Passions of a motorsport mogul
David Richards is best-known as the boss of Formula One star Jenson Button. His public profile has risen dramatically in recent months as his young protégé has matured as a driver and won numerous trophies. As the Formula One season draws to a close, he is once again in the media spotlight, as he seeks to retain Button's services for another year.
Yet Mr Richards' role as team principal at BAR, the Formula One team, represents only one of many commercial interests in motorsports and automotive engineering. At the core of his enterprise is Prodrive, a private group that in 2003 made profits of ￡5.5m - before interest, tax and amortisation - on record sales of ￡125m.
It is 20 years since Mr Richards, 52, founded Prodrive to manage the Rothmans Porsche rally team (a technical as well as administrative role). But today the company receives about half of its turnover from consulting on the design, testing and marketing of high-performance parts and systems for big car manufacturers.
It has therefore built a significant presence in the UK's so-called “motorsport valley” - the geographically loose term for a swath of several hundred high-tech companies stretching from the south coast to East Anglia via the Silverstone racetrack in Northamptonshire. Its facilities include a substantial headquarters for automotive technology near Warwick - a 250-acre site comprising a large test track, design facilities and electronics laboratories - as well as offices and workshops in Banbury, Brackley and Milton Keynes.
“ It plays a very active role on the international stage,” says Chris Aylett, chief executive of the UK's Motorsport Industry Association. “On the motorsport side, it has a unique level of experience and success in the World Rally Championship, GT racing and, of course, Formula One, where it has put BAR within reach of the manufacturers' runner-up spot after only three years. And on the consultancy side, where market conditions in the main auto industry have been poor in recent years and only the fittest have survived, it has positioned itself well to take advantage of future growth.”
For his part, Mr Richards seems to have positioned himself well throughout his working life. His first job was in accountancy and lasted five years: “It made me meticulous and exposed me to a lot of different businesses,” he says, speaking from the BAR headquarters in Brackley.
But his real passion was for rally driving, which he pursued in his spare time. By the late 1970s, he had enough sponsorship to race full-time, and in 1981 he won the World Rally Championship as co-driver to Ari Vatanen from Finland.
“ I was just starting a family and decided, partly because of the hazards of the sport, to move from driving to the business side,” he says. After a few years as a consultant, he established Prodrive with Ian Parry, a motorsport marketing expert, who bought a 20 per cent stake.
By 1986, Prodrive had a burgeoning staff, a string of race victories under its belt, and was able to move from offices at Mr Richards' home and Silverstone to its present, large headquarters at Banbury in Oxfordshire.
In 1991, the company formed its engineering division to offer design consultancy to the mainstream automotive market as well as motorsports teams. By this time, it counted BMW and Subaru among its clients, and had begun to apply its expertise to touring cars.
The next waypoint came in 1994, when the company was named the UK's Motorsport Business of the Year by Andersen Consulting, and received ￡20,000 worth of management consultancy time as a reward. “During our first 10 years we were very non-strategic,” Mr Richards admits. “We took whatever business came along and lurched from one crisis to another. But, by 1994, we were employing 200 people and realised we had to map out precisely how the business should develop. The Andersen award came at just the right time, not least because it gave us a proper business plan to show the banks, allowing us to open new lines of finance.”
Mr Richards adds that the rigorous new vision for the company encouraged him to “consciously delegate for the first time”. He recruited senior managers by offering them small shareholdings. Then, in 1999, he sold a 49 per cent stake to Apax, the venture capital firm. “This was driven primarily by a desire to give some of the long-term shareholders an exit strategy, as well as giving the business some more liquidity,” he says.
Prodrive has since restructured gradually to create a more distinct division between its motorsports and automotive engineering teams, with each now operating from its own company within the group. “It has always been my view that we should expect limited turnover growth and no more than a 10 per cent net margin in our motorsports business because there we already work at the very top levels,” Mr Richards says. “However, in automotive, the potential for growth is infinite.”
It was with this in mind that, in 2001, Prodrive acquired Tickford Engineering, a direct competitor based in Milton Keynes with facilities in Detroit and Melbourne. Under the deal, Prodrive inherited a joint venture with Ford, now known as the Ford Performance Vehicle (FPV) programme. It also inherited enough facilities in Melbourne to develop engines, drivetrains and suspension and manufacture up to 15,000 vehicles a year. A recent model to emerge from this stable was the XR8, the latest in a series of high-performance versions of the Ford Falcon, a sports saloon.
Similar projects on a smaller scale include Prodrive's conversion of DaimlerChrysler's Dodge Viper for the European market, completed in July this year. The powerful car needed to meet 45 technical conditions over issues such as engine noise and emissions in order to obtain approval for sale across Europe. Prodrive therefore had to re-engineer over 50 parts of the car while retaining its character.
The breadth of capabilities within Prodrive creates many opportunities for technology transfer from racing to production cars. For example, a handling system called Active Torque Dynamics, developed by the motorsports division over the past five years for Prodrive's rally clients, is now in prototype vehicles at several major car manufacturers. So far, it has earned Prodrive about ￡3m. Once on the production line, it should earn more via licensing deals.
But Mr Richards believes the future of his business is in value-added services, where the average contract value is currently between ￡5m and ￡10m. “In a large car company, the business case for small production runs is not always obvious to anyone outside the marketing team,” he explains, “but high-profile, high-performance vehicles make a powerful statement about the whole company, just like involvement in motorsports. Our consultants can work alongside the production line of a large manufacturer and give it the opportunity both to differentiate its brand and produce an iconic vehicle.”
Mr Richards acknowledges the margins on such business have been squeezed considerably in recent years, with large manufacturers such as Ford cutting back on outsourcing. “We've had to be frugal to retain our position, with hard-fought contracts on small margins,” he says. This involved some redundancies in the automotive engineering division as well as natural job-shedding, with total staff numbers reduced to about 900 from a peak of about 1,000 in 2003. Mr Richards expects group turnover to decline this year to about ￡110m, although he says profits will rise thanks to improved efficiency and a focus on restoring margins. This performance compares well with Prodrive's UK rivals such as Ricardo PLC, which has just suffered its worst year in a decade, cutting staff by 20 per cent and seeing its share price halved.
The next stage of big growth for Prodrive is expected to come from its foreign operations. “Australia continues to be successful,” Mr Richards says, “and our Bangkok office, which opened in 2001 with a staff of 12 people, now has 50 engineers.”
In the US, Prodrive has been “treading water”, says Mr Richards. It is highly regarded, says Jeremy Burne, the Detroit-based automotive sector specialist for UK Trade Investment. But if it wants to compete with large US specialists in outsourced engineering such as MSX, a Michigan-based company, Prodrive will need to expand its Detroit operations.
Prodrive's Bangkok operation is viewed as a possible model for future US expansion. It is clear that, whether or not he is managing Jenson Button, David Richards is pressing down hard on his business's accelerator pedal.
PRODRIVE'S WINNING FORMULA HELPS TO FUEL THE ECONOMY
PRODRIVE'S PLACE IN ‘MOTORSPORT VALLEY'
● The cluster of motorsport companies centred on Silverstone employs about 40,000 people and contributes about ￡5bn a year to the UK economy, according to the Motorsport Industry Association (MIA). David Richards is both an executive committee member of the MIA and has a seat on the government's Motorsport Development Board, set up in 2003 to advise on how the cluster can best be supported.
● Prodrive has links with local universities such as Cranfield and Oxford Brookes, which both run motorsports courses. It has provided work experience and jobs for students from both institutions.
