655 replies to this topic

[toplessmini]

 

Another New Product

The first of 2 Speaker Pod related ones...

Speaker Spacers
A product developed due to popular demand and designed to enable the installation of 6.5" or 6"x9" speakers on the Mini parcel shelf, within the standard 13.5cm factory cut holes. The spaces work by raising your speakers off the parcel shelf, which allows the speaker cone to sit within the standard factory cut holes - simply select the desired depth whilst choosing your trim (1.8cm or 3.6cm).

Only standard MK5 (onwards) Mini's have factory cut 13.5cm holes on the parcel shelf, older Mini’s (Mk1 to Mk4 – prior Mk5/1990) do not have these 13.5cm factory cut speaker holes on the rear shelf.


Click the image above to be re-directed to the Optimise Automotive website.


Please Note We cannot guarantee that our Speaker Spaces range will raise all makes and models of 6.5" and 6"x9" speakers enough to fit within the standard holes. As a result, please check to make sure that your speaker cones fit into the holes on your parcel shelf, within a maximum mounting depth of at 3.6cm (see the diagram below for help).

The maximum mounting depth of 3.6cm is measured from the to surface of the parcel shelf to the underneath of the mounting gasket (the thing you screw through to attach the speaker).

The spacers are secured to the desired location using the M4 bolts & lock nuts provided. Please see "Installation Information" below for details.

from £9.99 (Pair)

 

 

Are you still making these speaker pods / spacers? I've just been on your site and cannot find them on there?

[roberts]

Are you still making these speaker pods / spacers? I've just been on your site and cannot find them on there?

 

 

Wow that's certainly a blast from the past (a post revival from over 10 years ago).

 

I'm afraid we don't offer them any more - we dropped them from the product range years ago (quite simply, we didn't sell any).

 

Kind regards,
Andy @ Optimise Automotive

[roberts]

Unfortunately, we don’t have anything new to tell you and in light of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) situation and the latest guidance from the UK Government, production remains suspended and Optimise HQ is still shut.

We are hoping (fingers crossed) to be reopening production and Optimise HQ in early June - reading between the lines, it appears that the government have earmarked week commencing June 1st for things to open up a bit (with lockdown restrictions being eased). Obviously we have actually have no idea though and this an educated guess, as soon as we have any news we will let you know. 

Product Range Orders:
At this moment in time, we do to know when we will be reopening production. If you are are willing and/or able to wait please place the order, you can be rest assured that we will manufacture and dispatch your order as soon as we can, once production has resumed.

Bespoke Projects:
With regards to our current schedule of bespoke work, we are still taking bookings and first available start dates (for larger bespoke projects) are now around week commencing week 15 and around week 4 (for smaller bespoke projects), when we reopen production. If you are looking to book any bespoke work in, we recommend getting in touch ASAP - we don’t want anyone to miss out.

Please also be advised that all of our non-production operations are continuing as normal and I will be working remotely, you can contact me (Andy) throughout this via email:
 

[email protected]

As before, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your understanding and support as we all deal with this unprecedented situation.

We’ll be back producing interiors ASAP - stay safe, stay at home, take care of each other and we look forward to seeing you all on the other side.

 

Kind regards,
Andy & the Optimise Automotive team

[roberts]

 

 

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update...

Great news, we are back doing what we do best - we reopened Optimise HQ on Tuesday 2nd June and production resumed on Monday 8th June.

It’s great to be back, it still feels very bizarre that we ever ceased production and getting used to this “new normal” will take a bit of time - but, pretty much everything is running as usual here at Optimise HQ and we have managed to hit the ground running (so far, so good).

Visit’s to Optimise HQ are strictly visit by appointment only at the moment and you will be given instructions (via email) when you arrange an appointment with regards to the procedures we have implemented to ensure your safety when you visit Optimise HQ.

We are still in the process of finalising our current work schedule and if you have a bespoke project booked in please be patient - if we haven’t already, we will be in touch to confirm your new estimated start date and lead time ASAP.

With regards to current lead times:

 

Product Range Orders:

Annoyingly, we are unable to give accurate lead time estimates at this moment in time - following our closed period we have the biggest backlog of orders that we have ever had and we don’t really know how long it will take to get everything back to normal (obviously like everyone else, we’ve never been in this situation before).

We closed production week commencing 6th April 2020 and we will be working through the backlog of orders, in the order that they were placed. Orders usually take between 1 week and 2 weeks to manufacture & dispatch (once we have started the order), so you will be able to work out when we will likely be manufacturing your order, by adding how many weeks after our production closure you placed the order, to week commencing 8th June (when we reopened production).

