FORTY-EIGHT skilled jobs are being created in Blaenavon by specialist engineering group Doncasters.

Powered by a regional selective assistance grant from the Assembly (which a spokesperson declined to quantify) plus support from the Welsh Development Agency, the firm is launching a two-phase programme of redevelopment at its plant.

Buildings will be upgraded to provide additional manufacturing capacity and work will be transferred from other group operations across Europe. Doncasters supplies precision components to the aerospace, power generation, automotive, medical and petrochemical industries.

The group's speciality is said to be working with alloys and metals that are traditionally difficult to form. A second stage of the programme is being planned and is expected to create additional jobs.

Economic development minister Andrew Davies said: "Doncasters Group's decision to expand its operation at Blaenavon is a great tribute to the skills and quality of the local workforce.

"The aerospace and automotive sectors are playing an increasingly important role in the Welsh economy and we need specialist, high-tech support industries like Doncasters, to ensure they continue to compete on a global scale."

Doncasters group chief executive Eric Lewis said: "We have chosen Blaenavon as a key area because it offers a locally-trained, highly-skilled workforce, a competitive cost base and proven manufacturing capability."