A LUCRATIVE deal with Peugeot won by Knaresborough-based Treves UK has resulted in a £750,000 investment in high tech carpet-making equipment - and the creation of 12 new production line jobs.

The automotive interiors manufacturer which produces seat components such as head and armrests, has won a contract from the Coventry-based car manufacturers worth more than £1 million per year for the next four years to produce interior carpets for the Peugeot 206.

The new intake brings the number on the payroll to 162 - a growth of 100 per cent over the past two years.

Dr Chris Webborn, Treves UK managing director, said: "The investment is part of an on-going technology transfer programme in collaboration with our head officer, Treves SA, Paris, to broaden the range of products on offer to UK customers."

He said he had the space at his site in Farnham Lane as well as the technology to transfer new products and processes to the UK.

The space is needed. The new carpet line process occupies 550 square metres. It involves raw material being heated and moulded into shape before passing through a thermo-moulding process which heats and adheres the rubber footwell to the carpet.

A robotic water jet cuts and trims the parts before the final process of sewing into place the plastic strips which secure the edges of the carpet to the vehicle.