 

e.g: An order placed on 20/04/2020 (within week 3 of our production closure), will likely be manufactured week commencing 22/06/2020 (week 3 after production reopened).

 

 

Bespoke Projects:

With regards to our current schedule of bespoke work, first available start dates (for larger bespoke projects) are now around the middle of September and around the end of august (for smaller bespoke projects). If you are looking to book any bespoke work in, we recommend getting in touch ASAP - we don’t want anyone to miss out.
 

 

As before, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your understanding and support as we all deal with this unprecedented situation. As mentioned above - it’s great to be back and it’s great to be looking ahead to a positive future.

 

 

Have a great day.

Kind regards,
Andy & the Optimise Automotive team

[roberts]

We are well & truly back...
 

I think it’s fair to say WE ARE BACK and this months news update feels like the ideal time to say thank you to each and every one of you, for your patience and support throughout the past 3 months. 

This business literally means everything to me and after all the uncertainty I couldn’t be happier, back doing what I love, with Jack and John... what an awesome team I have here, I doff my hat (sorry I don’t have a hat) to the beautiful future.

 

 

With regards to current lead times:
 

Product Range Orders:

As a result of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) situation Optimise HQ reopened on Tuesday 2nd June and production reopening on Monday 8th June.

Annoyingly, we are unable to give accurate lead time estimates at this moment in time - following our closed period we have the biggest backlog of orders that we have ever had and we don’t really know how long it will take to get everything back to normal (obviously like everyone else, we’ve never been in this situation before). We believe our lead times are currently between 6 and 9 weeks, but to be honest that is a bit of a guess - it might be less, it might be more.

If you are are willing and/or able to wait, please be rest assured that we will manufacture & dispatch your order as soon as we can.
 

Bespoke Projects:

With regards to our current schedule of bespoke work, first available start dates (for any bespoke order) are now around the middle of October. If you are looking to book any bespoke work in, we recommend getting in touch ASAP - we don’t want anyone to miss out on those all important winter project time slots.

As before (and as I have already mentioned), I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your understanding and support as we all deal with this unprecedented situation.

It’s great to be back and it’s great to be looking ahead to a positive future.

 

 

 

Have a great day.

Kind regards,
Andy & the Optimise Automotive team

 

[roberts]

 

Andy here, quite frankly things are a bit busy here at the moment and finding the time to sort things like Newsletters out is near impossible. It’s late Tuesday evening as I write this, having just got home for the day and had my dinner, I finally find myself sitting on the sofa with a free 30 mins or so… for the first time in, well I don’t really remember.

I can’t quite get over whats happening at the moment here at Optimise, in a time of doom and gloom we appear to have bloomed - we’ve never been busier, we’ve never been as booked up. In a time of apparent hardship for business, we are seeing the opposite.

If I had the time, I’d personally thank each and every one of you, your support (and continued bookings) throughout this uncertain time is greatly appreciated.

This was meant to be a year of growth here at Optimise, as we continue our move into the wonderful world of VW Transporters we had hoped to take on a couple of new members to the team and also start the hunt for a new HQ (we’ve sadly outgrown out Winpenny Road home).

Covid-19 obviously put a big brick wall in front of these plans and lockdown was all about damage control and adapting to an uncertain period that apparently lay ahead for business.

However, I find myself 12 weeks after we reopened again thinking of the future (rather than damage control), it’s hard not to when we have such an enormous amount of work booked in.

This business literally means everything to me, I really can’t get over how, in such an unprecedented terrible time, we find ourselves busier than ever.

Thank you.

 

 

 

 

With regards to current lead times:
 

Product Range Orders:

Annoyingly, we are unable to give accurate lead time estimates at this moment in time - following our closed period we have the biggest backlog of orders that we have ever had and we don’t really know how long it will take to get everything back to normal (obviously like everyone else, we’ve never been in this situation before). We believe our lead times are currently between 8 and 12 weeks, but to be honest that is a bit of a guess - it might be less (we hope it’s less), it might be more.

Just to let you know and to give you an idea of where we are up to (with the backlog), all orders placed on or before Sunday 7th June 2020 have been dispatched.

We are hoping to get our lead times (across our product ranges) considerable down over the coming month.
 

Bespoke Projects:

With regards to our current schedule of bespoke work, first available start dates (for any bespoke order) are now into the New Year (end of January/beginning of February). If you are looking to book any bespoke work in, we recommend getting in touch ASAP - we don’t want anyone to miss out on those all important winter project time slots.


Have a great day.

