Hydraulics manufacturer Eaton is to invest £2m investment into its Havant facility as part of a move to reshore some of its production and create up to 100 jobs over the next five years.
Lines are being expanded to accommodate the manufacture of the firm’s X20 pumps, which have previously only been manufactured in the US but will now be assembled at the Hampshire site, which employs 180 people.
The investment figure will enable the localisation of a regional assembly and test programme, initially for the X20 piston pumps, which will lead to a reduction in delivery lead times to 4-6 weeks for its product across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Reshoring creates new jobs for Buckinghamshire manufacturer
Reshoring could create up to 200,000 jobs by mid-2020s
Mark Foreman, plant manager at Havant, said: “We are expecting to see an upsurge in demand for open circuit piston pumps in the next few years as the manufacturers of original equipment increase production to meet their orders.
“Normally, this would mean that lead times would increase for products such as the X20 pump but this investment in the Havant plant means we can actually reduce lead time to approximately half that which is industry standard.”
Despite having 102,000 employees and selling across 175 countries globally, Eaton said its decision to invest in its UK plant in Havant ahead of other locations was down to its proven track record of localisation with previous products.
It also cited the quality of existing equipment and high standards of safety and product quality as determining factors.
