Swedish company opens first UK office in Coventry

An expanding Swedish automotive engineering service company has established its first UK operations in Coventry.

LeanNova Engineering AB was set-up in Trollhättan by former Saab Automobile engineers Tomas Camén and Martin Öman in 2012 to supply engineering services to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers in the automotive engineering industry.

The company, which also has an office in Shanghai, China, has launched LeanNova Engineering UK Limited at the University Of Warwick Science Park’s Venture Centre in Sir William Lyons Road.

The UK’s Embassy in Stockholm suggested LeanNova contact UKTI to help and amongst other support, they helped with choosing a location for their new UK premises by providing a list of possible bases.

“We went to see four or five locations but the Venture Centre was ideal,” said Sales & Business Development Manager Tommy Sundin.

“Working with, among others, Jaguar Land Rover means the Venture Centre is a good place to be located because it is close to its Whitley and Gaydon sites as well as Birmingham Airport because I split my time between Sweden and the UK.

“Further, it will be easy to expand at the Venture Centre when we are in a position to be able to do so and we are working with the University of Warwick to discuss taking on new graduates to support them into the world of work.

“We are committed to being in the UK because there is still a need for experienced and skilled engineers and we believe there is room in the market for a partner such as LeanNova Engineering to cover the whole process of car development.

“We have 200 experienced engineers who provide all the different elements of automotive engineering including project management, prototype building as well as testing.”

Karen Aston, manager at the Venture Centre, said LeanNova Engineering UK has a great deal of experience within its ranks.

“The Midlands is renowned for its excellence in automotive engineering and LeanNova Engineering UK will add to this,” she said.

“Their employees have an average of 15 years’ experience in the industry which can only benefit their expanding client list.

“The Venture Centre has all the necessary transport links for the business to reach its customers in the UK easily as well as travel to their headquarters in Sweden and we look forward to playing our part in helping the company to grow.”