Roush acquires Mountune engine business.

Roush Technologies has acquired the well-known race engine preparation, tuning and performance parts operation Mountune Racing Limited as the US company continues to expand its European operation.

Mountune, currently based in Essex, will relocate to a base within Roush Technologies' nearby facility, where it will become a wholly-owned division of Roush's European business.

"The opportunity for us to move our already successful business into one of the world's leading automotive development organisations is a major step forward for the business," admitted Mountune founder David Mountain, "It allows us to keep both our team and its wealth of experience together and intact, while opening up a whole range of new collaborative activities".

John Mitchell, Roush Technologies' director of European operations, said that he expected the two companies to fit well together.

"Roush and Mountune have a unique blend of specialist and complementary skills," he explained, "The synergies between the two companies are such that we know now that we will be able to offer all our customers a broader range of services which have added value beyond what either organisation has been able to achieve on its own.

"The Brentwood facility is home already to some of the most advanced automotive engineering design and development capability in Europe. Our acquisition of the Mountune business takes that capability to a new level."

While perhaps best known in motorsport circles for its NASCAR efforts and engine preparation business, which helped Matt Kenseth to this year's Winston Cup crown, Roush Technologies is one of the world's foremost design, engineering and development groups. With established facilities across the US and a growing presence in Europe, the company offers its increasingly global clients a totally integrated, single source, multi-site and solutions-driven capability.

In Europe, Roush Technologies serves a diverse portfolio of multi-tier automotive and non-automotive clients across a broad spectrum of industries including car, commercial vehicle, agricultural, defence and energy.

"The Roush name is synonymous with many of our industry's major achievements, particularly across America," Jim Yagley, VP of engineering at Roush Technologies US parent, commented, "Roush already works with many of the world's OE manufacturers across the whole range of automotive engineering services, while our public profile is probably more widely recognised because of our successful motorsports programmes. We have a mission to grow our business in Europe and to mirror our success elsewhere. The acquisition of Mountune is both an ideal and timely step in that process."

The Mountune business was founded in 1979 and quickly established a worldwide reputation for building some of the most successful Mini engines on the competition circuit. In the late 1980s, Mountune started preparing Cosworth YB engines for motorsport - a programme which led to many championship victories and a long-term association with Ford. To date, Mountune has supplied both road, rally and track race engines to some of the world's top teams including Ford, Formula Palmer Audi, Ascari and Petronas/Proton.