THIRTY jobs have been created with the expansion of a major industrial plant.

LTi Metaltech has taken on extra premises to boost the size of its headquarters at Milton Park, near Didcot, to cope with increased demand for its precision engineering technology.

The company, which produces vessels used by clients such as Eynsham-based Siemens Magnet Technology, has spent £1.5m on the move.

Speaking at the official opening of the newly-expanded premises, Wantage MP Ed Vaizey said: “It’s a tremendous feather in Oxfordshire’s cap to have such a fine example of a British manufacturing success story right here on our doorstep.

“LTi Metaltech has demonstrated that with the combination of cutting edge technology, a highly-skilled workforce and significant investment, it is leading the way and winning orders in a very specialist field.”

The company is now starting work on a major order for Siemens to produce cryogenic pressure vessels capable of operating at extremely low temperatures for its next generation of magnetic resonance imaging scanners used in hospitals around the world. The new jobs will take the workforce to 124 at the site, which has been expanded by 25 per cent to 46,000 sq ft.

Operations director Phil Lacey said: “This is a very exciting time for us.

“While investing in the latest high-tech manufacturing equipment, we are also keen to transfer our skills into new applications in the cryogenics field and other areas, such as the nuclear and renewables sectors.”

He said further investment would be ploughed into the plant over the next 12 months.