The Welsh Government’s relationship with Aston Martin has been further strengthened today following the sale of the St Athan site to the British luxury carmaker.
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
The property exchange has been welcomed by First Minister Carwyn Jones and Aston Martin President and CEO Andy Palmer. It paves the way for the start of work to on phase 1 of Aston Martin’s new manufacturing facility at St Athan.
Earlier this year, Aston Martin announced it had selected St Athan from 20 potential global locations it had been considering for its second manufacturing facility as part of a £200 million investment in new products and facilities.
The announcement was followed by an Aston Martin recruitment drive to identify up to 750 new Aston Martin employees to work at the new facility. A number of these employees have already started their training and are helping to build the new DB11 at Aston Martin’s Gaydon Headquarters. Aston Martin plan to begin SUV production in Wales in 2020.
First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones said:
“We are delighted that Aston Martin has chosen to locate its new manufacturing facility here in Wales and that the land sale is now complete.
“Aston Martin’s move here is ;fantastic news for the Vale of Glamorgan and surrounding areas, and will provide a real boost to the local economy, resulting in thousands of high quality jobs both within Aston Martin and the wider supply chain.
“The move really is a coup for Wales and a huge vote of confidence in the support offered to businesses by the Welsh Government.”
Aston Martin President and CEO Andy Palmer commented:
“The exchanging of this contract, giving us first access to the St Athan facility, is a milestone in our 103-year history. Work now starts in earnest to turn our plans into reality.
“Since taking the decision to build our first SUV in Wales we have been impressed with the commitment and approach from both the MOD and the Welsh Government in making this project work. We continue to work with the Welsh Government in areas like recruitment to ensure we are able to meet our project timescales.”
Aston Martin has now commenced work on ‘Phase I’ of the St Athan site which includes the creation of the customer and staff reception areas, administration and management offices and the employee restaurant. The contract for these works was awarded to local Welsh firm TRJ Contracting beating off competition from a number of larger national companies.
‘Phase II’ of the work will commence in April 2017 when Aston Martin will gain access to the 3 Ministry of Defence ‘Super Hangars’ that will house the new manufacturing facility.