Plant expansion creates 110 jobs

Leanne Valeri said her work was not too physically strenuous

A company which makes wool insulation has said it is creating 110 jobs over the next six months and wants more women to apply.

A £70m expansion of Rockwool's Pencoed factory, near Bridgend, has prompted the recruitment drive.

The company said it currently employs "few women" on the factory floor and only one female production operator.

The factory extension will double the capacity of the factory, said Rockwool. It currently employs 440 at the plant.

Skilled positions including production operators and a range of technical, supervisory and managerial jobs will be created by the expansion.

A spokeswoman said demand for the company's stone wool insulation products had "soared" because of increasing demand for sustainable building and manufacturing, and concerns over fire safety.

There's possibly a misconception that working at Rockwool is a man's job Leanne Valeri

The company said it wanted to "dispel the myth" that working in a production environment was more "a man's job".

"Sometimes people expect it to be too dirty or physically strenuous. Nothing could be further from the truth," said Maureen Treharne, senior HR advisor at Rockwool.

Leanne Valeri, Rockwool's only current female operator said her work there had never been too dirty, heavy or beyond her capability.

"There's possibly a misconception that working at Rockwool is a man's job, but I'd like to set the record straight," she said.

The announcement comes days after a nearby cosmetics factory, which employs 600 workers, said it was "fighting for its long-term survival".

Creative Outsourcing Solutions (Cosi) of Maesteg, near Bridgend, has already laid off nearly 250 people in the past month.