Yorkshire forward!

Two

companies recently announced plans to construct new premises at

’s Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP), securing £12million of investment and creating 78 new jobs in the process.

Castings Technology International (Cti), based in Sheffield, and Cambridge-based TWI have both confirmed their moves to the AMP at Waverley, in Rotherham, the hub for the region’s advanced engineering and metals cluster of companies.

TWI is to create a new £2.5million research and development base on a two acre site that will create 30 jobs. The building, which should be complete by September 2005, will reportedly house some of the most advanced joining equipment in the world, including the world’s biggest friction stir welding machine, produced in Halifax, a 7kW fibre laser and a Direct Metal Deposition unit.

Cti will create a new headquarters and research centre on a five acre site, with work due to start in May and be completed by December 2005. The £9.5m project will create 48 new jobs when fully developed and house Cti’s design and rapid prototyping capability, as well as titanium melting and casting and machining facilities.

“This investment underpins our plans for significant growth in the region,” commented Dr Mike Ashton, Cti’s Chief Executive. “It will allow us to focus on technologies used in the aerospace, defence, high performance automotive and medical devices industries.”

The AMP is a joint venture between Yorkshire Forward and landowner UK COAL to provide a world-class base for companies in advanced manufacturing, an area of industry with the potential for high growth in the future.

The announcement from Cti and TWI comes weeks after Yorkshire Forward revealed plans to build a £9.7million Innovation and Technology Centre to act as a creative centre for the AMP.