MIRA Continues to Invest in Facilities Following Record Financial Performance
Whole vehicle engineering and test consultancy MIRA has completed a major refurbishment and upgrade of the primary climatic wind tunnel (CWTone) at its Midlands headquarters to support the business’ continued growth.
Following a £580,000 investment the facility, which is used extensively for HVAC and powertrain cooling work, now benefits from the latest Dynamotive control system and an industry-leading CAN-based Ipetronik data acquisition system.
Following completion of the work, Vehicle Environmental and Aerodynamic Test Manager John Hasleden said:
“We have a policy of on-going investment that ensures MIRA’s facilities are second to none.
“Since CWTone was originally opened in 1993 we have continually enhanced its capabilities – adding equipment including snow cannons for snow ingestion/packing and instrumentation for high and low temperature emissions testing.”
The upgrade and refurbishment follows a record financial year for MIRA – which saw turnover rise by 30 per cent to £37million and the business announce its intention to grow turnover by a further 100 per cent over the next five years.
CWTone’s new data acquisition system provides a greater accuracy of measurement across a wider range (20Hz-5kHz over 160 channels including pressure & temperature) but the changes extend beyond the facility’s underlying technology to the facility’s communal areas.
Improved lighting, furniture and layout in the control room and customer room, as well as an updated reception and kitchen facilities will now benefit both customers and MIRA’s team of seven test engineers which include CAWA secretary & principal engineer Jeff Stevens
John Hasleden added:
“The CWTone is used extensively by customers such as Jaguar Land Rover, Bentley, SAIC and Triumph Motorcycles. However, it’s not solely used for automotive applications and has been involved in more unusual projects – including the testing of Bear Grylls’ paramotor ahead of his attempt to fly over Mount Everest.”
From climatic chambers, to its full scale wind tunnel and crash testing laboratories, MIRA offers customers a comprehensive resource capable of meeting all of their test requirements as well as providing engineering consultancy on one site.