Kind regards,
Andy & the Optimise Automotive team

[roberts]

 

Following lockdown we have the biggest backlog of orders that we have ever had and it has sadly got to the point when our lead times are (in the eyes of many customers) unacceptable.

Since production reopened on Monday June 8th we have been working hard to try and reduce our lead times and although we are starting to get back on top of everything, our lead times remain around 8 to 12 weeks.

The only way that we can reduce our lead times is if I (Andy) get considerably more time in the workshops (to help out Jack & John) than I’m getting at the moment and regrettably, the only way that I can get sufficient time in the workshop is if we close the office.

Reluctantly, this means that our office will now be closed until our lead times (across our standard product ranges) are down to around 4 to 6 weeks.

This decision has been made with you (our customers) in mind, as we are receiving an extremely high number of emails and phone calls on a daily basis from customers, chasing up orders. Please be rest assured that we are doing everything we can to adapt to the current situation - or in other words, coming up with our “new normal”.

Quite simply, we do not have the resources (we are a small team of 3), to continue to operate as normal (pre Covid-19 normal) and also reduce our lead times. Just to let you know, a 4 to 6 week lead time is normal for us (pre Covid-19 normal) and it is an acceptable lead time that keeps our customers happy.

We obviously need to reduce our lead times and we do not see any other way of being able to reduce them, without closing the office - as this is the only way we can get more hours (my time), each week in the workshops, manufacturing and dispatching orders.

We accept that closing the office is a drastic measure and we accept that not everyone will be happy about it. However, we don’t see any alternative if you (our customers) are unable to accept our current lead times as our “new normal” (if we don’t get them down, 8 to 12 weeks will be our “new normal” forever).

I would like to say thank you to the majority, who have been (and remain) accepting of the current situation.

Moving forward, until we reopen the office:

• Emails will be responded to once a week (I will likely empty the inbox every Monday afternoon).
• Answer phone messages will be responded to if considered urgent, daily.
• Alternatively, we will respond to non-urgent answer phone messages once a week (again, likely on a Monday afternoon).
• If we need to contact you (about a current order), we still will (so please do not worry about that).

 

Have a great day.

Kind regards,
Andy & the Optimise Automotive team

 

[roberts]

 

 

Following last months decision to close the office and concentrate all of our resources on getting our lead times (across our standard product ranges) down to “pre-Covid19” normal, I have nothing but good news to report.

Quite simply, closing the office has allowed us to massively reduce our lead times.

So where are we right now I hear you ask… well, as it stands, as I write this, we have managed to get our lead times down from upwards of 12 weeks to around 5 to 6 weeks. Plus, with the continued efforts in the workshop we anticipate that everything will be back to normal (pre-Covid19 normal, if anyone remembers what that was like?) within the next month.

I best also point out that bookings for bespoke work are near enough into March 2021 now, so if you are looking for anything bespoke, any time soon, please make sure you get in touch ASAP, to book in those all important winter/spring projects.

Moving forward (as before), the office remains closed and will likely remain closed until the beginning of November.

Until we reopen the office:

• Emails will be responded to once a week (I will try and empty the inbox every Monday).
• Answer phone messages will be responded to if considered urgent, daily.
• Alternatively, we will respond to non-urgent answer phone messages once a week (again, likely on a Monday).
• If we need to contact you (about a current order), we still will (so please do not worry about that).

And again, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for your understanding and support as we all deal with this unprecedented situation.


Have a great day.

 

Kind regards,
Andy & the Optimise Automotive team

 

[roberts]

 

 

We are getting closer, to what used to be normal.

 

Following my previous updates with regards to catching up with everything, getting things back to normal (pre-Covid19 normal) and temporarily closing the office - just like last month, I have nothing but good news to report and we are gradually getting back on track.

 

As it stands lead times are back down to around 4 to 5 weeks - which is near enough pre-covid timings and we anticipate that everything will be back to normal by mid-November.

 

Moving forward (as before), the office remains closed and it will likely remain closed until mid-November. Once everything is completely back to normal, we will reopen the office. With regard to getting in touch with us, whilst the office is closed:

• Emails will be responded to once a week, every Monday.
• Answer phone messages will be responded to if considered urgent, daily.
• Alternatively, we will respond to non-urgent answer phone messages once a week, again, on a Monday.
• Pus, if we need to contact you with regards to a current order, we still will (so please do not worry about that).

And again, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for your understanding and support as we all deal with this unprecedented situation.

Have a great day.

 

Kind regards,
Andy & the Optimise Automotive team

 

[roberts]

 

 

Merry Christmas!!

