920E (920Engineering), part of Liberty Vehicle Technologies and owned by the Liberty House Group, has appointed AP Racing chief designer Jon Tait as chief engineer, as the company continues to grow its innovative product range offering for customers across the OEM, motorsport, yellow goods and aftermarket sectors.
Mr Tait joins the business during a time of significant expansion and investment in both technology and skills. He is tasked with leading a young and ambitious team of in-house engineers with a clear focus on strengthening the business’s technology led product offering. His appointment follows closely after 920E’s launch of an industry-first fully-integrated park brake, which offers automotive manufacturers a complete, opposed piston, foundation brake system with a number of significant advantages; most notably reducing un-sprung mass by over 30%.
Mr Tait has built a strong reputation for excellence during his distinguished career with AP Racing, which he joined as an apprentice over 30 years ago and rose to become chief designer for the race brakes product group. During his time at AP Racing, he was a pioneering force in the introduction of Radi-CAL technology, which utilised advanced analysis to produce intricate and uniquely optimised designs. This approach to design optimisation is integral to 920E’s current range of NASCAR, GT and automotive calipers as well as its future product offering. Most recently, Mr Tait designed many of the Pro 5000 R range of entry-level Radi-CAL brake calipers, engineered to deliver high performance at an affordable price, without compromising on the modern design that is expected by customers. Speaking about his new role, he said: “The ambition and commitment to innovation demonstrated by 920E is what attracted me to the role and I am delighted to join the business during such exciting times. We have a number of new product ideas that we are developing, at present, as we look to create an extensive portfolio for the 21st century automotive and motorsport sector.”
Anthony Blackwell, Managing Director at 920Engineering said: “I am delighted to welcome Jon to the 920E family. He has extensive knowledge of the latest developments and customer requirements in key markets, as well as proven experience in engineering products that have lead the way in braking applications. His unique expertise, and experience, from years of involvement in Formula 1, NASCAR and premier motorsport compliments 920E’s tier 1 heritage to further consolidate our position as a technology-led supplier. I have no doubt he will bring invaluable expertise to 920E as we continue to explore new ways of delivering cutting-edge solutions for our customers and launch our latest range of braking solutions.”
920E is part of Liberty House Group, a British based commodities and industrial group, that is currently investing in the creation of a fully integrated business model – from liquid steel production, powered by renewable energy, right through to the manufacture of advanced engineering products for multiple sectors both domestically and overseas. The strategy called GREENSTEEL focuses on the production of materials from local sources through the use of sustainable energy and feeding these directly into companies that serve client industries.