Cox begins production of diesel outboards
Cox Powertrain recently announced the start of production of the CXO300, its purpose-designed 300hp diesel outboard engine.
After several years of intensive development and testing, this represents a major milestone for Cox. This UK-designed and manufactured high-technology product will be sold to the global market.
Production will commence in Cox Powertrain’s headquarters and advanced assembly and test facilities in Shoreham, West Sussex UK. The assembly plant boasts a turnkey production system developed by QM Systems Ltd., a manufacturer of state-of-the-art manufacturing and test systems across all industries. Cox said significant investment has been made to introduce a manufacturing plant capable of producing up to one engine per hour. The production line ‘no faults forward’ design removes the possibility of assembly error, ensuring every outboard meets Cox’s requirement for the highest standards of quality. These are verified on a suite of purpose-built test cells, which put every engine through its paces before shipping to the customer.
“This is a milestone we have been working towards for quite some time with a relentless focus on building a no-compromises business,” Cox’s CEO Tim Routsis said. “I am enormously proud of the CXO300 and the terrific team who have worked tirelessly to make it a reality. We owe a debt of gratitude to the supply chain who have found ways to keep parts flowing to us despite COVID-19, and also to our global distributors who have remained loyal throughout. I am delighted that we can now repay that commitment by supplying this ground-breaking marine engine in volume, together with the support levels expected of a premium product.”
Throughout its development the engine generated substantial interest across all applications of the marine industry, a contributing factor for the company when raising the £92m ($115m) of private investment to date required to reach this point.
“This brings to fruition a long-held ambition of mine to create a UK based business to design and manufacture diesel outboard engines to meet a major unfulfilled need in the global marine propulsion market,” Cox’s Chairman, Charles Good said.
