includes a list of references but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations . please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations . september 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message nissan motor manufacturing uk ltd. type subsidiary industry automotive founded 1984 headquarters sunderland tyne and wear united kingdom area served worldwide products automobiles number of employees 6700 parent nissan motors website www.nissan.co.uk nissan motor manufacturing uk ltd or nmuk is a car manufacturing plant in sunderland tyne and wear england . it is owned and operated by the european division of japanese car manufacturer nissan . it has been active since 1986 . it was built upon the former raf usworth . contents 1 geography 2 history 3 current models produced at nissan motor manufacturing uk 4 former models produced at nissan motor manufacturing uk 5 production by model 6 plant functions 7 offices 8 information technology 9 workforce and productivity 10 training 11 nissan s 30th anniversary in the uk 2016 12 references 13 external links geography edit nissan motor manufacturing uk is located in sunderland tyne & wear in north east england . it s built on the former usworth aerodrome . a19 and a1231 sunderland highway trunk roads . the factory is adjacent to the uk nissan distribution centre nds and has a number of on site suppliers . the landscaped nmuk site incorporates conservation areas such as ponds lakes and woodland and currently has 10 onsite wind turbines producing up to 10 % of the energy required for the plant . the site is located 5 miles from port of tyne where international distribution is based . history edit in february 1984 nissan under the leadership of takashi ishihara president of nissan from 1977 to 1985 and the government signed an agreement to build a car plant in the uk . the following month a 799 acre 3.23 km2 greenfield site in sunderland tyne and wear was chosen . as an incentive the land was offered to nissan at agricultural prices ; around 1 800 per acre . the north east region of england had recently undergone a period of industrial decline with the closure of most of the shipyards on the wear and tyne and the closure of many coal mines on the once prosperous durham coalfield . the high unemployment this caused meant nissan had a large eager manufacturing skilled workforce to draw upon . the site once the sunderland airfield formerly raf usworth was close to ports on the wear and tyne within easy driving distance of the international newcastle airport and close to major trunk roads such as the a1 and a19 . the established company became known as nissan motor manufacturing uk ltd or nmuk . a ground breaking ceremony took place in july and work began on the site in november 1984 by building contractors sir robert mcalpine . one of nissan s more controversial demands during the talks was that the plant be single union . this was unprecedented in uk industry . in april 1985 an agreement was reached with the amalgamated engineering union aeu . critics argue that this means the plant workforce is weakly represented . nissan argues that as a result of the single union agreement its workforce is much more flexible than at other plants and it points to the fact that not a single minute has been lost to industrial disputes at the factory . in december 1985 mcalpine handed over the completed factory building to nissan for the installation of machinery and factory components ahead of schedule . phase 1 of the plant construction was completed in july 1986 consisting of a body paint and final assembly line . the first bluebird was produced shortly after and is on display at the sunderland museum and winter gardens . official opening of the plant by then prime minister margaret thatcher and nissan president yutaka kume took place in september 1986 . by february 1987 nmuk had become the sole supplier of the bluebird model to the uk market and work on phase two of the plant began with plastics moulding and engine assembly beginning in 1988 and was completed in may 1990 . this would prove to be a landmark year for the plant with the introduction of the p10 primera the first model to be wholly built at nmuk replacing the bluebird . by 1991 the plant turned its first profit of 18.4 million and was awarded british manufacturer status by the society of motor manufacturers and traders smmt . around this time nissan ended its relationship with octav botnar and the automotive financial group afg which had been its uk import concessionaire since 1970 and brought the import and distribution business in house basing it at the sunderland plant . by 1992 the plant began to produce two models with the introduction of the highly successful micra which was the first car of a japanese brand to be voted european car of the year . the early 2000s was a period of growth for the plant with the plant being awarded contracts to build the updated almera becoming a three model plant and continuation of the micra and primera model changes . a fourth body style for the plant was introduced with the micra c c. 2006 saw the introduction of the note model in place of the almera and the introduction of the qashqai . at this point nmuk had built a reputation for being the most efficient plant in europe . by 2008 the falling sales of the primera led to its demise with the qashqai becoming the hero model for the plant with such a high demand that a night shift was introduced to keep up . the primera had the distinction of being the first model built at nmuk to be exported to the japanese market . nearly 5 000 workers were employed at the plant by this stage ; however 1 200 of them were made redundant in january 2009 as a result on the onset of the recession which saw demand for new cars slump . 