aspects of the manufacturing process, from pressing body panels to a rolling road for testing the finished product.

Jaguar Experience reception.

What's Here?

The tour starts at modern reception building that includes some recent Jaguar cars and assorted meeting facilities.  The tour I joined involved just three visitors with a friendly and well informed guide (Dave) who took us from building to building across the site, of course by way of a Jaguar product for getting from place to place (an I-Pace).

The factory was used in the 2nd World War for manufacturing Spitfires, and the tour includes a visit to the morgue (the factory was built with the expectation that it would be extensively bombed, though in fact the number of fatalities was not large for a facility with a custom built morgue) in which there are displays on the wartime experience.

The visit to the manufacturing facilities follows the manufacturing process through a variety of steps.  This includes: huge pressing machines that shape the aluminium body panels; the robots that rivet and bond these panels together to create body shells; the multiple steps involved in the painting; the more manual production line that adds the interior fixtures and fittings; the automated combining of the chassis, engine and gearbox with the body; and the final production line that adds fixtures including windows and wheels as the final product takes shape.

There are then several final steps to do wheel alignment, test the drivetrain on a rolling road, test that the car is waterproof, etc.  Having never visited a modern factory, this was well worth experiencing, not only to see the individual steps, but also to get a sense of the coordination and logistics activity behind a just-in-time manufacturing process.

Caffeine & Machine


While in The Midlands and thinking about cars, I also visited Caffeine & Machine, a car-themed pub / restaurant / event space near Stratford-upon-Avon. On a weekday at lunchtime, this was quite a low-key experience; in essence, there was a chance to obtain some lunch (think burgers and pizzas) and to visit an "emporium" selling paintings (including a E-type to keep with the Jaguar theme) and Caffeine & Machine merchandise. Thus the lesson from this visit is probably to check out their events, rather than to travel very far on spec.

Practicalities.

Distance from Manchester Town Hall: 99 miles

Drive Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Price: $$$ - booking required

Parking: There is a free onsite carpark.

Food and Drink: People taking tours are offered drinks.

Child Friendly: This could be interesting for older children, but there is a minimum age limit.

Toilets: Yes.

Do it justice in: The tour lasts an engaging 3 hours.

Inside-Outside: 90:10






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