German manufacturing group Guhring has officially opened its new UK headquarters in Birmingham following a £12 million investment which has created 50 new jobs.
Guhring is a specialist manufacturer of cutting tools and its new base on the Advanced Manufacturing Hub in Aston covers 60,000 sq ft and has safeguarded a further 75 jobs.
The company, which has relocated from Castle Bromwich, counts car makers such as BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and Ford among its roster of clients alongside aviation firms Airbus and BAE Systems.
Guhring said it wanted to double in size within the firm's first five years at its new home.
Start searching for your new career today
The official opening comes just weeks after staff were forced to evacuate the plant and decamp to a nearby hotel when an unexploded Second World War bomb was discovered by construction contractors working on neighbouring land.
Managing director Mike Dinsdale said: "The UK was Guhring's first location to create a subsidiary outside of Germany.
"Now the group has in excess of 70 similar production and service operations throughout the world.
"Creating a new facility in Birmingham is a major step towards meeting the company's strategic focus to strengthen our global presence.
"Guhring's new UK headquarters will allow the company to further expand both its manufacturing, regrinding and R&D offering and serve our global client-base.
"Birmingham's engineering and manufacturing capabilities are world-class and locating in the Advanced Manufacturing Hub will ensure we can easily access local supply chain networks, a wide pool of skilled engineers and easily connect with target markets in the UK and internationally."
Birmingham City Council leader Coun John Clancy added: "Birmingham's Advanced Manufacturing Hub is one of the city's many economic zones, designed to capitalise on the region's high value-adding sectors and drive inward investment that creates inclusive economic growth and jobs for all.
"With Greater Birmingham outperforming every UK region in attracting foreign investors, it is clear our strategy is working.
"Not only is Guhring's investment testament to this, it highlights the strength of the region's industrial legacy, the strength of the region's talented workforce and the potential that exists in the region for growing companies with a bold, global vision".
Guhring is the second foreign direct investment project to join the hub after HydraForce, a US manufacturer of hydraulics, opened a new 120,000 sq ft factory there in 2015.
