JAPANESE car company Nissan is continuing to prepare its Wearside operation for production of the next generation Primera.
The Sunderland plant has extended its press shop to make way for the installation of a £1.5m, 2,100-tonne press for the new model.
A team of engineers, led by Eric Fenwick, visited Tokyo to purchase the press from manufacturer Kojima.
Japanese engineers then flew to Sunderland to oversee the installation of the press, which was lifted by hydraulic jacks on to a concrete plinth built into a pit in the press shop floor.
Mr Fenwick said: "It was a big operation, but I'm pleased to say that everything went smoothly.
"The installation of the press takes us a step closer to being ready for the start of production of the new Primera next month."
Nissan is investing more than £215m in the Sunderland plant to prepare it for the arrival of the new model.
The current Primera has been built on Wearside since 1990 when it replaced the Bluebird. More than one million Primera's have rolled off the production line in the past decade.
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