MANAGEMENT TRICKS
● Mr Richards attributes the high level of staff retention at Prodrive to the breadth of the company, which creates diverse career opportunities. He also sees “ recognition ” as a watchword: “ In a motor racing team of 100 people, only one is going to be spraying champagne on the podium,” he says. “I try to show constant recognition of roles in every part of the business - for example, persuading drivers to walk around and meet the people who make their success possible.”
● He wants to make share options more widely available to staff. “ We ' d still like to find a way to put Prodrive onto a public market - although we think there is a lack of appetite for a motorsport business at present, and that the engineering side is difficult to value,” he says.
Patriotism has a motivating role to play. Mr Richards was born in Wales and says he is very proud his business is British: “ It ' s not something I ' m irrationally emotional about, ” he says, “ but I think it ' s the best thing in the world for an employee to be able to say to their son: ‘I've been working on Jenson Button's car all day.' ” Mr Richards has played a big role in the careers of many successful British drivers - not only Button but also Anthony Davidson, the BAR test driver, and the rally stars Colin McRae and Richard Burns. 赛车大亨的激情 （上）
大卫?理查兹（ David Richards ）最为人熟悉的身份是作为一级方程式（ F1 ）赛车明星杰森?巴顿（ Jenson Button ）的老板。近几个月来，由于他这位年轻的门生已经成为成熟的车手并获得多项战绩，他的知名度也迅速提高。随着 F1 赛季结束，他再次受到媒体注目，因为他设法把巴顿再留住一年。
理查兹作为 F1 英美车队（ BAR ）的领队，仅仅是他在赛车及汽车工程领域众多的商业兴趣之一。 Prodrive 才是他的事业核心，这家私营集团在 2003 年的销售额达到创纪录的 1.25 亿英镑，缴付利息、税款及摊销前的收益为 550 万英镑。
52 岁的理查兹成立 Prodrive 已有 20 年，当时成立该公司是为了管理乐富门保时捷（ Rothmans Porche ）拉力赛车队，而理查兹既负责技术又负责行政。但公司如今有一半的收入来自设计和测试方面的咨询，以及为大型汽车制造商在推广高性能部件和系统上提供专业意见。
