£3 million investment will create 35 jobs at Welshpool firm
Thirty-five new jobs will be created as part of a £3 million investment into a family-run business in Mid Wales.
Welshpool-based Newmor Group, which has a workforce of 195, manufactures commercial wallcoverings and prefinished fit-out products.
The company has purchased the 87,000 sq ft Unit 4 on the town's Buttington Cross Enterprise Park, where it plans to centralise the production of its Morland division.
Morland produces fit-out products for a range of industries, with Morland Profiles and Prefit based in Welshpool and Morland Panels located in Llanfyllin. The group's wallcovering operations, Newmor and Newmor UK, will remain at Henfaes Lane, Welshpool.
The Morland Panels factory will close with the machinery and 28 staff relocating to Unit 4 on Buttington Cross Enterprise Park, where it will merge with sister company Morland Profiles, currently based at Unit 10 on the same estate, and the moulding operation based in Henfaes Lane, Welshpool.
The first phase of the move from Llanfyllin is scheduled to begin in June.
"The investment demonstrates the company's long-term commitment to Welshpool and the surrounding area," said James Morris, joint managing director of Newmor Group.
"We believe the new factory will be an important springboard for the business for the next decade at least, as we aim to strengthen our position in traditional markets whilst developing opportunities for our products in new sectors."
Mr Morris said his grandfather, John Morris, an engineer who was based near Shrewsbury during the Second World War, chose to establish the company in Mid Wales in 1967 because the area was renowned for having a hard-working workforce.
"I think Welshpool is an excellent location for the business, as it has good road links to the north and south of the country," he added.
"We have a very loyal and stable workforce in Welshpool and Llanfyllin, which is demonstrated by the fact that 37 employees have been with the company for 21 years or longer and we have fathers and sons working here."
The news has been welcomed by Montgomeryshire AM Russell George, who said: "This is welcome news for Welshpool and the Montgomeryshire economy as a whole.
"It is a significant development and I sincerely hope that the potential for additional job creation is met over the forthcoming years."
