APW ELECTRONICS CREATES 200 NEW JOBS IN MAJOR CHANDLERS FORD EXPANSION

Released 18 December 2000

The APW Electronics factory in Chandlers Ford is at the forefront of the Third Generation G3 mobile communications revolution.  More than $10 million dollars is being invested in a new 45000 sq. ft. extension at the rear of the existing 120000 sq. ft. factory, purely to manufacture and assemble the radio base stations that will be required by the network operators in huge numbers to create the new network infrastructure.  The construction phase is now finished and the fitting out is well underway; the new extension will come into operation in January 2001.

Already one of the largest employers in the Southampton area, this factory expansion is extremely good news for the local community.  This development has created more than 200 permanent jobs.  Vacancies exist at various levels for skilled machine operators, planning engineers, production engineers, manufacturing staff and support professionals at all levels.

Career prospects within APW are excellent.  APW has more than 40 manufacturing plants throughout the world; the Southampton facilities at Chandlers Ford, Hedge End, Eastleigh and Totton are centres of excellence for different aspects of APW's business.  Chandlers Ford, as well as being a major manufacturing centre for telecoms customers, also houses the European New Product Introduction Centre, a multi-disciplinary team of more than 50 engineers serving APW's global customers.  The Hedge End facility is one of the world's leading manufacturers of backplanes, high density interconnection devices vital to the operation of many electronic systems, while APW New Forest specialises in outdoor enclosures for the telecoms industry.  

APW will be holding an opening evening for the public to view this exciting new facility in January 2001.

*** Ends: 276 words ***

Notes to Editors.

To download a text file of this information and a 300dpi CMYK JPG, go to www.parkfield.co.uk

For further information:

APW Electronics contact:	
Stephen Goddard
APW Electronics
tel: + 44 (0)23 8026 6300
fax:+ 44 (0)23 8025 3012
steve.goddard@apw.com
www.apw1.com

Agency contact:		
Nigel May	
Parkfield
Parkfield House, Damerham, Hants, SP6 3HQ
tel:	+ 44 (0)1725 518321
fax:	+ 44 (0)1725 518378
Nigel_May@parkfield.co.uk
www.parkfield.co.uk
	
APW Electronics Limited (formerly VERO Electronics) is part of the $2bn APW Corporation.  It has facilities in France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the UK and the USA, as well as a world-wide network of distributors and sales offices.
The company designs, manufactures and markets of a comprehensive range of floor-standing and wall-mounted enclosures, thermal management and cable control products for the worldwide enclosure marketplace.