因此，该公司在英国所谓的“赛车谷”中举足轻重。赛车谷是一个模糊的地理概念，它从南海岸经北安普敦郡的银石（ Silverstone ）赛车场，一直延伸到东安格利亚，那里汇聚了几百家高科技企业。 Prodrive 在沃威克附近的基础设施包括一个重要的汽车技术总部，这块 250 英亩的场地由一个大型测试车道、设计设施和电子实验室组成，公司在班伯里、布拉克利和米尔顿凯恩斯还有办公室和工厂。
“它在国际舞台上异常活跃，”英国赛车工业协会（ Motorsport Industry Association ）首席执行官克里斯?艾里特（ Chris Aylett ）说。“从赛车方面来讲，它在世界汽车拉力锦标赛、 GT 赛，以及 F1 赛事上具有独一无二的成功经验，它使英美车队在短短 3 年内就能角逐亚军位置。而从咨询方面来看，鉴于近几年主要汽车工业状况不佳，市场上只有适者生存，它对自己作了良好的定位以促进未来增长。”
广泛接触多种行业
至于理查兹先生，他的整个工作生涯好像都安排得妥妥帖帖。他的第一份工作是在会计行业，在那里他干了 5 年。他在英美车队位于布拉克利的总部回忆道：“这份工作使我做事严谨，并让我接触到许多不同的行业。”
但他真正的爱好还是在他业余从事的汽车拉力赛上。到 1970 年底时，他已得到足够的赞助能够全职进行比赛， 1981 年他与来自芬兰的埃里?瓦特南（ Ari Vatanen ）搭档，赢得了世界汽车拉力锦标赛冠军。
他说，“那时我刚刚成了家，部分原因是考虑到这项运动的危险性，于是我决定从赛车转向商业。”在做了几年顾问之后，他同赛车营销专家伊恩?帕里（ Ian Parry ）一起成立了 Prodrive ，后者购买了公司 20% 的股份。
到 1986 年， Prodrive 增聘雇员，并有一系列的赛车战绩，得以把办公室从理查兹先生的家里以及银石赛车场搬到了如今位于牛津郡的班伯里总部。
1991 年，公司组建了工程部，同时为主流汽车市场和赛车队提供设计咨询服务。这时，它已经有了包括宝马（ BMW ）和斯巴鲁（ Subaru ）在内的客户，并开始给房车提供专业技术。
下一个转折点出现在 1994 年，当时该公司被安盛咨询公司（ Andersen Consulting ）评选为年度最佳英国赛车企业，并获得了价值 2 万英镑的管理咨询时间作为嘉奖。“在最初的 10 年里，我们毫无策略性可言，”理查兹先生承认，“不管什么生意我们都接，危机一个接着一个。但到了 1994 年，我们雇佣了 200 名员工，而且意识到我们不得不准确地描绘出企业发展的蓝图。安盛奖来得正是时候，至少它给了我们一个能向银行展示的恰当的商业计划，使我们得以开辟新的筹资领域。”
有意识地下放权力
理查兹先生补充说，公司生气勃勃的新远景鼓励他“第一次有意识地将权力下放”。他在招募资深的经理时，会给他们一小部分股权。到 1999 年，他更将 49% 的股份卖给了风险投资公司 Apax 。“这主要是想给一些长期股东提供一个套现的策略，并给企业带来更多的流动资金。”
后来， Prodrive 的重组逐渐使它的赛车业务与汽车工程业务划清了界限，如今它们在集团里各自以自己的公司运营。“我一直认为，我们对赛车生意的营业额只能期望有限的增长，纯利润不会超过 10% ，因为我们已经属于很高的级别，”理查兹先生说，“然而在汽车行业，发展的潜力却是无限的。”
正是考虑到这一点， Prodrive 于 2001 年收购了总部位于米尔顿凯恩斯的直接竞争对手 Tickford 工程公司，该公司在底特律和墨尔本也有设备。通过这项交易， Prodrive 继承了一家与福特（ Ford ）合资的企业，即现在众所周知的福特性能汽车（ FPV ）计划。另外，它还在墨尔本继承了足够的设备以开发引擎、动力传动及汽车悬挂系统，并每年生产至多 1.5 万辆汽车。而最近推出的 XR8 新款就是这项计划的成果之一，这款运动型轿车是福特猎鹰（ Ford Falcon ）高性能系列最新出的款式。
另一个内容相似但规模较小的项目涉及针对欧洲市场对戴姆勒克莱斯勒（ DaimlerChrysler ）的道奇蝰蛇（ Dodge Viper ）进行改装，并于今年 7 月完成。为了获准在欧洲销售，这款强劲的汽车需要满足 45 项技术要求，如引擎噪音和排气等。 Prodrive 为此不得不重新设计 50 多个部件，而同时又要保持汽车的特性。
赛车大亨的激情 （下）
保罗?泰瑞尔（ Paul Tyrrell ）报道
2004 年 10 月 27 日 星期三
