£1.5m expansion to create 50 jobs

A computer impression of Invertek Drives' new offices

A hi-tech engineering company is to create 50 jobs as part of a £1.5m expansion project which will double the size of its headquarters in Powys.

Invertek Drives employs 60 people at its base near Welshpool and another 10 overseas.

The company has been boosted by sales of its drives, which are used to control electric motors.

The firm expects its new facilities to open in October and will take on the new workforce over a three year period.

The new development will enable the company to concentrate more on research and development and training and marketing, said Invertek Drives' operations director Charles Haspel.

He added: "The new facility is not an expansion of manufacturing space.

"Through a combination of process and product improvement we have therefore been able to meet the phenomenal growth in global demand for our products without expanding our existing manufacturing facilities."

He said the new investment would allow the firm to continue to provide "innovation and added value" in a "highly competitive market".

The company's products are sold globally in more than 60 different countries, and it also has offices in Spain, the Czech Republic, China, and the Far East.