Hundreds of jobs created through £2.3bn MoD contract
More than 120 jobs are being created at a Stockport engineering company as part of a 10-year deal to build new armoured vehicles for the British Army.
The ARTEC consortium, comprising Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KFW) and Rheinmetall, won the contract from the UK Ministry of Defence to build 500 Boxer Armoured Vehicles for the Army’s Sgtrike Brigades.
A significant portion of the work will take place in Stockport at KMW’s UK subsidiary, WFEL, which confirmed that it plans to recruit more than 120 extra staff.
It said the contract will also lead to “a large number of new jobs created throughout our supply chain”.
The construction programm aims to source more than 60%, by value, of the vehicle content from UK suppliers and these 8×8-wheeled vehicles will be supplied in several different configurations, including an armoured personnel carrier, field ambulance, command vehicle and specialist carrier.
Delivery of the vehicles is expected to start from 2023 and this order marks the return of the UK to a European Defence Programme, having taken part in the Boxer project while in its infancy.
Boxer is now on its way to becoming one of NATO’s standard vehicles.
UK Defence Minister, James Heappey, said: “Investing in the Boxer programme is a prime example of Defence doing more than ever to level-up the UK economy through employment.
“By developing our relationship with WFEL, we are also supporting high-skilled jobs across the UK supply chain.
“This partnership ensures we engage with our people from the very beginning, connecting talented apprentices with the valuable roles Defence has to offer.”
As part of the preparations for this significant contract, WFEL has re-energised its apprenticeship scheme, with the first of its new apprentice recruits recently joining the company to follow the path of Advanced Apprenticeships in Engineering Manufacture and keen to be involved in this 10-year contract.
As well as the ongoing commitment to new apprenticeships, WFEL is also actively recruiting for a substantial number of new roles to be based at its Stockport site, while engaging with both existing and new suppliers in anticipation of its contribution to both the North West economy and the Northern Powerhouse.
WFEL managing director, Ian Anderton, said: “Our substantial involvement in the Boxer programme allows us to further develop our UK supply chain, in turn creating, and protecting, valuable UK engineering jobs and developing new skills for our staff and those of our supply chain partners.
“Working in close partnership with our KMW colleagues, we are both delighted and proud to be part of this transformational project for the British Army, with whom we have worked for many years.”
