THE SUM OF IT’S PARTS

There’s a ‘secret’ department within Aston Martin Works without which the entire business, and that of many client firms, would quite literally grind to a halt.

This small team, just six-strong, keeps the activities of Aston Martin Works’ Modern and Heritage Workshops, it’s Paint and Panel shops, and even its showroom accessories and clothing store operating flawlessly.

The department in question is, of course, the Works Parts operation, led by 35-year Aston Martin veteran Jamie Williams. And while describing it as ‘secret’ might be a bit of a stretch, it is no exaggeration to say that without the daily support of Jamie’s tight-knit team of parts specialists somewhat hidden away in an area adjacent to the Heritage Workshop at Newport Pagnell, much of the rest of the business simply could not continue to function.

Parts Manager Jamie explains: “We like to call this place ‘the engine room’. We support our colleagues across the entire business here.

“Whether it be Modern or Heritage Workshops, Paint, Panel – they want everything as quickly as possible, and we simply have to deliver the parts on time. Without that, a customer’s car could be held up which we of course do everything in our power to avoid.

“Timeliness has to be matched by quality, too, and that’s where – particularly when it comes to heritage parts that may be obsolete – we can really make a positive difference.” Jamie explains that even if a component has long been out of production his team can work with expert suppliers in their network alongside the brand’s global parts operation to get items remanufactured, to the exacting standards required by the Works technicians, and prevent a car becoming a museum piece.

The labyrinthine complexity of providing parts for cars as diverse, and unique, as a DB3S and a One-77 sits surprisingly lightly on the shoulders of the Works team, who are as comfortable with providing a hose clip for a DB5 as they are quoting for everything required to bring a heavily crash-damaged DB9 back to factory-fresh condition.

“We’ve got a good, intelligent, parts system here that helps enormously,” explains Jamie. “We know if there’s demand for certain items, and we know if stock is low, so we know when to re-order in a timely fashion.”

The team’s extensive network of connections, both within the global Aston Martin operation and with its parts suppliers, across all eras, is another major factor in the smooth running of the department, as is the business’s investment in a £1m-plus parts inventory that is ever-present at the Newport Pagnell site.

Nevertheless, Jamie doesn’t underplay the challenges of supporting such a diverse, and rare, global parc of cars. “It’s the collective knowledge of the team here – we have more than 90 years of Aston Martin experience between us – that solves so many of our challenges.

“As with the rest of the business, the team here absorbs knowledge day in, day out, and we’ve got our own personal reference books with notes that might stretch back 20 or even 30 years about parts that can be used across our models.”

Jamie enjoys the challenges and almost endless variety of leading the Parts team at Aston Martin Works but, above all, remains focused on ensuring that the future availability of items across the whole Aston Martin and Lagonda production timeline is as secure as possible.

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