Around 130 new jobs are being created at County Durham car parts maker Gestamp on the back of a raft of new deals.
The Newton Aycliffe based business, which makes chassis components, has invested in new machinery to support four new deals including long-term projects with Nissan, BMW and Jaguar Land Rover, which will support jobs for years to come.
The company said the new projects will lead to the creation of 130 new jobs at its Newton Aycliffe facility, which already employs more than 1,000 people, and will also see it manufacture more than eight million parts over the next nine years.
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Gestamp’s Aycliffe plant director Jonathan Phillips said: “We’re delighted to win these new contracts which involves the introduction of new productions and new facilities within our Aycliffe plant.
"Much of the components from these contracts will be exported all around Europe as well as across the UK, so this is fantastic news for the local economy here in the North East.
“The JLR contract, producing aluminium sub-frames for the Range Rover, will involve heavy, multi-axis machining content using the latest technology including robotic welding.
“The Nissan and BMW projects will involve robotic welding, hydraulic piercing and cold metal transfer welding, and we have invested significantly in equipment and training to be accommodate these new products.
“The automotive sector is at a turning point where the work being done today is helping to shape the cleaner and safer mobility of tomorrow. This is indeed an exciting challenge.”
The new jobs mark a return to normal trading levels at the business, which was last year forced to make redundancies as a result of the pandemic.
The group, which has its headquarters in Madrid, announced in July 2020 that it was carrying out consultations with 59 affected staff members at the Aycliffe Business Park base, following a drop in demand for its products during the coronavirus pandemic.
More recently, however, Gestamp announced investment in its local Tallent Academy, to support and improve the training of its employees. Investment will include research and development capabilities, robot cells, specialist welding bays, tooling facilities, a medical area, physiotherapy suites, counselling rooms and an ‘R&R’ wellbeing zone.
It is focused on providing a world class training and research facility to support Gestamp UK’s operational and strategic objectives.
The original factory in Aycliffe was formed in 1948 by Roy Tallent and manufactured fancy goods before the Colston Family took ownership in 1955 and produced domestic appliances, paraffin heaters, washing machines, cooker hobs, microwaves and gas fire cases.
Gestamp’s Aycliffe site is one of more than 100 across 24 countries, as well as 13 R&D centres and a workforce of more than 40,000 employees worldwide.
