THE new Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology has visited a high-tech Wiltshire company that is a global leader in its field.
Chippenham MP Michelle Donelan paid an hour-long visit to AB Dynamics Ltd in Bradford on Avon on Friday to see its high-technology manufacturing and vehicle test simulation equipment.
Afterwards she said: “It is absolutely fantastic to be here as the local MP and as Secretary of State for the new technology sector.
“This is a business that has quadrupled in the last five years and is a key local employer that is going from strength to strength.
“It is at the cutting edge of many different technologies leading the world not just the UK. It shows the beating heart of innovation here in Wiltshire.
“I have always said throughout my time as an MP that Wiltshire is a hub of engineering, design and technology and AB Dynamics really shows that is the case. It is one of those fantastic examples of what we can achieve here locally.
“People can live and work within Wiltshire in high-end jobs that are well-paid and right on their doorstep. The diversity of work that is happening here and the level of innovation is world-leading.
“They are the only ones in the UK to have that level and that development so it really is a hub of innovation and technology.
“It shows the Government’s focus on innovation and technology isn’t just going to help other areas, actually it is going to help us here in Wiltshire and it is going to help in the creation of even more jobs for local people.”
AB Dynamics Ltd is part of AB Dynamics plc, which employs just under 500 people in Bradford on Avon, Hampshire and Norfolk, as well as in Germany, Japan and the USA.
Founded in 1982 by Anthony Best as a vehicle engineering consultancy, it has grown steadily to become a world supplier of automotive test systems for everything from scooters, motorcycles, cars, vans and lorries to huge dumper trucks used in the quarrying and mining industries.
Its clients include the top 25 global vehicle manufacturers, all seven Euro NCAP laboratories and numerous government test authorities worldwide.
Its focus is on manufacturing high-tech vehicle test machines each costing up to £3 million, as well as laboratory and simulation facilities for testing vehicle systems.
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