A Bromsgrove manufacturer has sold a design and technology package to a Bridgend school.
HME Technology, of Saxon Park, a top manufacturer and installer, has won an order to provide £150,000 worth of equipment to the new Gateway to the Valleys secondary school.
The firm won the work as a sub-contractor of building group Leadbitter.
The school is scheduled to open to more than 1,500 pupils in September, with HME Technology aiming for a June completion on its role.
Julian Davis, HME Technology managing director, hailed all those behind the project for the emphasis being placed on design and technology.
He said: “We provide quality but economical packages which enable children to learn technology and manufacturing skills that ultimately are vital for the infrastructure of UK plc. We were very pleased to pick up this work.
“Design technology runs across the spectrum of abilities and I applaud Gateway to the Valleys School for their understanding of why it matters.”
He added: “Schools are being encouraged to build bridges with industry as it is recognised post the banking crisis that manufacturing and engineering must play a greater part in a re-balanced UK economy.
“The sector offers an excellent career path, vital skills and well remunerated employment.”
Founded in 1984, HME Technology products include forges, brazing hearths, furnaces, welding tables, fume extraction systems, kilns, woodworking equipment, wood dust extraction systems, metal finishing and CNC machines. It also supplies fume cupboards and ventilation systems for science departments.
The £34 million, 14,000 sq m Welsh complex on an existing 39 acre site is being constructed on behalf of Bridgend County Borough Council. It will serve the catchment area of the Ogmore and Garw valleys as well as the valley gateway areas of Bridgend county borough. The school will cater for pupils aged 11 to 18 and incorporates a major community facility taking in a café, a multi-agency hub, child care unit and other activities.
