Partner Article

Design company wires Micras for sound

A North East design company is in sound shape after designing and integrating a new iPod system into 35% of all Nissan Micras currently produced at Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK (NMUK).

FS Design, based at the North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC), have managed a project on behalf of Nissan International SA and NMUK which involved design, development and manufacture of bespoke docking stations and the supply of Apple’s last two generations of iPod nano. The dock and iPod are supplied as a standard feature in almost all Nissan Micra 25th Anniversary editions sold throughout Europe and beyond.

Clare Head, Director at FS Design, said: “Nissan approached us to manage the project because of our well-established expertise in bespoke turnkey solutions. We negotiated with Apple to secure iPods with distinctive Micra branding and content. In parallel we designed and developed the docks to integrate seamlessly into the current Micra.

“The docks we have developed are compatible initially with the 3rd Generation nano launched by Apple in September 2007 and we have already produced new versions to support the 4th generation product launched in September this year. This refresh was completed in record time with new tooling and testing completed in industry leading 5 weeks.”

As well as creating the docking stations for the vehicle, FS Design has been responsible for purchasing iPod nanos on behalf of Nissan, negotiating logo etching with Apple, and distributing the items directly to Micra buyers in over 27 countries within one week of the delivery of their vehicle.

Bob Laishley, Assistant Chief Vehicle Engineer at Nissan Technical Centre Europe, said: “FS Design have worked tirelessly to support our project needs and have more than exceeded our expectations delivering a high quality product, within very challenging timescales.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .