AN ambitious £2 million expansion programme taking two years to complete is planned for one of Pickering's biggest employers.

Now up to 50 jobs are expected to be created by McKechnie Vehicle Components which already employs 325 people to meet its commitments to supply eight million wheel trims a year to the European sector, plus a range of encapsulated glass and other plastic components for the automotive industry.

McKechnie's project engineering manager Jamie Evans said: "The company is going from strength to strength and we are all delighted with this success.

"We are undergoing a reorganisation which will grow the company even further.

"We shall introduce a number of new products and our expanded operations will create new jobs.

"It is still early days, and we can't put firm figures on our plans at the moment. But it is fair to say it is a very exciting time for the company and, if all goes well, our expansion should be completed over the next couple of years."

A spokesman for the company said that the nature of the new products cannot be revealed for the moment "for commercially sensitive reasons", but it is thought they would create between 35 and 50 jobs "and we are hoping it will be the upper figure".

The vacancies would range from office jobs to skilled factory floor labour.

The news of expansion for the company has been welcomed by Jonathan French, of North Yorkshire County Council's economic development centre. He said: "This is a further example of the flourishing industry sector which exists in the county."

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