Express & Star Wednesday, October 24th, 2007

A unique multi-million pound Ministry of Defence contract has been awarded to a Tipton firm which is set to expand to cope with the extra work.

Conway Packing Services Ltd is set to double the size of it's operations, building containers and packaging equipment to be used by the Army and Navy. It is the first time the contracts have both gone to the same company. The deal is worth between £5m and £10m, and the announcement is a big boost to the area, with new jobs on the way.·

Equipment packages filled with spare parts will be delivered to Soldiers and Seamen throughout the world, including those in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Directors John Morrall and David Conway said that while certain employment regulations needed to be taken into account they expected to take on around 20 extra members of staff. Mr Conway said: "This is very good news for the area. We originally had the intention of taking on the contracts for the Army, Navy and Air Force, but British Aerospace has kept the RAF contract. "However, we are delighted to have picked up the other two, and to be the first company to do so."

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Roles

Conway will be taking on workers in a variety of roles, including Welders, Case Makers and Packers in time for the new contract, which begins in the new year. 

The containers will contain army spares, from gear boxes to engines, provided by companies including Land Rover, Rolls Royce and British Aerospace. 

The largest piece of equipement Conway workers have packaged since the company was set up in 1991 was a 300 - tonne generator, with the smallest containing tiny parts such as relays or nuts and bolts.

Mr Morrall stresses the company was not just about packing boxes. He said: "Some of these boxes could end up being dropped out of aeroplanes, so it is vital that our work is of the highest standards."

By David Banner