The automotive sector in Wales has received a major boost with confirmation that Ineos Automotive has chosen Bridgend for its new 4x4 off-road vehicle that could create up to 500 jobs.
With a factory in Portugal providing components, the assembly plant for Ineos will be next to the Ford engine plant, which will close next year with 1,700 job losses, at Brocastle.
As revealed by BusinesLive earlier this week, production is scheduled to start in early in 2021, initially creating 200 jobs, but which longer-term is expected to grow to 500.
The project will also support more jobs in the wider Welsh automotive supply chain, where there are around 150 firms.
Ineos' 4x4 Grenadier special utility vehicle (SUV), inspired by the Land Rover Defender, will be located at a new 250,000 sq ft factory at Brocastle Business Park.
It will have a production capacity of 25,000 vehicles a year, with a mooted price tag of £50,000.
The £600m investment from Ineos Automotive, part of chemical and energy giant Ineos owned by billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has received undisclosed financial backing from the Welsh Government, but with support also from the 海角视频 Government.
Ineos has in turn signed up to the Welsh Government' s economic contract, with support being linked to demonstrating responsible business practices.
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Ineos is acquiring 14 acres of land from the Welsh Government at Brocastle Business Park for the project, where there are longer terms plans to create a new manufacturing cluster.
Alongside Ineos' factory, in phase one there is potential for a further 500,000 sq ft of new industrial, research and office space.
The site extends to more than 100-acre.
Ineos executives said Brexit has been hanging over the project since the start, so they always knew about the uncertainty for the industry of leaving the EU.
“We obviously hope there is a deal, but we are two years away from the start of production so there will be a lot of water under the bridge before then,” said one executive.
“Whatever happens, we are prepared to take it on the chin.”
Ineos chairman Sir Jim said: “We have looked long and hard at possible manufacturing locations for Grenadier across the world with lots of good options to choose from.
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“The decision to build in the 海角视频 is a significant expression of confidence in British manufacturing which has always been at the heart of what Ineos stands for.”
Economy Minister Ken Skates said:“This is a huge vote of confidence in the workforce and economy of Wales at an incredibly challenging time.
“Not only is this good news for Bridgend - and I am sure the first of many exciting announcements for the area - but it also proves that Wales remains an attractive place to invest despite ongoing Brexit uncertainty.
“Our work to support Bridgend in the wake of Ford’s proposals will not stop here and we will continue to do all we can to attract new business opportunities, to support Ford workers and to ensure an exciting future for the town.
"I am delighted to welcome Ineos Automotive to Wales and delighted that they are the latest in a line of prestigious companies to sign up to our economic contract, designed to drive growth and responsible business behaviours in companies.
The health and wellbeing of workers is already an important part of Ineos’ ethos and this is evidenced in the economic contract.
“I look forward to seeing the site develop ready to begin production in 2021.”
Business Editor Sion Barry on the Ineos investment
This investment is welcomed news, for a sector that has seen a string of negative announcements recently, with factory closures at Bridgend (Ford) and Swindon (Honda).
The jobs from Ineos Automotive will not replace the 1,700 that will be lost when Ford ceases production next year at its Bridgend engine plant, but the long-term aim of 500 direct jobs is significant.
The successor to the Land Rover Defender from Ineos is a niche vehicle product, with a mooted £50,000 price tag.
However, the future of mass car production is electric vehicle-based; despite sales currently only making up a tiny percentage of the overall 海角视频 market and a suboptimal network of charging points.
Wales and the 海角视频 is currently anything but pioneers in investment in a new wave of plants, where battery production sits alongside EV output - for vehicles that will also become increasingly driverless.
The site for the Ineos project at Brocastle Business Park, next to the Ford engine plant, could become such a location - putting aside the negative impact of a "no deal" Brexit in terms of tariffs and custom regulation.
It is important that Wales maximises the wider supply chain opportunities from the £600m Ineos project and that the movement of components from Portugal for assembly at Bridgend, exploits what is a great infrastructure asset, that is relatively under-utilised, in the deep water port at Port Talbot.
