MORE than 100 jobs will be created in Cowley as part of a Unipart contract with national tool hire firm HSS.

The vacancies, mainly engineering and logistics, will be at a new distribution and engineering centre.

Unipart director of corporate affairs Frank Nigriello said: "HSS is a very prestigious customer which will be bringing new capabilities in engineering roles to Cowley.

"The distribution centre is being prepared and things put in place."

Earlier this week, Unipart announced profits up by six per cent to £27.5m for the year ending December 31.

Revenue rose by more than 10 per cent to £868.6m, up from £786.8m in 2014.

In October last year, the firm launched a joint venture with Rolls-Royce.

MetLase, based in Rotherham, uses high-precision, laser-cutting technology and patented assembly and joining systems to produce prototypes rapidly.

Mr Nigriello added: "Rolls-Royce is a world class company and development in MetLase has brought new technological capability to Unipart.

"It has given us the opportunity to gain real competitive edge in our development work in manufacturing and also in terms of what we can offer companies around the world who are anxious to access this technology."

Unipart also increased research and development through The Institute for Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering, a joint venture with Coventry University.

The partnership has developed a new exhaust system for Aston Martin weighing half the previous weight and designed new fuel systems for Ford.

Unipart employs 7,000 people worldwide, including 1,500 at its Cowley headquarters.