Alstom will create 125 new jobs in £200m deal

Alstom's Staffordshire Engineering Centre of Excellence has won a £200million contract which the firm says will create 125 new jobs.

It was awarded the contract from the Swedish state-owned utility company Svenska Kraftnät.

The firm, based in Lichfield Road, Stafford, will design and manufacture High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) equipment for the 1440-megawatt South-West HVDC Link Project.

This new infrastructure will improve the reliability of Sweden's power network.

Councillor Mike Heenan, leader of Stafford Borough Council, described the news as a "New Year's gift."

He said: "I am delighted – anything which creates jobs needs to be welcomed."

Kevin Marriott, commercial vice-president for North West Europe, who is based in Stafford, said: "Alstom's Staffordshire Engineering Centre of Excellence is working on a series of exciting UK and international HVDC projects in the electricity transmission sector, including the Cross Channel Interconnector between England and France, and HVDC schemes in South Korea and Brazil.

"It all comes down to the engineering skills we have in Stafford."

"This contract award will create new jobs and secure existing ones for the future," he added.