One of Newtown's largest employers has created 44 new jobs after bringing one of its main production lines back to the town.

Control Techniques' Commander general purpose drives will now be produced entirely at its factory in Newtown after previously being manufactured abroad.

Until recently the production was outsourced to Asia but the Nidec brand has brought everything back in house, which has resulted in 44 new jobs being created locally.

Martyn Cray, VP of operations at Control Techniques, said: “By moving production of our Commander product back to the UK we have demonstrated our confidence in Wales as a competitive place to do business.

“Completing the project during 2020 meant working through extremely challenging circumstances, but we were not prepared to let the pandemic hold us back. The result is a significant boost in productivity and capacity, along with the added benefit of being able to create new employment opportunities here in mid Wales.”

Anthony Pickering, President of Control Techniques, added: “Bringing production of Commander back where it belongs is hugely important for us, both commercially and symbolically. ‘Country of origin’ still plays a big part in a customer’s buying decision and knowing the product has been designed and manufactured in the UK counts for a great deal.

“The team deserves congratulations for the work done to make this happen. Moving production from overseas is a huge undertaking, but to have completed the work while navigating through the extra challenges presented during Covid deserves immense credit.”