 

Usually around this time of year (usually in our November newsletter) we let everyone know about our Christmas order deadlines and Christmas ordering information, you will have probably noticed this years been a little different though (we have banned the C word here) and annoyingly, we are unable to offer deadlines at the moment.

 

Quite simply, like every small business in the UK right now, we are a positive Covid test and/or a track & trace isolation away from being shut down for a week. As a result, we are unable to offer any kind of guaranteed deadlines for what we will be able to get manufactured and dispatched before we close for our Christmas break.

 

As always, we will do our very best to get as much dispatched as possible, right up to when we close on Friday 18th December - plus just to let you know, we reopen (after our Christmas break) on Monday 4th January 2021.

 

Lead Times

With regards to current lead times, we believe lead times (across our standard product ranges) are around 3 to 5 working weeks.

 

To let you know where we are up to, as of Friday 27th November 2020 we have manufactured all orders placed before Monday 2nd November, so current lead times (for orders we will be working on this week) are 4 to 5 working weeks.

 

Plus, the first available start dates for bespoke projects are currently around the end of March 2021. Please contact us ASAP with regards to your spring retrims, we obviously don’t want anyone to miss out this winter/spring, especially if you are looking to have your interior retrimmed before the start of next years show season (I’m sure following last seasons cancelled show season, everyone is starting to get very excited about the prospect of shows in summer 2021).

 

Finally, may we also take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas.

 

Have a great day.

 

Kind regards,
Andy & the Optimise Automotive team

 

 

[roberts]

 

 

Happy New Year!

 

First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year - we are refreshed and open again (Optimise HQ reopened on Monday 4th) after our annual Christmas break.

 

The start of a New Year is always a great time to reflect and look back at the achievements of the past 12 months. If we rewind to April (when we were forced to close our doors and halt production) I couldn’t have dreamt that 9 months later, I’d be writing a look back on the year and about to say it turned out to be a good one.

 

Despite closing our doors for 2 months, dealing with everything that Covid threw at us (before, during and after we were closed) and adopting to this bizarre “new normal”, it’s fair to say that 2020 actually turned out to be brilliant year here at Optimise.

 

I know you don’t hear anything positive on the news with regards to business at the moment, but here at Optimise (plus everyone I talk to in the automotive industry, including all of our suppliers) we only really have positive things to report.

• Lockdown gave me (as a small business owner) the opportunity of a lifetime to work through our “to do” list. It's fair to say I’ve never worked as hard as I did throughout lockdown, behind the scenes lots of improvements were made (namely to the website and to our production processes). Plus over the coming months, we have lots of new and exciting things to share with you - many of which wouldn’t have been possible if we weren’t forced to close production, which allowed me the time to introduce these new things.
   
• Plus, following the initial period right at the start of Covid (when orders completed dropped off and we had to close as a result of that - the day we closed, we literally didn’t have an order to work on), we have never been busier and we continue to be busier than we’ve ever been.

The way in which the automotive communities have come together throughout these difficult times is incredible and it's testament to the wonderful people (all over the World) that we are lucky enough to call customers - thank you, to each & every one of you.

 

Ignoring the success of Optimise, personally (for me) it’s been a long hard slog to ensure the success (boy it’s tested me and pushed me in ways I didn’t imagine possible), as a small business owner 2020 was on a whole, terrible.

 

The uncertainty at times (especially when we were forced to close production without knowing and/or having any guarantee of what financial support would be available from the government and/or knowing when we would be able to reopen production), combined with the stress put on myself, to find ways to adapt to everything throughout the year, has been extremely testing.

 

I think it’s only right at this point to thank (or is that apologies?) those closest to me, without the support of my family and my closest friends, the past 12 months could have been very different.

 

It’s times like these that you truly appreciate those closest to you and I include my employees, John and Jack in that short list of people that I'd call family, I'm lucky to be surrounded by wonderful people.

 

This year certainly brought us at Optimise closer together (despite being physically further apart than ever) and that, can only be a good thing for everyone.

 

So, it’s good riddance to 2020 and hello to 2021… we’ve got this.

 

 

Have a great day.

 

Kind regards,
Andy & the Optimise Automotive team

 

[roberts]

Classic Mini Cobra Seats Interior Packages

 

We've teamed up with Cobra, to bring you the ultimate Classic Mini interior packages.

 

Developed in coordination with Cobra and their bespoke "Signature" services, we have worked together to develop a range of Classic Mini interior packages unique to Optimise Automotive - including a range of Cobra Historic seats, trimmed to our exact specifications.

