Mantec

Mantec's products are, in the company's own words, 'designed and engineered specifically for the off-road work that Land Rover Defender vehicles are built for' and have served in private expeditions, military and disaster-relief fleets 'for over 25 years'. The registered company behind the name, Mantec Services UK Limited, was incorporated on 18 December 2001 with Ian and Sandra Gough as directors and its registered office at Unit 3 (later Unit 4), Haunchwood Park Industrial Estate, Galley Common, Nuneaton; Companies House classed it as a manufacturer and wholesaler of motor-vehicle parts and accessories. An earlier trading history under the Mantec name before 2001 is implied by the '25 years' claim but could not be documented.

The firm's signature product is the raised air intake. A steel snorkel for the Defender came first; the two-piece plastic 'Plastic Jobby' was launched in 2007, followed by a three-piece plastic version based on the original steel design and compatible with external roll cages, with fitments for 200Tdi, 300Tdi, Td5 and 2.4/2.2 Puma engines, and a Discovery 3/4 intake later sold through Terrafirma. The other staple is the patented piston-type rear-door spare wheel carrier (OHIM 1149363, GB2503083), which takes the weight of the wheel on the chassis and swings with the door. Mantec also made aluminium fuel tank guards for the Defender 110, the stowage cages and shelf designed for the Land Rover G4 Challenge vehicles, and brackets for the pioneer tool set to the MoD Wolf pattern.

Mantec's Land Rover work extended to the Ministry of Defence. The Wolf swing-away spare wheel carrier conversion for the British Army, supplied by Hobson Industries from 2015 as a kit of more than 7,000 sets for fitting by REME mechanics, used a Mantec wheel carrier as its core; the conversion was later found to prevent standard trailers being towed, and about 6,000 unfitted kits were sold as surplus in 2017.

Mantec Services UK Ltd resolved to wind up on 16 November 2017 and a liquidator was appointed on 4 December; the liquidation ran until the company was dissolved on 16 April 2023. The Goughs, 'registered proprietors of the international MANTEC trademark, EU & UK registered designs and patents', had meanwhile incorporated ISG Accessories Ltd on 23 January 2018 at Eliot Business Park, Nuneaton, to supply Mantec products and parts; it filed dormant accounts for the year to July 2022 and was struck off on 19 September 2023. The mantec.co.uk website, still headed 'ISG Accessories Ltd T/A Mantec', continues to list stockists and sell fitting guides and spares, and retailers such as Paddock Spares carry the intakes in stock, but the company or person now trading under the name could not be established.