Motorsport knowledge puts Premier in pole position

From its 30,000 ft2 production facilities in St Albans, Premier DHD provides precision engineering support for a multitude of race teams competing in various race categories. Managing director, Stuart Grant, explains: "Components for the motorsport sector are technically challenging. They are often produced from materials that are difficult to machine, to very tight tolerances and within extremely demanding timeframes. They push the boundaries of what is possible in the search for fractions of a second saving on lap times." THR Motorsport has been racing for 15 years, having competed in various saloon cars in both the Formula Saloons and the Euro Saloon and Sports Car Championships. The car currently raced by the team is an ex-British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) Honda Accord. Stuart Grant says: "High precision parts such as camshafts, gearbox and drive-train components, as well as suspension systems all have different machining requirements. For example, a drive shaft with a precision hole drilled through it can transmit up to 20 per cent more torque, but weighs around 40 per cent less because of the deep hole drilling process." Premier provides drilling, honing and full CNC turn/mill component supply to all high precision markets including aerospace and motorsport. Typical machined components include casings, liners, drive-shafts, cam-shafts and hydraulic drive and actuation systems. For example, renowned competition engine design, manufacturing and tuning specialists, Lincolnshire-based Neil Brown Engineering, is just one example of the motorsport elite that relies on Premier's skills and knowledge. Between the 2010 and 2011 seasons Neil Brown built a brand new engine for the car.