1 despite a temporary suspension of the third shift due to the automotive industry crisis of 2008 the third shift was reintroduced and the strong demand for the qashqai has helped nmuk remain strong throughout the crisis . after the crisis nissan announced that the new juke model would be built starting in july 2010 replacing the micra and that nmuk would be the european manufacturing location for the electric vehicle leaf model beginning in 2011 as well as an on site lithium ion battery manufacturing facility . 2013 saw the introduction of the second generation note and qashqai . current models produced at nissan motor manufacturing uk edit nissan note 2004 present nissan qashqai 2006 present nissan juke 2010 present nissan leaf 2012 present infiniti q30 2015 present former models produced at nissan motor manufacturing uk edit nissan bluebird 1986 1990 nissan primera 1990 2008 nissan micra 1992 2010 nissan almera 2000 2006 production by model edit year qashqai juke note leaf micra total 2008 224 989 77 819 83 747 386 555 2009 198 841 50 880 88 429 338 150 2010 271 188 44 622 52 872 54 580 423 262 2011 301 277 132 606 46 602 480 485 2012 310 837 154 759 44 884 92 510 572 2013 286 477 147 954 58 901 8 424 501 756 2014 285 110 132 646 65 143 17 339 500 238 2 plant functions edit nmuk is split into three logical areas body assembly paint and final assembly . each is further broken down into areas known as shops . press shop the first shop in the manufacturing process the press shop is responsible for pressing the outer and inner body panels of the vehicle . nmuk houses a 5 000 tonne press capable of pressing two panels simultaneously one of only two in use in any nissan plant . body shop linked directly to the press shop the body shop is a highly automated section of the factory with over 500 robots in operation . pressed panels are welded together to create complete body shells . body paint shop body shells are painted in a semi clean environment using solvent based paint . shells are dipped in chemical tanks to cleanse them of any oils picked up on the panels during their manufacture in body shop . once bodies have been dipped and cleansed they are then immersed in an anti corrosion paint dip called ed electrocoat dip . this dip coats the entire body both inside and outside and is the first paint coating it will receive . once the dipped body has been stoved in the ed oven the body progresses to the sealing booth . in this booth the body has its interior panel joints floor tailgate hood and door edges sealed with a pvc based sealant to prevent water ingress and corrosion as the car is driven on the road . also within this zone sound pads are added to the floor and boot to reduce road noise standard practice in the motor industry . the next booth it enters is the underbody booth . in this booth similar to sealing booth the body s wheel arches are sealed using the same pvc based sealant . robots then apply the underseal to the underfloor and wheel arches . also robots are used to apply the sgc stone guard coat layer to the sills this coating is designed for abrasion resistance i.e. preventing stone chips scuffs etc. from here the body proceeds into the undercoat oven . the next zone is ed sanding booth where the body is inspected for any minor imperfections received in the ed coat . the next zone is the surfacer booth where the body receives its second coat of paint this being the surfacer coat then into the surfacer oven . next is surfacer sanding booth the same as ed sanding this zone inspects the body for any imperfections picked up within the surfacer coating . next comes the topcoat booth where the body receives its final coats of paint these being topcoat and clearcoat layers . after being stoved in the topcoat oven the body then enters the touch up booth where the body has its final inspection for any imperfections picked up in the topcoat process . once the body leaves here it then moves on to the pbs painted body store above trim and chassis to await the next step in the production process . over 10m has been invested into the paint shop in readiness for the upcoming introduction of infiniti models q30 & qx30 making nissan sunderland the first plant outside japan to produce this luxury brand alongside its current models . plastics shop plastic components such as bumpers are injection moulded on site . plastic paint shop bumpers molded in the plastics shop are painted in the plastic paint shop which directly feeds trim & chassis . the shop uses a combination of manual sprayers and robots to coat up to 486 bumper sets per shift . the process in plastic paint is similar to body paint the parts are washed in a powerwash facility before being masked dependent on trim level . from here the parts are painted with primer then basecoat some colours get two coats of basecoat at different stations pearlescent effect . then all part receive a layer of clearcoat before being stoved in an oven . casting shop aluminium engine components such as cylinder heads are produced in the state of the art casting plant . unit shop 1.2 turbo 1.2 supercharged 1.6 and 2.0 litre petrol engines are built on site on the unit assembly line . the cylinder heads and camshafts are machined along the machining line before being shipped to the assembly