Leading automotive remanufacturer, Ivor Searle, is believed to be the first company in the world to introduce an E-catalogue facility on its website, which is capable of looking up vehicle registrations in multiple countries.
Having just completed another record 12-month trading performance, which reflected a further 8% increase on the company’s record-breaking turnover in 2024, Ivor Searle has been working on the development of the E-CAT for almost a year, in response to growing demand for its remanufactured engines from customers in the EU, located predominantly in France, Italy and Spain.
The new E-CAT system, that’s linked to the global TecDoc aftermarket database, enables Ivor Searle’s international customers to enter a vehicle’s registration details in order to identify the correct product codes for a specific model and check stock availability with the Cambridgeshire-based remanufacturer.
Ivor Searle is currently producing approximately 600 engines per month on average, thanks to the introduction of additional units to its range of petrol and diesel engines and increased demand from its distributor customers in the EU.
Commenting on the launch of its E-CAT facility and record trading period, Ivor Searle’s Commercial Director, David Eszenyi, said:
“As an industry leader, Ivor Searle continues to innovate so we can support a wider aftermarket community both in the UK and internationally. The launch of our cutting-edge E-CAT facility is a major step forward for our business, which will celebrate 80 years in 2026. Rising costs of vehicle ownership at home and abroad, together with infrastructure challenges around the transition to electric transport, have meant that consumers and businesses are running their cars and vans for longer. The export of our premium quality remanufactured engines now accounts for almost 20 per cent of our annual turnover and we anticipate further growth in the coming year.”
Supplying to over 1,500 motor factors across the UK, Ivor Searle has also seen a major uptick in demand for its Customer Own Unit (COU) engine remanufacturing service, especially for late model engines and hybrid units where there’s limited or no core available. COU solves the availability problem for motor factors by providing their customers with a solution when a remanufactured exchange unit is not immediately available off the shelf.
According to David Eszenyi, extended vehicle replacement cycles and longer leasing terms are key drivers behind the growth in Ivor Searle’s COU service:
“Factors across the country, as well as our customer service team, are reporting an increase in enquiries from leasing companies for late model replacement engines and hybrid powertrains for vehicles that have had their leasing periods extended beyond the typical 36-month term and are no longer subject to OEM warranty cover. Because these vehicles are still comparatively new, sourcing old core is highly challenging and the supply of OEM parts is also limited. This has significantly increased demand for our COU engine remanufacturing service.”
Focused on providing customers with a single source of supply, for cars and light commercial vehicles, Ivor Searle’s extensive ‘all makes’ programme covers petrol and diesel engines. Remanufactured engines from Ivor Searle are built to exceed the BS AU257:2002 Code of Practice and all its products are produced under a quality management system certified to ISO 9001:2015.
Filed under: Ivor Searle ECAT, Ivor Searle engines, Ivor Searle gearboxes