A major Maldon employer could move its expanding operations to Wales because it cannot find enough local workers to fill hundreds of new jobs.

Select Window and Door Systems, of Galliford Road, has been offered £10,000 for each person it employs in Wales where unemployment is high and factory floor space cheap, said managing director Jeff Cole.

Trade supplier Select, which provided 200 jobs when it came to Maldon four years ago, wants to expand in the Maldon area by opening a new factory making conservatory roofs.

This would create another 250 jobs within three years, said Mr Cole.

But although sales of Select products are booming, zero unemployment in mid-Essex was making it impossible to recruit workers for existing jobs, let alone 250 new ones, he said.

"We have spent £2.5m on new machines and we have no-one to work them. What a situation to be in," said Mr Cole.

On top of generous relocation fees and grants per local person employed, Wales also provides cash to bring in overseas workers.

But whatever happens, the existing Select factory will stay in Maldon, Mr Cole said.

Maldon and East Chelmsford MP John Whittingdale and Maldon District Council chairman John Archer heard about Select's expansion plans when they visited the factory to launch new automated machinery.

Select distributes its products nationwide, is one of the largest trade manufacturers of PVCU windows and doors in the UK, and the proposed expansion will make it one of the largest employers in mid-Essex.

Published Thursday August 19, 2004

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