Welsh Government funding has helped secure cutting edge automated machinery for Bridgend-based TBD Ltd, securing 20 jobs, improving efficiency and providing new growth opportunities, Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething, has announced.
TBD (Owen Holland) Ltd is a Welsh business founded in 2003 and based in Bridgend. It has become one of the UK's leading suppliers of Ground Support Equipment (GSE) and specialist access solutions, including Specialist Airside vehicles, passenger and crew boarding steps, a wide variety of maintenance access steps for all aircraft types.
The £183,267 in funding from the Welsh Government will safeguard those 20 jobs and lead to the creation of 10 highly skilled jobs in the manufacturing and engineering departments.
The company has a blue chip global customer base, with clients including major international airlines and courier companies worldwide.
Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething said:
The Welsh Government is determined to help create high-quality jobs across Wales. I’m pleased we’re able to make this investment in TBD (Owen Holland) Ltd, which will help secure 20 jobs and create 10 highly skilled jobs in Bridgend.
Automation, artificial intelligence and other forms of digitalisation are already transforming industries and individual firms, breaking down the traditional boundaries between different sectors of the economy.
In the fourth industrial age, work processes are evolving faster than they ever have before. More and more businesses and public bodies in Wales are delivering services and utilising new digital technologies in ways that are having a huge impact on the traditional divisions of industry.
“The Welsh Government will continue to do all it can to make sure Welsh businesses are able to keep pace with those technologies, creating more high skilled jobs and, importantly, keeping those jobs in Wales.
Steve Meredith, TBD’s CEO said:
Thanks to this valuable support of Welsh Government, The Directors of TBD are delighted to now be able to move ahead with the modernisation and automation of its manufacturing processes. The investment will underpin the company's continued core strategy of manufacturing all its products in South Wales, many of which are destined for export worldwide.