Further 45 jobs created at Stockport manufacturer

Stockport manufacturer and supplier of military equipment, WFEL, is creating a further 45 jobs to meet continued overseas and domestic demand.

The new roles will support the precision engineering and manufacture of military bridges from WFEL’s Heaton Chapel facility, and which are sold to over 40 armed forces worldwide. The bridges are designed to be quickly deployable to make emergency crossings in remote areas or those affected by flooding or other disasters.

The 45 new roles recently announced are in addition to 120 new positions that have been created to meet part of a £2.3 billion Ministry of Defence contract for new Boxer Armoured Vehicles. Securing the Boxer contract prompted the Stockport manufacturer to construct a second production facility to deliver 500 British Army vehicles.

The new positions will be at all levels of the business, including welder, machinist and fitter roles on the factory floor, through to supervisory and management positions to deliver on its current Dry Support Bridges contracts.

In June 2021, the manufacturer agreed to supply a number of its bridges to the Philippine Army as part of a programme of modernisation for the South-east Asian nation’s military and to improve its disaster relief responses.