Distribution and logistics business Unipart said it would be able to start supplying replacement parts for Rover drivers cut adrift following the carmaker's collapse. But the company, which employs about 3,000 people across the Midlands, said it would suffer no fall-out from the crash of the Longbridge firm. While it once supplied parts to Rover, the end of the relationship meant it would be relatively unaffected. Group chief executive John Neill said: "As a result of the strategic diversification, Rover's move into administration will have virtually no impact on the group this year. "In the early '90s most of our employees worked on the Rover business - today it is less than a fraction of one per cent and we are confident of deploying them elsewhere in the group." Mr Neill said since the disengagement from Rover there was no direct business between the two firms, although it continued to manufacture fuel and exhaust systems through joint venture companies. He said: "Although the Rover's failure will have some impact on the joint ventures, they represent a very small part of Unipart Group." Unipart said its experience in the automotive aftermarket, national distribution network and understanding of the automotive supply chain meant it would be able to help Rover drivers. It said: "Unipart will be in a position to either supply from stock or harness their network skills to provide a comprehensive range of replacement parts for Rover customers who may feel abandoned as a result of Rover going into administration." The announcement came as Unipart, which is based in Oxford, reported sales of £1.064 billion and a pretax profit of £18 million for the year to December 31. During 2004, Unipart won new warehousing and distribution centre contracts from Boots, Homebase, and Jessops. It also increased its technology client base with a new contract with BSkyB and additional business with Vodafone. In the automotive sector, Unipart won a ten year extension to its Jaguar contract for a full range of global logistics services, and won an extension to the London Taxi International business. Mr Neill said the performance for 2004 marked a turning point in the group's transformation from its origins as solely an automotive parts provider to a third party logistics services and consulting company operating across a range of industry sectors. He said: "Several years ago, we accelerated our strategic diversification that has virtually eliminated our future dependency on Rover. "We adapted the deep expertise that we developed in the automotive sector to reposition Unipart Logistics' services for high quality clients in business sectors that are growing rapidly. "We have brought our company back to the level of profitability that we achieved in the late '90s." | 
