Is this Norfolk's best kept secret?

A quiet industrial estate on the outskirts of a Norfolk town may seem a world away from the production lines of Jaguar, Audi and Subaru.

But, for more than two decades, the Dove Company on the Rash's Green Industrial Estate in Dereham played a key role in the development of some of the world's most famous cars in one of East Anglia's best kept secrets.

According to founder Colin Jones, the firm's premises were once a scene of furious activity, with dozens of skilled employees working on body panels and interiors for cars including the Jaguar XJ220 - at its time the fastest production car in the world - the Subaru Impreza and the Aston Martin DB7.

But in accordance with the demands of the firm's high-profile customers, Dove's role has been kept tightly under wraps.

The company was established in 1978, the year after Mr Jones returned to the UK from 14 years in the US, where he worked in various design roles for carmakers Ford and Chrysler and aircraft firms Lockheed and Boeing, for which he worked on the development of the 747.

Dove's first customer was Lotus, and the firm was initially run from within Lotus's Hethel premises, moving to Rash's Green in 1979.

Working with car designer Peter Stevens, the company quickly became busy making body and interior panels for Lotus, and when Mr Stevens left Lotus his relationship with Dove continued, resulting in more work for brands including Subaru, Jaguar, McLaren and racing car firm Tom Walkinshaw Racing.

Dove later produced interior panels for the Aston Martin DB7, and continued to work with Lotus long after Mr Stevens' departure.

Mr Jones said: “Over the years we worked for pretty much all the large car companies. We were a major player in car design but nobody knew we were here.

Click here to read this entire article