O&H Vehicle Technology has become the first ambulance manufacturer in the UK to be fully self-sufficient, having brought all aspects of its production process in-house. The move follows the commissioning of a new component manufacturing centre – the culmination of a combined £800,000 investment – at the firm’s 60,000 sq ft headquarters in West Yorkshire.

Every internal aspect of the firm’s ambulances, including the ambulances’ lockers and componentry, will now be manufactured in-house from raw material, following a recent recruitment drive for local skilled workers and the procurement of over £800,000-worth of new machinery.

The strategic move will allow O&H Vehicle Technology to wholeheartedly increase quality, efficiency and safety on their vehicle range utilised by the NHS on the front line, whilst increasing capacity and decreasing lead times on large quantities.

Following a hugely demanding 2020 for the UK’s NHS ambulance trusts, 32-year-old O&H Vehicle Technology – part of Venari Group – has driven continuous improvement in a bid to support its customers to a higher standard than ever before.

O&H Vehicle Technology Technical Director, Wes Linton, commented on the commissioning of the new department: “Now that O&H sits proudly within Venari Group, we have the capability and an obligation to drive unrivalled quality throughout our entire production process. UK ambulance manufacturing has essentially stood still for decades so it is our job to stride forward to the benefit of our world-class NHS ambulance trusts.

“When assessing our performance in 2020, we asked ourselves how we could drive improvement into 2021 which ultimately led to the creation of a highly skilled and technologically exceptional department, dedicated to the construction of what is arguably the most important aspect of any ambulance build.

“To reach the world-class industry standard which we aspire to achieve every day, we must drive quality from the front, in-house. Now, we are in control of our own destiny and with the most passionate team in the industry, that is only a great thing for our NHS ambulance trust customers.”