Mirus celebrates new testing facility with ground-breaking ceremony

Construction has begun for Mirus Aircraft Seating’s new dynamic test facility at its headquarters in Norfolk.

The Mirus team including CEO Ben McGuire and newly appointed technical director Adam Challenor, together with Mid Norfolk MP and Minister of Innovation, George Freeman, plus friends and partners of Mirus, gathered for a ground-breaking ceremony to celebrate the occasion.

Having received a £250,000 grant from the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership Growing Business Fund in July this year which will contribute toward the cost of the project, construction has now begun for the 407m² facility, which is due to be completed and opened in July 2022.

The facility will feature a state-of-the-art, dynamic test sled, which is a bespoke device used for destructive or non-destructive crash test replication. Designed for high-impact testing of automotive, aerospace, motorsport and rail vehicles, the 30m-long device is the most technologically advanced available.

“As we start constructing the largest commercially available testing facility in the UK, we’re creating a hub for pioneering innovation in the seating industry,” said Ben McGuire, CEO of Mirus. “Rivalling some of the very best across Europe, our testing facility will not only allow us to develop new technologies at a much faster pace, but it will also be open to other businesses who require testing – improving testing processes across a variety of transportation sectors and attracting businesses internationally.”

George Freeman, MP for Mid Norfolk and Minister for Science, Research & Innovation, said: “Mirus is doing extraordinary work, and deserves the congratulations of her majesty’s government and of the people in this part of the world. This is a world-class business doing world-class innovation and British engineering, shaping the smart economy of tomorrow.”

 McGuire added: “As a result of this extension to our business, we are seeking talented people to come and join us in successfully running the facility. We have started a recruitment drive to hire for several technical, engineering and support roles, and we encourage anyone with passion and the right experience to apply.”

Mirus Aircraft Seating currently works with Airbus, TUI Group, and AirAsia, with seats flying since 2018 and over 100,000 of its flagship Hawk seats sold. The company is looking to expand its client base with the opening of the new facility.

www.mirus-as.com