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2 minute read

GS Yuasa to create over 100 new jobs in Wales

Global battery manufacturer GS Yuasa is creating 105 new jobs and safeguarding a further 360 positions at its production plant in Ebbw Vale, after securing £2.5m of funding from the Welsh Government’s Economic Futures Fund.

GS Yuasa is one of the world’s leading global manufacturers of valve regulated lead acid (VRLA) and lithium-ion batteries, with applications spanning cars, caravans, security and telecom. The funding will help the company increase production volumes and upgrade processes to improve energy efficiency.

Its Ebbw Vale factory manufactures VRLA standby batteries that are predominantly used in uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems and other industrial markets. During the pandemic, these batteries also supplied power to the NHS Nightingale hospitals and other key medical projects. A new assembly line will be installed to produce new lithium-ion battery modules, with semi-automation of key processes also introduced.

GS Yuasa is to make an investment at its Ebbw Vale facility to increase production volumes, create 105 new jobs and secure a further 360 positions / Picture: GS Yuasa

 

Andrew Taylor, managing director and CEO of GS Yuasa Battery Europe, said: “This considerable investment is great news for the continued development and growth of our industrial battery business across Europe. Our manufacturing facility in Ebbw Vale produces Europe’s market leading range of industrial VRLA batteries with a pedigree of high performance, reliability and quality established over the past 40 years.

“It will help us to safeguard our current workforce of over 360 employees and will also assist us in creating over 100 new local jobs as we expand operations over the next three to five years.

“Our ambitious plans include the installation of new energy efficient production equipment to increase manufacturing capacity, renewable energy sources and the establishment of an assembly and R&D facility for state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery modules. These will all contribute to GS Yuasa’s global policy of reducing carbon emissions and helping to build a more sustainable society.”

Since 1981, GS Yuasa is has been a key employer in Blaenau Gwent, and has been joined by a growing number of other battery related companies, including Envirowales, PMB Battery and Deragallera.

Wales economy minister, Vaughan Gething, added: “Our Economic Futures Fund continues to be crucial in supporting businesses right across Wales and will be key in helping the likes of GS Yuasa thrive post-pandemic. This will be invaluable as the company prepares to meet future challenges and opportunities.

“In what are extremely difficult economic times this funding injection will also provide a real boost to residents and our ambitious but achievable Tech Valleys vision for stimulating growth across the heads of the valleys. Our Tech Valleys programme has research and development, innovation and decarbonisation at its heart, so the cutting-edge work GS Yuasa is doing is a fantastic example of that in practice.

“Today’s announcement also supports the vision of our Economic Resilience and Reconstruction Mission to ensure our economy is more prosperous, fair and green than ever before.”


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