A DIVISION of County Durham engineering firm Bonds Foundry has launched a recruitment drive to meet demand in the international oil and gas sectors.

Bonds Precision Castings (BPC) of Alston, Cumbria, is expanding its workforce by 30 per cent with the creation of about 20 full-time, permanent roles, including moulders, fettlers and quality inspectors. A senior operations manager is also being recruited.

BPC makes high-integrity steel castings, like impellers and diffusers, which are pump components and which are used across a wide range of industry sectors.

BPC’s director Andrew Dodd said: “The strong demand reflects the high quality of our products, attributable to our manufacturing process and the skill of our local workforce. We need more highly-committed people to join Bonds as we grow.”

It is the latest success for Bonds which recently secured a £4m contract from the Royal Navy to make and maintain anchors.