A DARESBURY start-up is set to launch a new business that will provide a ground-breaking digital marketplace for 3D-printable car parts.

‘Autentica Car Parts’, based at Sci-Tech Daresbury, has developed a platform that will save 70 per cent of non-production costs and reduce transport emissions by 40 per cent.

The platform will allow equipment manufacturers to sell parts designs to authorised dealers, distributors, and repair centres.

Using funding from Innovate UK, the UK's national innovation agency, the platform has been successfully tested with 500 customers, including OEMs and car dealers, and an international network of 600 3D-printing service providers.

The platform, which was developed in partnership with the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and cloud technology company Oracle enables instant access to spare car parts compared to the industry standard of 28 days.

Warrington Guardian: An Autentica 3D printed car partAn Autentica 3D printed car part (Image: Autentica)

Autentica Car Parts will be launched at a special full-day event at Sci-Tech Daresbury on November 1st, 2023, featuring keynote speeches, presentations, roundtable discussions, and live platform demonstrations.    

Speaking ahead of the launch event, Irma Gilbert, CEO of Autentica Car Parts, said:

“The aftermarket in the automotive spare parts supply chain globally is facing several perennial challenges, such as costly warehouse storage of spare parts; high logistics costs due to time-intensive production and shipping; and low-risk resilience due to cross-border transport which can affect delivery times significantly.

"Digital technologies are catalysts in delivering a radical transformation to global supply chains by leveraging, among others, the power of automation, analytics and intelligence to improve efficiency, visibility, sustainability and resilience.

"Over the last two years, with the backing of Innovate UK and partners including AMRC and Oracle, we have developed a web platform which combines three major digital technologies - additive manufacturing, distributed ledger and artificial intelligence - to help revolutionise the aftermarket and automotive spare parts supply chain.

"I am delighted that we can launch our business model in the UK and then into international markets, bringing a transformative economic and environmental impact.”