MANUFACURING company in Cwmbran is creating 75 new jobs after securing a major contract.

Meritor ’s global centre of excellence for air disc brakes in Cwmbran has secured a new contract with Scania, a manufacturer of trucks, buses and engines.

The company - which employs 450 people at its Cwmbran facility - plans to launch its new product range for Scania in October following three years of work designing, developing and testing the bespoke systems that have been developed in-house and will be manufactured in Cwmbran.

Economy Minister Edwina Hart who visited the company recently described it as great news.

The Minister said: “Meritor works in one of our key sectors and is recognised by the Welsh Government as a regionally important company in terms of employment and its on-going investment at its Cwmbran base.

“I am delighted they have won this important contract which will create a significant number of new jobs and reflects the excellent work of the local management team and the skills and flexibility of its workforce.”

Meritor general manager Tony Nicol said they have invested around £25m in the site since 2010.

He said: ”Securing this contract is of major strategic importance to us as we continue to expand our braking business globally.

“We are hiring an additional seventy five employees to service the contract and have already taken a number on board. The remainder will be brought in over the next six months at which time we anticipate employing around 500 people at Cwmbran.”

The Cwmbran facility, which includes a European Shared Services Centre, was designated the company’s worldwide centre of excellence for commercial vehicle braking systems in 2012.

All products manufactured in Cwmbran are exported globally.

Meritor, which is headquartered in Troy, Michigan, USA, is a worldwide braking leader for the commercial and industrial vehicle industry, supplying more than two million brake assemblies per year.