Prodrive 广泛的专业能力为赛车技术向汽车生产的转让创造了许多机会。譬如，在过去 5 年里，由赛车部门为 Prodrive 拉力赛客户开发的“主动式转矩动态”操作系统，现在已为数家主要汽车制造商的汽车原型所采用。到目前为止， Prodrive 已从中获得了大约 300 万英镑的收益。而一旦上了生产线，这个系统通过签订许可证协议，应该能为公司挣得更多。
但理查兹先生相信，他的事业未来的出路在于附加值服务，目前这类合同的平均值在 500 万到 1000 万英镑之间。“在一个大型汽车企业中，进行小批量生产的商业理据并不总是为营销团队之外的人熟知，”他解释说，“但高档、高性能的汽车可为整个企业作出强有力的宣传，就像企业参与赛车运动一样。我们的咨询人员可以亲临大型制造商的生产线给予现场指导，帮助建立起出类拔萃的品牌，并生产出具有偶像威力的汽车。”
理查兹先生承认，随着福特这样的大型制造商正在削减外包项目，这类行业的利润在近几年里已大幅度缩水。他说，“由于那些好不容易赢来的合同利润减少，我们不得不节俭行事以保持我们的位置。”这就意味着对汽车工程部实行裁员，加上正常的退休、辞职情况，其员工总数从 2003 年顶峰时期的 1000 名左右减少到了大约 900 名。据理查兹预计，尽管集团今年的营业额会降到 1.1 亿英镑左右，但因得益于提升效率和注重改善利润的努力，利润将会有所上升。与其英国的竞争对手里卡多（ Ricardo PLC ）等公司相比，这一表现已相当不错，里卡多经历了十年来最糟糕的一年，公司不仅裁员 20% ，而且股价也跌了一半。
全球经营至关重要
人们预计， Prodrive 下一阶段的重大发展将来自于它在外国的经营。“澳大利亚仍然很成功，”理查兹先生说，“而且我们于 2001 年在曼谷新开的办事处现在已经有 50 位工程师，而开始时只有 12 人。”
至于美国方面，理查兹先生说， Prodrive 只是在“踩水”观望。英国贸易投资（ UK Trade Investment ）驻底特律的汽车部专家杰里米?布纳（ Jeremy Burne ）表示，该公司倍受人们的敬佩。但如果它想与大型的美国外包工程专家，如总部设在密歇根的 MSX 公司竞争，则需要扩大它在底特律的运营。
Prodrive 在曼谷的经验被认为是它在美国扩张的一个样板。很显然，不管大卫?理查兹是否在领导杰森?巴顿，对于他的事业来说，他正在用力踩下油门。
Prodrive 的致胜方程式
Prodrive 在“赛车谷”中的地位
根据赛车工业协会（ MIA ）的数据，银石赛车场周围的赛车企业雇佣了大约 4 万名员工，每年为英国经济贡献大约 50 亿英镑。大卫?理查兹既是赛车工业协会执行委员会的成员，又在赛车发展委员会（ MDB ）这一政府组织中占有一席。赛车发展委员会设立于 2003 年，它为如何全力以赴支持这群企业提供咨询意见。
Prodrive 与克兰菲尔德（ Cranfield ）和牛津布鲁克斯等当地大学建立了联系，这两所学校都开设赛车课程。 Prodrive 为它们的学生提供工作经验和就业机会。
管理技巧
理查兹先生将 Prodrive 内部员工高度的凝聚力归结于公司业务的广度，这为员工创造了不同的职业发展机会。他同时以“嘉许”为格言：“在一个 100 人的车队里，只有一个人会在领奖台上喷洒香槟，”他说，“我尝试经常嘉许这一行业里每一个部门的角色，例如说服车手四处走走，亲眼见见那些使他们的成功愿望成为可能的人。”
他希望使员工有更多的机会获得股份。“尽管我们认为，目前人们对赛车行业不感兴趣，并且对工程设计很难估价，但我们仍然希望能找到一个让 Prodrive 上市的机会，”他说。
爱国主义可以起到激励的作用。理查兹先生出生于威尔士，他对自己的企业属于英国感到非常自豪：“在这方面，我并没有表现出非理性化或情绪化，”他说，“但我认为对一个员工来讲，如果能够告诉自己的儿子：‘我整天都在为杰森?巴顿的汽车忙碌'是世界上最令人自豪的一件事了。”在许多成功的英国车手职业生涯中 , 里查兹先生都扮演了重要的角色，巴顿只是其中的一例，其他人还包括英美车队的试车手安东尼?戴维森（ Anthony Davidson ），以及汽车拉力赛明星科林?麦克雷（ Colin McRae ）和理查德?伯纳兹（ Richard Burns ）。
