30 jobs at risk at Wolverhampton firm
A firm which makes pressure safety devices is set to close its site in the Black Country, putting the jobs of up to 30 staff at risk.
An arm of global fluid engineering group Pentair, is having to move out of its leased premises in Fordhouses, Wolverhampton, because the site owner is shutting the whole site as part of a major reorganisation.
As a result US-owned Pentair is moving out early next year and transferring the operation to its site in Manchester. The news was broken to staff this week.
The company has been affected by the decision of site owners heat exchanger engineers HS Marston Aerospace to leave the site, on Wobaston Road, and transfer its own operations to the factory on Stafford Road operated by its sister company, UTAS Actuation Systems.
Both companies are owned by US engineering giant UTC and the move will see the loss of 60 from HS Marston's 320-strong workforce - their work is being transferred to another UTC factory in Mexicali, on the Mexico/US border.
HS Marston will leave its 200,000 sq ft factory and move into around 95,000 sq ft of the Stafford Road site by the end of next year.
But, as a result it is terminating the lease of Pentair for its facility at the Wobaston Road site.
Pentair is a global business and the site is occupied by its Marston division. The company, which has operated at the site since 1956, is a leading manufacturer of bursting discs and explosion vent panels, pressure safety equipment used in the oil & gas, chemical, and other industries.
Pentair spokeswoman Jennifer Albert said: "The company is committed to maintaining its presence in the UK. Following careful consideration, a proposal has been prepared to transfer the business to an existing site in Manchester.
"Pentair's management has entered into formal consultation with employees at the Marston facility and discussions will be ongoing during this period. Around 30 employees currently work at the Wobaston Road facility."
The move is set to take place over the coming months and be completed by early next year.
The Manchester site, at Worsley, houses Pentair's Safety Systems UK business. It is nearly 80 miles from Wolverhampton but Pentair says some staff will be offered the chance to transfer there.
Pentair, a $7.5 billion group founded in the US, employs around 30,000 people worldwide. Earlier this month it switched its corporate headquarters from Switzerland to Ireland for tax purposes.
