1,000 jobs winging our way

Council leader Cllr Jim McMahon and Paul Naylon (NOV MONO Group Managing Director) at BAe Systems site.

AN internationally recognised firm is relocating to Chadderton’s former BAE site in a major jobs boost for Oldham.

Pump manufacturer NOV Mono has announced a major expansion project at the empty Greengate site after successful talks with Oldham Council that could potentially see up to 1,000 jobs come to the borough.

The firm is moving from its current base at Martin Street, Audenshaw, to the larger site to increase its manufacturing capacity in an investment project worth more than £20 million.

The Chronicle revealed in March how the company, whose roots in the Manchester area go back to 1865, was in talks over the relocation and council chiefs have now confirmed the deal, hailing it as great news for the local economy.

It follows an announcement that one of the world’s biggest gaming machine companies, Global Draw, has signed up for offices and industrial floorspace in a massive expansion in Oldham that will bring 170 jobs.

The firm, the UK operation of New York-based gaming giant Scientific Games Corporation, has hired units at Broadway, Chadderton, after relocating from Ashton following the acquisition of the Barcrest Group.

Greengate was home to BAE System’s famous aircraft manufacturing operation — once the production line of the Lancaster bomber — until it closed in March and has 31,500 square metres of floor space with room for expansion.

The site is privately owned but Oldham Council worked co-operatively to assemble a package to encourage investment and ensure the site remains an industrial hub.

Oldham Council leader Councillor Jim McMahon said: “NOV Mono Pumps needed a local authority with the commitment and vision to deliver quickly — and they came to the right place.
(the full version of this story is in Thursday’s Chronicle)