 

The packages include Cobra front seats with matching back seat covers (or retrims), door card sets, parcel shelf board panels and rear pocket trim & panels. Plus, our packages perfectly compliment the rest of the Classic Mini interior trim product ranges that we offer.

 

 

Our standard range of Classic Mini interior packages include three of Cobra's incredible Historic seats range - the Cobra Classic, Cobra Cub and Cobra Monte-Carlo. All of which are designed specifically to be installed in Classic cars and are perfect for the Classic Mini - the old school design and retro functionality means that they not only look great, but also fit perfectly within the Classic Mini interior.

 

In addition to our standard packages, we are also able to offer the full range of Cobra seats (the Historic range, the Sports range and the Motorsport range) so if you cannot find the seat model that you are looking for within our standard options, please get in touch for a bespoke quote.

 

Plus, use discount code “Cobra” for 10% off. Offer expires at the end of the month.

 

To claim this very special offer please add the coupon code above into the ‘Coupon code' box, found on the shopping basket during checkout.

 

Have a great day.

 

Kind regards,
Andy & the Optimise Automotive team

[roberts]

Cobra Seat Packages

 

Following the launch of our Classic Mini Cobra seats interior packages and due to popular demand we have launched Cobra seat packages.

 

 

 

Plus, use discount code “Cobra” for 10% off. Offer extended and now expires at the end of the March.

 

To claim this very special offer please add the coupon code above into the ‘Coupon code' box, found on the shopping basket during checkout.

 

 

Have a great day.

 

Kind regards,
Andy & the Optimise Automotive team

[roberts]

 

 

A busy few months ahead...

 

As touched upon in the January newsletter, we continue to go from strength to strength here at Optimise and we are so far (touch wood), yet to see any effect of Brexit or Covid19. We can definitely count ourselves as one of the lucky ones and fingers crossed, long may this continue.

As it stands, lead times are currently around 4 to 6 weeks (which is normal for this time of year) and our bespoke schedule is booked up into June (which is also relatively normal for this time of the year).

Now that show organisers are starting to confirm shows for 2021 and as the UK comes out of Covid restrictions over the course of the next few months, we do anticipate a serge of orders, as everyone rushes to ready pride and joys, for a well overdue show season.

We obviously don’t want anyone to miss out on that all important new interior, if you are looking to have bespoke work completed any time soon (before the show season kicks off) please let us know ASAP so we can book you into our bespoke schedule.

And that actually brings us on nicely to an update with regards to what we plan to do this show season...

As many of you know, we are regular traders at many of the UK’s leading Classic Mini and VW Transporter shows, regrettably, we’ve made the decision to give the 2021 show season a miss and as a result, we will not be trading at shows this summer.

Quite frankly and to be very honest about it, just like everyone else we can’t wait to get our lives back to normal and this simply means that we don’t want to work weekends. Instead, you will probably find us walking around the shows enjoying life and enjoying the shows, from the other side of the counter, for a refreshing change.

 

In Other News...

 

Union Jack Parcel Shelf Boards

Stitched Union Jack parcel shelf boards are a very popular bespoke item of trim and due to such popular demand we have made the decision to add them to our product range.

Please clock the image below for further information:

 

 

 

 

Have a great day.

 

Kind regards,
Andy & the Optimise Automotive team

 

 

 

 

[roberts]

Union Jack Printed Trim, LAUNCHED

 

We are extremely excited to launch a stunning range of Classic Mini Union Jack printed trim products.

 

The range includes Union Jack headlining kits, Union Jack door cards and Union Jack parcel shelf boards. Please click the images below to be redirected to our website, where you will find more information.

 

 

 

The introduction of printed leatherette trim also enables us to offer any printed pattern/flag/design you desire. The possibilities are basically endless and we are able to offer bespoke printed dashboards, consoles, door cards, parcel shelf boards, headliners etc.

 

The printed leatherette is a truly exciting addition to the already excellent range of bespoke personalised services we offer (such as embroidery and embossing) and we look forward to seeing unique printed trim rolling off our production line over the coming months.

 

 

 

In Other News...

 

Grab a bargain

Last month we launched a range of Classic Mini Union Jack panel shelf boards and this month you can grab a bargain and buy our demo boards (the ones we made up for the photos) for just £5 (+P&P).

 

Only one of each board is available (so be quick), please see the links below to buy the board you desire:

 

• MK3 to MK6 Saloon or Clubman (1973 to 1995): LINK
• MK7 (Onwards) Saloon (1995 to 2000): LINK

 

 

 

Have a great day.

 

Kind regards,
Andy & the Optimise Automotive team