Search: HOME ABOUT UNIPART THE UNIPART WAY CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY IN THE NEWS JOIN US FIND US Twitter feed Contact Us For all initial enquiries, please contact our Global Headquarters in Oxford, UK, on +44 (0)1865 778966 Home > About Unipart > Key Dates in The Unipart Story Key Dates in The Unipart Story When many people think of Unipart, they recall a company that revolutionised the automotive aftermarket in the 1970s. A lot has changed since then; Unipart is now a highly diversified company bringing a wide range of benefits to clients in the rail, technology, retail, automotive, financial and public sectors. Each of our client relationships is unique, but what is common to most is how Unipart enables significant cost reductions, improvements in capacity and customer service, and a level of engagement with employees that delivers real commercial benefits. Our operations now span three major areas: logistics, manufacturing and consultancy. But across all three, there is a single approach that enables us to deliver more than our clients expect. We call that The Unipart Way. To understand some of the major events that have helped to shape our Group, please click on the relevant tab below. 1980-1990 1990-2000 2000-2010 2010 onwards 1987 Unipart becomes a private company through management buyout with half the company owned by employees and managers 1988 Launch of Mark in Action programme recognising outstanding personal customer service by employees 1989 Launch of the Ten(d) to Zero programme enabling Unipart and its suppliers to work in partnership to eliminate waste from the supply chain 1989 Unipart Industries site in Oxford wins Best Factories Award from Management Today 1990 Launch of Our Contribution Counts Circles, which enables all employees to solve problems at their own level 1992 Secretary of State, the Rt. Hon. John Patten MP, opens Unipart employee health and fitness centre, The Lean Machine 1993 Unipart’s Coventry manufacturing site wins Best Factory in Britain award by Management Today/Cranfield University. 1993 Unipart is first company to set up its own corporate university, the Unipart U. 1994 Unipart celebrates the silver jubilee of the Unipart Brand 1994 Group Chief Executive John M Neill made Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his 20 years of outstanding service to and leadership in the automotive industry. 1994 Her Majesty The Queen and HRH Duke of Edinburgh visit Unipart’s manufacturing site in Coventry. 1995 HRH The Duke of Edinburgh visits Unipart House to see how the recommendations of the Tomorrow’s Company report are being brought to life 1996 Lord Sheppard of Didgemere named as Chairman of Unipart Group 1997 The first ‘Faculty on the Floor’ learning centre is launched at Unipart’s site in Kent 1997 Unipart opens four new joint venture factories including Kautex Unipart Ltd and Unipart Eberspacher Exhaust Systems 1997 Unipart acquires Railpart and a 49% share in National Railway Supplies 1998 Unipart is among the first businesses to support the Government’s New Deal initiative 1999 Unipart acquires Partco Group making it the largest supplier of aftermarket parts in Britain 1999 Unipart wins Vodafone as a new customer. 2001 Unipart acquires the remaining 51% of National Rail Supplies 2004 Unipart new clients include BskyB, Homebase and Jessops 2006 Unipart and Vodafone announce plans to establish a multimillion pound distribution and repair centre at Nuneaton 2007 The Gate to Great development framework launched. A core aspect of the Unipart Way, it aims to develop the skills and talents of all employees 2007 Unipart Nuneaton wins the European Supply Chain Excellence Award 2007 New contracts with Habitat UK & Pets at Home. 2007 Unipart Expert Practices, the Group’s consultancy arm established. 150 ‘expert practitioners, begin consultancy work with HMRC 2008 Unipart’s Coventry manufacturing site becomes the first ‘Teaching Factory’ 2008 New contracts with Waterstones and RSPB 2009 New contract with Sainsburys 2010 Unipart opens BskyB Set Top Box Repair Centre 2010 Unipart wins Platinum status in Business in the Community’s appraisal of corporate responsibility 2011 H2 Equity Partnership acquires a controlling interest in UA. 2011 Unipart Nuneaton named as best UK Mobile Repair Centre 2011 Unipart opens moves to purpose-built fulfilment centre in Barnsley for ASOS 2012 Siemens Rail Systems renews logistics contract with Unipart Rail for 10 years 2012 John M Neill named Unipart Group Chairman and Chief Executive UNIPART GROUP SITE MAP UNIPART DIVISIONS CONTACTS HOME JOIN US UNIPART LOGISTICS UNIPART INTERNATIONAL GENERAL ENQUIRIES ABOUT UNIPART FIND US UNIPART RAIL UNIPART LEISURE & MARINE PRESS CENTRE ABOUT THE UNIPART WAY LEGAL UNIPART MANUFACTURING UNIPART COMMERCIAL VEHICLE CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY PRIVACY POLICY UNIPART EXPERT PRACTICES UNIPART SECURITY NEWS COOKIES Go to our page on LinkedIn View our profile on Twitter