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25 new jobs announced as Expert Tooling opens Rainton Bridge plant

Expert Tooling and Automation will today officially open its new multi-million pound plant at Rainton Bridge, Sunderland.

The new building will lead to 25 new jobs created at the industrial automation supplier, half of which have already been created, with the remaining posts expected to be filled in the next 12 months.

The firm also announces it has won a major order from a tier-one supplier to Alfa Romeo to design and manufacture a production assembly facility, to produce parts for the Italian car company.

The 30,000 sq ft new building, which triples Expert’s assembly space, will house the project management, process engineering, design, manufacture and development staff.

Expert Tooling’s group managing director, Angelo Luciano and Sunderland City Council leader Councillor Paul Watson will be present for today’s opening ceremony.

Expert Tooling’s operations director, Dave Bartell, said: “The new building gives us the opportunity to build larger equipment efficiently. It’s a purpose-built factory where we can carry out all the testing and commissioning in one place.

“We couldn’t do the complete assembly line before but the new assembly line is 40 metres long, where we can carry out multiple manual operations and automatic mastic application.

“The company has invested £2.5m in the facility. The group sees a long-term future in Sunderland, because the North East cluster of automotive industries is so strong.”

The company’s development has been supported by Sunderland City Council throughout the seven years it has been open in the city.

Dave Bartell said: “It is working really, really well. We have a good relationship with the City Council and we couldn’t have got to where we are today without its support. It’s been really impressive. “

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