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Viewpoint - Hydrogen vs electric

With major manufacturers bringing forward their electric programmes to within the next few years and some like Volvo going all electric by 2030, there is a real challenge afoot to ensure the charging infrastructure is in place to support the roll out. Although electric car ownership is on the up, with research showing 1 in 3 families are planning to make their next car purchase electric, the issue of public charging is the biggest barrier to adoption.Even for fleet owners take up is hampered unl...

SPAL to get a glimpse of the future at ITT Hub 2021

The team at SPAL are headed off to the Innovation & Technology in Transport - ITT Hub 2021 - which promises to be out of this world especially as the keynote speaker is none other than astronaut Major Tim Peake, CMG.Focusing on commercial and passenger transport, the event will include testing and experiments relating to ‘Future Vehicles and Future Fuels’ as well as a Ride & Drive. The role of autonomous vehicles in supporting the government’s decarbonising transport plan will also be exam...

Maggie's got an instinct for people management

Congratulations are in order for Maggie Lech, BDM for the transport refrigeration sector at SPAL Automotive UK who passed her ILM Level 3 Award in Leadership & Management while juggling her demanding job during a time of peak business activity.This intensive course comprised of two modules: • Giving Briefings & Making Presentations • Understanding LeadershipScoring an impressive 93% and 84% respectively it was worth all the hard work. Maggie says:“I found the assignment analysing lead...

Meet SPAL's new quality ambassador

Patricia Mori has joined the sales team at SPAL as account manager for the automotive and bus & coach sectors and is a committed quality ambassador; keen to champion what she feels is the strongest selling point for the world leading brand of fans and blowers.After 5 years with UFI Filters, in customer services, account handling and sales Patricia has a track record in thermal management and so will fit right into her role at SPAL bringing in new customers and nurturing client relationships.Born...

SPAL to keep current with the latest developments at Vehicle Electrification Expo

As the journey to zero emissions gains momentum, SPAL has signed up to the Vehicle Electrification Expo 7-8 July at the NEC.SPAL is a leading designer & manufacturer of thermal management solutions and its high- performance axial fans and centrifugal blowers are specified for engine and battery cooling applications by OEMs focussed on introducing new platforms of hybrid and electric vehicles.Particularly suited to the demands of battery cooling, SPAL’s range of brushless technology fans have f...

10 tors bagged for Adam

There were a few delays caused by the slightly shocking weather including high winds earlier in the month but SPAL’s Adam Betteridge finally made his wild camping trip to Dartmoor last weekend (22/23 May).Originally planned for November 2020 and shelved for obvious reasons, Adam couldn’t wait to get back to the great outdoors and challenge himself with the rugged landscape and the unpredictable elements....

Harper Adams scholar reports progress

This week we had a letter from Max Finch, winner of the SPAL Automotive UK Scholarship with Harper Adams university. The engineering student is hitting the books hard to keep on track with his studies and tells us he intends to use his £2,500 funding to develop his 3-D printing skills for an exciting project in open-source prosthetics.He says: “I really think it’s possible to get a functioning usable product with just a few more month’s work.”He is also looking forward to ‘getting out...

SPAL celebrates Harper Adams scholars 2021

SPAL is proud to support Harper Adams University through its scholarship and enjoyed being part of the online presentation held 12th May which showcased the 2021 winners including Max Finch engineering undergraduate BEng/BEng Hons Automotive Engineering (Off-Highway): “Congratulations to Max, he is a worthy recipient of the SPAL scholarship. He came across well in the panel interview and showed he has a keen engineering brain. Added to his extracurricular interests and experience in ...

SPAL forging ahead amid renewed optimism

Matthew Morris, Managing Director of SPAL Automotive UK sounded a note of renewed optimism in the wake of an excellent quarter of business across all sectors where sales forecasts were way ahead of budget.The growth of the aftermarket has been fuelled by strong performances in refrigerated transport, agriculture and motorsport and the reawakening of the construction sector which is currently underway....

Rob Wilson Motorsport - restarting plans

SPAL is renewing its sponsorship support for bright young rally driver Rob Wilson for 2021....

SPAL signs up for CropTec

With major indoor event LAMMA wisely moved to 2022, SPAL is targeting sister outdoor show CropTec, taking place 24-25 November at the East of England Showground, Peterborough.The leading free technical arable event showcasing technology, innovation, & knowledge exchange is an opportunity to promote SPAL’s range of high-performance axial fans and centrifugal blowers specified in seed drills and crop spraying equipment....

Maggie Lech is on course to top up her skills

Maggie Lech, BDM transport refrigeration sector at SPAL Automotive UK has a yearning for learning sparked by having to find new ways of working during the pandemic; so to top up these new skills she is now undertaking an ILM Level 3 Award in Leadership & Management.Taking place over 4 days, the intensive course is about understanding leadership and how to manage others - skills which will be useful in the workplace and life in general.Maggie says: “Certain elements of my current role I have le...

New recruit joins SPAL following strong quarter

During a very busy time and a fabulous first few months of trading in 2021, Ashley Brown picked the right time to join the team at SPAL Automotive UK as Technical Sales Support.Attracted to the position as something he could slot right into, Ash will use elements of his previous experience in vehicle hire and customer services roles at industrial giants British Polythene and Air Products by way of an earlier career in banking.He says: “This is the kind of job that encapsulates pretty much anyt...

SPAL advises on OBR's electric car cooling conundrum

The MD at SPAL Automotive UK, Matthew Morris, was given a fascinating insight into how young minds tackle the engineering issues encountered when building your first electric race car for the Formula Student competition.During a 30-minute briefing, Aditya Vachaspati Cooling Lead, Aerodynamics, Oxford Brookes Racing outlined the team's approach to the all-wheel drive car and how all the attention was focused on achieving light-weighting to reduce drag and achieve 0-60mph in 2.5 seconds....

SPAL in the spotlight at Harper Adams

SPAL is committed to nurturing young engineering talent and is particularly proud of its partnership with award winning agricultural university Harper Adams. Having been on the selection panel to pick the winner of the exclusive 2021 SPAL Scholarship, last month it was time for students to put their questions to SPAL UK MD Matthew Morris on the hot topic of the moment, the engineering challenges of adapting to the biggest technological shift in over a century, the switch from the internal combus...

Demon Tweeks marks 50 years in motorsport - and 50 years with SPAL

Demon Tweeks is an Aladdin’s cave of expertly curated premium branded equipment and parts for the motorsport industry and has always included SPAL products in its offering.With a massive global presence, Demon Tweeks is the supplier of choice for a wide range of customers from the enthusiast weekend racers to factory teams competing at the highest level. As well as stocking all things for 4 wheels, there is a specialist motorcycle division looking after motorcycle accessories, road and off-roa...

UH Racing fields 1st electric 4WD in FS2021

The latest Formula Student team to come in search of SPAL fans for its 2021 race car entry is UH Racing with some very exciting plans to pave the way for a new electric era.Alex Wood Deputy Team Lead & Aerodynamics Lead filled us in on the details:UH Racing is a student led Formula Student team representing the University of Hertfordshire.For the 2021 competition, the team are looking to continue their entry from the 2020 competition, UH23. UH23 is the team's first electric vehicle in over 10 ye...

Mission impossible Formula Student?

Picking the right engine cooling fan for your Formula Student race car entry can be quite a challenge especially if your team is going electric in 2021. For one team it was looking like Mission Impossible as the application appeared increasingly complex.Maggie Lech, the go-to contact at SPAL who has the technical know-how to guide teams towards the right choice, explains:“Specifying the right product does take time, effort and patience. I am always very impressed with the students because they...

Brand new 'classic' cooling application for SPAL fans

Andy Clift had his petrol head turned after learning that SPAL fans feature on the brand new MST Mk1 and Mk2 made by MST Cars.These magnificent motors are high quality replicas of the original Ford Mk1 & Mk2 Escort model, made from scratch and equipped to order for anything from fast road to forest spec....

SPAL picks 2021 Harper Adams scholar

It was a welcome diversion from the weekly routine, including some tricky Brexit paperwork, to be virtually introduced to the four shortlisted candidates vying for the SPAL Automotive Scholarship 2021 in partnership with leading agricultural university Harper Adams. How different it was from the 2020 format where everyone was able to meet face-to-face! Nonetheless SPAL MD Matthew Morris was impressed with the students, their enthusiasm in these sombre times and their intelligent questions....

SPAL supports engineering talent

With the selection panel for the recipient of the 2021 SPAL Automotive UK scholarship with Harper Adams University coming up next week, the company’s MD Matthew Morris speaks about his enthusiasm for supporting budding engineering talent. "This is our second year supporting students at the award-winning agricultural university which is a reflection of the importance of the sector and our commitment to investing in young people; not to mention we thoroughly enjoyed our experience the first time...

SPAL handles first post-Brexit delivery

SPAL has just received its first shipment from Italy and is pleased to report that apart from a day’s delay from waiting in the queue for processing the paperwork, the successful delivery of a container load of 39 pallets of high-performance fans and blowers is promising proof that the new system for moving goods from Europe is settling in.This is on the back of record three months' sales for the Worcester based SPAL UK with evidence that significant parts of the automotive industry and becalm...

USM's double entry for Formula Student 2021

When the pandemic stopped play for the 2020 Formula Student competition that didn’t mean University of Strathclyde Motorsport shelved its race car.Instead despite the challenges of last year and tackling a new format, the team is set to enter both the ICE category as well as the EV in #FS2021 as Michael Kurtyka, Aerodynamics and Cooling Chief Engineer USM, explained.“After more than twenty years, designing and building a combustion-powered race car, University of Strathclyde Motors...

Rob Wilson bides his time

Aspiring young British rally car driver Rob Wilson has been in a holding pattern only managing a couple of events in 2020 before the pandemic stopped play. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t kept busy building his own car for scratch races and earning a living as mechanic.We caught up with him on his strategy for 2021.“We have landed ourselves in a pretty fortunate situation because we didn’t make any plans or investments for 2021 and that was because of the uncertainty.“At the moment I a...

The battle is being won for faster charging times for BEVs

We were excited to learn from Tech Bang, 16th January, that major automotive manufacturers are working to overcome two of the main barriers to electric car usage – range and recharging time - and looking to introduce a prototype this year that can go from flat to fully charged in 10 mins and cover 500 miles.That’s 2/3 of the best recharge time and twice the current range of vehicles on the roads at the moment.This is down to the Holy Grail of technology the super EV solid-state battery ...