Royal visit marks Thatcham’s fortieth year

Thatcham celebrated 40 years of setting the standards with a royal visit and a celebration for staff and key industry figures from the Centre’s past and present.

Established by British motor insurers in 1969, Thatcham have built a global reputation as an influential research authority in the areas of automotive safety, security and repair, culminating most recently with a leading role in the introduction of the Thatcham/BSI Kitemark for Vehicle Body Repair, perhaps the most important safety and repair initiative of the last decade.

Of course the automotive repair and insurance industries are unrecognisable compared with those of 1969, with Thatcham having driven through many improvements on behalf of their 34 member insurance companies, thanks to their considerable influence with vehicle manufacturers and repairers.

Forty years ago and even ten years ago, there was a ‘one size fits all’ repair method for virtually every car on the road. Today, motorists are demanding cars that are safe, economic to run and less damaging to the environment. This has led vehicle manufacturers to develop the use of new light weight materials and new joining methods, both of which require vehicle specific repair methods and highly trained repair technicians – a challenge which Thatcham has been busy meeting over the past few years.

His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent and honoured guests joined Thatcham Chairman Bill Paton, Chief Executive Peter Roberts and staff for a tour of the state of the art facilities and to see for themselves how this research centre in a small town in Berkshire has had such a major influence on the global automotive industry.

The Prince was shown examples of safe and unsafe repair and how the recent introduction of the Vehicle Body Repair Kitemark is ensuring safe, quality vehicle repair. He was then introduced to two apprentices from BMW to hear about their experiences on the Thatcham Apprentice Programme, before discovering more about Thatcham’s high profile work with seat and head restraint ratings to mitigate whiplash.

A spokesman for His Royal Highness, said, “His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent is a known automotive enthusiast and therefore takes a great deal of interest in the work of organisations like Thatcham. The Prince clearly enjoyed his visit and was impressed by the professionalism and knowledge of those with whom he met.”