Six new investment projects, which are receiving Welsh Government support, are to create more than 1,100 new, high-quality jobs in Wales.
The announcement from Wales’s First Minister, Carwyn Jones, comes ahead of the UK Investment Summit Wales 2014, held at the Celtic Manor Resort, Newport (20-21 November).
Speaking ahead of the summit, the First Minister said: “Inward investment to Wales is at record levels. These six projects are creating a very significant number of new, high-quality jobs for Wales.
“There’s nothing we can’t do in Wales and that’s what I’ll be telling international investors tomorrow. They won’t just have to take my word for it – today’s announcements are the latest in a steady stream of new and existing investors who continue to choose Wales.”
The new investment projects include the creation of 700 jobs by international business advisory firm Deloitte as it prepares to diversify and expand its business operations Centre of Excellence in the Central Cardiff Enterprise Zone.
London-based Griffin Place Communications (GPC), a new contact centre outsourcer specialising in customer care and lead generation, is set to create more than 300 new jobs in the next 12 months at its new site in Cwmbran.
Raytheon is also re-investing and expanding its Special Mission Aircraft facility at its Broughton site on Deeside Enterprise Zone, which will become the HQ for the Airborne Solutions business.
The c.£1m investment, which is backed by Welsh Government business finance, will create a Centre of Excellence for design and programme management for UK and international customers, as well as R&D activities that will create 50 highly-skilled jobs.
London-based Smartpipe Solutions is also establishing a software development and research centre in Cwmbran in a Welsh-Government supported investment of over £10m that will create 44 highly skilled IT engineering jobs.
Mr Jones said: “Wales has become the first choice for more and more companies. Today’s announcements are further evidence that Wales is a leading location for companies wishing to expand their business. We operate in a global market and there is global competition for these projects. These companies could have been located anywhere in the world and I am happy to say they all chose to come to Wales.”
In addition, SPTS Technologies, an Orbotech (NASDAQ:ORBK) Welsh anchor company, has been awarded a Welsh Government R&D grant towards a three-year research project to develop advanced wafer processing solutions for high growth Advanced Packaging applications in the manufacture of the latest generation of integrated circuits and micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS). The project will create 30 full-time R&D roles at Newport.
The sixth project to receive Welsh Government support is global packaging firm Essentra, a FTSE 250 company, which is opening a new 52,000 sq ft purpose-built packaging manufacturing facility at Imperial Park in Newport, creating more than 20 new jobs.
Mr Jones added: “It is a clear endorsement that Wales can deliver and businesses clearly acknowledge this. We have the skills, the infrastructure, the expertise and the backing of the Welsh Government to support business growth.
“We have supported each of these new investment projects as a business-friendly government that works with industry and proactively encourages and supports inward investment.
“On the eve of the UK Investment Summit Wales 2014 I couldn’t wish for a better advertisement for Welsh skills and success as we promote Wales as the location of choice for investors.”
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