Ilmor Engineering Begins Construction of U.S. Tech Center

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Ilmor Engineering Begins Construction of U.S. Tech Center
©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc.
Race engine-building arm of Mercedes-Benz to consolidate operations
MONTVALE, N.J. (October 8, 1997) -- The home of Mercedes-Benz's1997 CART championship-winning engines is moving. Ilmor Engineering, therace engine-building arm of Mercedes-Benz, will build a 26,000 square-foottechnology center in Plymouth, Mich. to centralize its American engineeringand business management activities. The announcement was made today at agroundbreaking ceremony at the site.
The new facility, which will serve as the technical headquartersfor Mercedes-Benz's championship-winning PPG CART World Series program, isexpected to be erected by mid-1998 and fully operational by the start ofthe 1999 PPG Cup season.
"The construction of the Ilmor Engineering Technology Center showsour commitment to the Mercedes-Benz Motorsport program and to CART racing,"said Paul Morgan, who started Ilmor with partner Mario Illien in Brixworth,England in 1984. "Ilmor was founded as an Indy car racing technologycompany when CART was still quite new. By 1990, the series' competitionand professionalism had increased to such an extent that we felt itnecessary to establish Ilmor Engineering, Inc., here in the United Statesto better service our partners and more closely manage our business in thiscountry. Today, with Mercedes-Benz as a 25-percent shareholder and fullycommitted partner, we are ready to take the next step in our plannedexpansion."
New Home
Situated in the town of Plymouth, Mich., 9 miles west of Ilmor'scurrent offices in Redford and 20 miles west of downtown Detroit, the newTechnology Center will include administrative offices, an engineassembly/rebuild facility, three dynamometer testbeds and a machine shop. For the first time, Ilmor's American engineering and business managementactivities, as well as its parts and service departments, will be under oneroof. Engine assembly and rebuilds were formerly performed at VDS Racing,in Midland, Texas.
"The people at VDS Racing, under the guidance of Franz Weiss, havedone an outstanding job for us in the area of engine assembly andre-builds," said Paul Ray, vice president of Ilmor and the man in charge ofthe CART program. "But we knew the time would come when the level ofcompetitiveness in the series and the magnitude of the program wouldrequire us to bring the engineering side of the business together with theparts and service side for the sake of efficiency. We initially looked atmoving the engineering staff to Midland (Texas, where VDS is based) butdecided that the Detroit area was a better choice, due to its proximity tothe core of CART's activities."
Ray explained that VDS will continue to serve as the Mercedes-Benzrace engine assembly and re-build facility through the end of the 1998 PPGCup season, at which time the new engine shop should be on line. Everymember of the VDS staff has been offered employment at the new facility. The Penske Racing engine shop, which handles engine assembly and re-buildsfor Marlboro Team Penske, will be unaffected.
Room To Grow
Campbell/Manix Assoc., Inc., a contracting and architectural firmbased in nearby Southfield, Mich., designed the building in conjunctionwith Ray and the Ilmor staff. It will be built on a 5.5-acre parcel ofland adjacent to Michigan State Route 14 and could, according to Ray,eventually house some of Ilmor's manufacturing facilities, which arecurrently based at the parent company's headquarters in England.
"Experiences in Brixworth have taught us to anticipate growth,"said Ray. "The site for the Technology Center was chosen and the planswere drawn to allow for expansion of this facility to three times the sizeof the initial structure."
As the race engine-building arm of Mercedes-Benz, Ilmor Engineeringdesigned, manufactured and serviced the engines which powered nine race andsix pole position winners during the 1997 PPG Cup season, earning Mercedesthis year's CART Manufacturer's Championship.
Source: Mercedes-Benz


		NOW AVAILABLE! — The Official Directory for CART Racing

		Ilmor Engineering Begins Construction of U.S. Tech Center ©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc. Race engine-building arm of Mercedes-Benz to consolidate operations MONTVALE, N.J. (October 8, 1997) -- The home of Mercedes-Benz's1997 CART championship-winning engines is moving. Ilmor Engineering, therace engine-building arm of Mercedes-Benz, will build a 26,000 square-foottechnology center in Plymouth, Mich. to centralize its American engineeringand business management activities. The announcement was made today at agroundbreaking ceremony at the site. The new facility, which will serve as the technical headquartersfor Mercedes-Benz's championship-winning PPG CART World Series program, isexpected to be erected by mid-1998 and fully operational by the start ofthe 1999 PPG Cup season. "The construction of the Ilmor Engineering Technology Center showsour commitment to the Mercedes-Benz Motorsport program and to CART racing,"said Paul Morgan, who started Ilmor with partner Mario Illien in Brixworth,England in 1984. "Ilmor was founded as an Indy car racing technologycompany when CART was still quite new. By 1990, the series' competitionand professionalism had increased to such an extent that we felt itnecessary to establish Ilmor Engineering, Inc., here in the United Statesto better service our partners and more closely manage our business in thiscountry. Today, with Mercedes-Benz as a 25-percent shareholder and fullycommitted partner, we are ready to take the next step in our plannedexpansion." New Home Situated in the town of Plymouth, Mich., 9 miles west of Ilmor'scurrent offices in Redford and 20 miles west of downtown Detroit, the newTechnology Center will include administrative offices, an engineassembly/rebuild facility, three dynamometer testbeds and a machine shop. For the first time, Ilmor's American engineering and business managementactivities, as well as its parts and service departments, will be under oneroof. Engine assembly and rebuilds were formerly performed at VDS Racing,in Midland, Texas. "The people at VDS Racing, under the guidance of Franz Weiss, havedone an outstanding job for us in the area of engine assembly andre-builds," said Paul Ray, vice president of Ilmor and the man in charge ofthe CART program. "But we knew the time would come when the level ofcompetitiveness in the series and the magnitude of the program wouldrequire us to bring the engineering side of the business together with theparts and service side for the sake of efficiency. We initially looked atmoving the engineering staff to Midland (Texas, where VDS is based) butdecided that the Detroit area was a better choice, due to its proximity tothe core of CART's activities." Ray explained that VDS will continue to serve as the Mercedes-Benzrace engine assembly and re-build facility through the end of the 1998 PPGCup season, at which time the new engine shop should be on line. Everymember of the VDS staff has been offered employment at the new facility. The Penske Racing engine shop, which handles engine assembly and re-buildsfor Marlboro Team Penske, will be unaffected. Room To Grow Campbell/Manix Assoc., Inc., a contracting and architectural firmbased in nearby Southfield, Mich., designed the building in conjunctionwith Ray and the Ilmor staff. It will be built on a 5.5-acre parcel ofland adjacent to Michigan State Route 14 and could, according to Ray,eventually house some of Ilmor's manufacturing facilities, which arecurrently based at the parent company's headquarters in England. "Experiences in Brixworth have taught us to anticipate growth,"said Ray. "The site for the Technology Center was chosen and the planswere drawn to allow for expansion of this facility to three times the sizeof the initial structure." As the race engine-building arm of Mercedes-Benz, Ilmor Engineeringdesigned, manufactured and serviced the engines which powered nine race andsix pole position winners during the 1997 PPG Cup season, earning Mercedesthis year's CART Manufacturer's Championship. Source: Mercedes-Benz