Portugal’s national tyre maker, Camac, is reborn thanks to significant investment from its new owner, Nova Motorsport. The factory in Santo Tirso, near Porto, is undergoing a €20m programme of refurbishment and upgrades since it was purchased by Nova Motorsport in April.
More than 100 skilled jobs will be created across various business disciplines, including engineering, technical, marketing, and other roles. This will significantly boost the local economy, support growth, and create opportunities for the community.
The Camac brand has long been established as a critical player in the specialist tyre market, including the highly competitive motorsport sector. Nova Motorsport’s acquisition of Camac marks a further step toward becoming an independent powerhouse focused exclusively on developing and manufacturing premium high-performance racing and specialist tyres.
The factory’s strategically important location within the European Union makes the manufacturing facility ideally situated to serve its customers and export markets across Europe and the rest of the world.
Nova Motorsport is a new tyre company founded by British-owned rubber compounding leader SPC Rubber. Established in January 2024, Nova Motorsport has made several acquisitions and secured tyre supply and partnership agreements across the international motorsport landscape. In addition to Camac, Nova Motorsport has secured the global rights to Avon Motorsport Tyres. It has partnered with racing series’ including the RallyX international rallycross championship, the Peter Auto historic racing series in Europe and the British Hillclimb Championship.
Nova Motorsport is also a racing brand in its own right, providing ample volumes for the Santa Tirso factory across the Camac, Avon, and Nova brands and contract manufacturing agreements. The first Nova Motorsport branded tyres, the ACB11 for rallycross, was produced at the factory in late August and debuted at a special presentation at the Rallycross RX Loheac 2024 event in France.
In October, the revitalised Portuguese manufacturing facility recommenced production of the Camac Classic tyre range for the European market. The Camac Classic 5.90×13 cross-ply tyre is based on a product introduced in 1969 and supports classic models, including the Ford Taunus/Cortina Estate, Opel Rekord and Simca 1300. Camac began producing its 145R10 radial tyre in the early 1970s, and today, in Classic guise, it plays a crucial role in keeping iconic models such as the Austin Mini and the Honda N300, N400 and N600 on the road.
Acquiring Camac significantly bolsters Nova Motorsport’s mission to redefine the landscape of motorsport and specialist tyre production. With significant production capacity and an experienced and growing technical and engineering team, the brand is set to deliver ground-breaking advancements in tyre performance and customer service to the global motorsport community.
With €20 million earmarked for the expansion, refurbishment and modernisation of the production facility, the site has the capacity to produce 500,000 tyres per year. To ensure the highest possible levels of consistent manufacturing quality and product, 200 lorry-loads of equipment have been transferred from the former Avon factory in Melksham in the UK to Portugal. In addition, the existing machinery for producing Camac tyres at the factory is being upgraded and modernised to ensure exemplary quality. Further and continual improvements are also being implemented across the facility by integrating multiple new systems and adopting advanced manufacturing and quality assurance processes acquired from Avon Motorsport.
Nova Motorsport has recreated the championship-winning compounds and materials previously mixed by Avon Tyres in Melksham by utilising state-of-the-art mixing facilities. The brand adheres to the same stringent testing procedures and specifically designed lab test methods and uses the same technology, procedures, moulds, and materials originally deployed in the UK.
James Weekley, Nova Motorsport Commercial Director, said: “We are proud to have employed some of the finest technical experts and engineers in the tyre and motorsport industries as we embark on our journey as a new brand in the motorsport and specialist automotive sectors. Our seasoned team of technical and manufacturing experts is now completing the recommissioning of our manufacturing facility in Portugal, supported by our Global Technical Centre and HQ in Holt, England.”
“The first new tyres under the Avon brand were produced in August. Robust track testing demonstrated that the quality and performance of the tyres produced in Portugal match those of the Avon products previously manufactured in the UK. Achieving this strategic step enables us to focus on continually advancing innovation in tyre technology.”
“In addition to supporting existing customers and markets, our state-of-the-art facilities are uniquely positioned to collaborate with companies seeking bespoke tyres for competition and specialist applications. Our goal is to provide unparalleled levels of ultra-rapid R&D, time-to-market, and customer support.”
Source: Tyretradenews