It could make sense, and it will come down to cost, for Ineos to ship components to Port Talbot, which is only just over 10 miles away from the Brocastle site and well served by road and rail.
And if we are to leave the EU, then serious consideration must be given to granting free port status to Welsh ports. The same status should also apply to Cardiff Airport, which although growing, has relatively small freight traffic levels.
The airport should also be part of Ineos' logistics solution.
It is good to see that Ineos is already in discussions with a number of Welsh-based automotive supply chain firms for the factory.
There is always healthy cynicism is Wales when major job creating investments are announced as to whether they will be realised.
The Ineos project is not a flight of fancy, but a financed £600m scheme ready to go. It was just a matter of location; but of course it will need to be a great product that generates strong global sales.
However, the luxury car TVR project, despite £2.5m in backing from the Welsh Government in equity and loan support, is still in funding raising mode for a planned factory in Ebbw Vale.
Will it happen? Hopefully yes, but production was planned to start this year, at a factory where the required fitout work has yet to commence.
But at St Athan, Aston Martin is ramping up production for its new SUV, at a factory that will also become the centre for its electric vehicles.
The facility, and yes it has received Welsh Government funding, is looking to create up to 1,000 jobs.
The old funding model of providing government financial support for inward investment projects, with a phased release of money as promised jobs are realised, is still valid.
And once here major employers in Wales, like Tata and Airbus, still require some form of support.
Take them out of the Welsh economy and we'll have a major problem, despite growing strengths in sectors such as cyber-security and fintech.
Ultimately though, government support only helps to oil the wheels and is not the determining factor for private sector investment. However, it has to be part of a balancing act that also supports indigenously-owned businesses and the development of a more foundational-based economy.
Employers are increasingly more concerned about availability of a skilled labour force and great infrastructure, from road to digital.
While the disrupter of artificial intelligence and automation, will make many roles redundant, new jobs will also be created.
As the automotive sector shifts, and this will only accelerate, from diesel and petrol to electric, and potentially hydrogen too, Wales has to be in a position to benefit and evolve a sector currently employs around 18,000 and which generates an output of £3bn.
Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns, said: "Ineos' investment will provide a welcome boost to our automotive sector and to this part of Wales, creating important jobs which will contribute to a strengthened economy.
It is also a clear demonstration of confidence in the 海角视频 economy.
“We’ve been working closely with the company to bring this investment to Wales and are supporting the industry via our Industrial Strategy and Automotive Sector Deal, setting out our vision of how government and industry can work together to solve some of the greatest challenges affecting this sector.
“There have been some significant automotive investments to Wales over the last few years, including at Aston Martin in St Athan and together with the Welsh Government we will continue to provide incentives for firms like Ineos to make Wales their home.”
Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom said: “Ineos' investment in Bridgend is a vote of confidence in the area’s highly skilled and talented workforce, and in the strength of our automotive industry.
“It is also further evidence that the 海角视频 is the best place to develop the latest automotive technologies. That is why the 海角视频 Government is investing nearly £1.5bn through our modern Industrial Strategy to ensure our world-leading status is maintained.”
General secretary of the Unite union, Steve Turner, said: "This is welcome news not just for Bridgend and the Welsh economy, but the wider automotive industry.
“I am seeking a meeting with Jim Ratcliffe and the Ineos team behind this venture to discuss the announcement in more detail and the opportunities it creates for both investment and direct jobs at the plant as well as the wider 海角视频 supply chain and logistics operations.
“Unite and its members are the beating heart of the 海角视频’s automotive industry. We play a crucial role in working with major employers, component manufacturers, logistic companies and government at every level to ensure the 海角视频 car industry remains a world leader.
“We trust we will have the opportunity to work with Ineos to ensure its new Bridgend facility goes from strength to strength and is a source for decent, skilled, well paid jobs and apprenticeships for coming generations in the years ahead.”