Deal set to secure jobs
A Hednesford business has signed a deal with the company behind London's fleet of traditional black cabs which bosses say will help safeguard jobs in the town.
ATP Electronic developments, based in Victoria Street, has 115 staff. Bosses there hope this latest deal will help secure the company for the long term.
The business specialises in technical support for automatic gearboxes and the electronic components which make them work in modern day cars.
In October 2006 London Taxi International (LTI) unveiled its fourth generation of London's recognisable black cabs which have an automatic transmission made by Daimler Chrysler.
ATP, which was started in 1969, is already contracted to supply remanufactured transmissions to Europe for Daimler Chrysler and have been asked to offer LTI the technical support for the units.
A team of eight engineers from London, including Colin Auwkit, visited Hednesford yesterday and on Tuesday to undergo training by ATP staff who showed them how to diagnose problems and took the engineers out on road testing.
Over the next four to five years LTI aims to replace all of London's black cabs with the next TX4 models which means long-term business for ATP.
Kevin Haynes, contract manager for the business said: "The industry is becoming increasingly competitive especially in cheaper Eastern European countries like Hungary and Poland.
"But we are keeping ahead of that because of our technical expertise and ability."
