National Windscreens is to open the first of its new super centre network next month, founded on a new approach to meet the demands of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) technology increasingly used in new vehicles.

Rob Roberts, technical advisor at National Windscreens, calibrating a vehicle with ADAS technology

Located in Slough, the inaugural super centre will showcase a series of new initiatives designed to meet the challenging aspects of ADAS technology and ensure a positive customer experience.

The site will be used to trial various innovative offerings to assess their viability and help guide future development strategies at National Windscreens.

With a rapidly increasing number of vehicles featuring a safety-focused combination of radars, LIDAR, sensors and cameras, such technology requires calibration to ensure the safety systems are working as intended.

Already, the demand for a new style of super fitting and calibration centre is huge and with Euro NCAP now requiring new vehicles to have at least two ADAS features, including AEB (automatic emergency barking), National Windscreens says the need for calibration is growing at an accelerating rate.

Currently, 75% of vehicle manufacturers require their vehicles to undergo a static calibration of the ADAS, which means workshop conditions are required for the process. National Windscreens’ new Slough site will offer a bespoke fitting and calibration centre with customer hot desks plus eight fitting bays with dedicated ADAS hardware.

Terry Liddard, regional director for the South, said: “A huge amount of planning and hard work has gone into creating and implementing the strategy that led to the flagship fitting centre in Slough. Windscreens are an integral part of the safety system for vehicles with ADAS, and the implications of vehicle calibration on the customer experience is increasing. This new super centre mirrors the shift in the automotive aftermarket.”

Slough has been chosen for the first-ever super centre as it is a densely populated area and in close proximity to the UK’s largest airport. Alongside its ADAS initiatives, the site will also trial fully electric courtesy vehicles

“National Windscreens operates a continual improvement programme that is committed to understanding the fast-developing ADAS technology and its implications for all stakeholders. This is a critical feature of any strategy for providing a market leading one-stop windscreen replacement and calibration service,” concluded regional managing director, Mark Payne.