Eaton reshores manufacturing to UK

Significant investment to create new jobs at Hampshire plant

Hydraulics manufacturer Eaton has announced a £2 million investment programme at its Havant plant, which will create up to 100 additional jobs at the site over the next five years.

Eaton's X20 pumps are used in wheel loaders, agricultural vehicles and road sweepers as well as other mobile and marine applications, and have previously only been manufactured in the US.

The investment will enable the localisation of a regional assembly and test programme, initially for the X20 piston pumps, at its Havant plant. This will reduce the delivery lead time to 4-6 weeks for its product across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Mark Foreman, plant manager, said: “We are expecting to see an upsurge in demand for open circuit piston pumps in the next few years as the manufacturers of original equipment increase production to meet their orders. Normally, this would mean that lead times would increase for products such as the X20 pump but this investment in the Havant plant means we can actually reduce lead time to approximately half that which is industry standard.”

Eaton has approximately 102,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 175 countries, but said its decision to invest in the Havant plant ahead of other locations around the globe was down to its proven track record of localisation with previous products, as well as its quality equipment and high standards of safety and product quality.