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Yorkshire firms seal multi-million deals with Korea

Two Yorkshire firms have struck multi-million dollar deals with Korean businesses, following Nick Clegg’s recent trade mission to South Korea.

Weir Walves & Controls, based in Elland, have won a £17.5m contract with KEPCO to manufacture safety and severe service control valves for nuclear reactors, while Huddersfield-based David Brown Gear Systems will supply gearboxes for the world’s largest wind turbines, manufactured by Samsung.

The deal will create hundreds of jobs in Huddersfield, as well as a significant number of supply chain jobs, many of which will be in Yorkshire and UK-based companies.

It follows investment in David Brown from the Regional Growth Fund, headed up by the Deputy Prime Minister.

Mr Clegg had visited the Huddersfield factory in October last year to sign legal contracts that delivered £4.8m of private sector and government funding from the RGF, which will lead to 80 new jobs over the next three to five years.

The Deputy Prime Minister said: “These deals are a fantastic example of the enormous potential for Yorkshire when world-leading British engineering links up with international players.

“Yorkshire businesses like David Brown, Weir Valves & Controls and companies across the UK, have the ambition and appetite to meet this demand and I am determined that the coalition government will do everything it can to support them.”

Keith Cochrane, Chief Executive of The Weir Group said: “Our contract with KEPCO demonstrates the strength and quality of mission critical nuclear equipment from Weir Valves & Controls, as well as its ability effectively to serve important international markets from its Yorkshire base.”

Managing Director for Wind Energy at David Brown, Ian Farquhar, said: “We are delighted that our partnership with Samsung is progressing so quickly.

“We are working together and embracing new technologies in order to differentiate, increase efficiencies and drive down the cost of energy.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .