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It was in the November 2009 issue of JWM that, in this column, I discussed Jaguar Land Rover’s then newly announced business plan and the fact that the media at large had generally ignored its overriding positive message. Ambitious plans for model expansion and further investment in future technology were largely skipped over in favour of focusing on the aim to consolidate JLR’s West Midlands manufacturing base from two plants to one by 2015. Yes, of course, the potential closure of either Jaguar’s Castle Bromwich or Land Rover’s Solihull plants was big news, but JLR always maintained its new business plan was one of growth, not reduction, and that there would be no compulsory redundancies. Nevertheless, the doom-mongers concentrated on the potential factory closure but now, 12-months on, there has been a remarkable turnaround. Following the success of Jaguar and Land Rover’s product lines in the intervening period (latest figures show overall JLR sales for April-September 2010 to be 40 per cent up on the same period in 2009), and successful negotiations with trade unions over pay and working conditions, the future of both Castle Bromwich and Solihull is assured. Not only that, workers will be guaranteed at least an eight per cent pay rise over the next 12-months. That’s not just a good Jaguar story, or even a good Jaguar Land Rover story, it’s a good story for the UK’s manufacturing industry as a whole and an endorsement of Tata’s vision for the two brands that it acquired back in June 2008, just as the world economy was beginning to slow. With sales now buoyant, the indications are that more is to come soon from both brands, JLR CEO, Dr Ralf Speth stating on the announcement of the company’s revision of its manufacturing consolidation aims that: “We have ambitious plans for growth and the success of our products around the world and this agreement will allow us to accelerate and realise those plans.”