STAFF of Group Lotus plc are said to have a chillingly surreal way of demonstrating their unflinching loyalty � blood. And it�s nothing to do with flogging themselves until blood oozes out or chalking up loyalty points by donating blood.
Well, they claimed to bleed �yellow and green� blood if cut open. Ask any staff of the Hethel-based sports car-maker in Norfolk, Eastern England, and chances are you�ll get the same answer.
�If you cut open my skin, those are the colours you�ll see,� quipped its group public relations manager Alastair Florance. Of course, that�s just a figure of speech. It�s their way of showing their loyalty that even their blood can be the same as Lotus� green-and-yellow corporate colours. SLoyalty too can stand the test of time, as it may not be skin deep as far as the Lotus folk are concerned.
And if that did not pique you, wait till you ask how the Lotus name came about and why all their models start with the letter �E� � the latest being the award-winning Evora?
The two questions caused a little stir during a briefing for Malaysian journalists at the Lotus plant last week when a company official admitted that he did not have the answer.
�We really don�t know why but we believe our founder (Colin Chapman) must have a good reason for doing so,� he said. Since Chapman is no longer around, it looks like the real story may never be revealed. That�s unless of course, he had told somebody about it.
Back to the blood colour, Daniel Lai (pic) may not offer the same loyalty answer as the other staff but he�s as dedicated as any one of them. For being part of the Lotus team that crafted the Evora has given the 30-year-old aerospace engineering graduate a sense of belonging to the company.
Lai, from Kuala Lumpur, said he was proud to be among a group of Malaysian engineers who had played a significant role in contributing towards the first all-new Lotus car since 1995.
�I got involved in the car even before it took shape,� said Lai, who is the remaining Lotus supply chain analyst involved in the project. The other Malaysians from Proton Holdings Bhd had returned home after their one- to two-year secondment to the Lotus plant headquarters.
Lai said his task basically involved procuring the parts within the budget, without compromising on the quality to meet the production deadline.
�It was a fast-moving project and I�m happy we got the car out despite the tight schedule,� said Lai, who joined Lotus in 2004 after graduating from Bristol University.
Lotus Cars Limited�s Evora platform manager Tony Shute commended the Malaysians for their contributions to every aspect of the project, saying they were intelligent and willing to learn. �Being involved in high volume production of 100,000 to 200,000 cars a year, they have learnt another way of building cars as we�re doing only 2,000 to 5,000 annually,� he said.
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