International business for Llangennech site

A prestigious international company has selected Llangennech as its business logistics hub bringing new employment to the area.

Cassidian, a division of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) will be using the R & A Properties business park as its new UK storage, logistics and marshalling hub.

R & A Properties took over the former MoD depot last year, following a decision by Carmarthenshire County Council to buy the 37-acre site with the intention of selling it to them, and they plan to invest £1.5million developing it into a business centre.

Nigel Lovering, R&A Properties Partner, said: “We at R&A are delighted to be working with Cassidian to support their UK wide secure storage and warehouse operational needs. They are a very important anchor company in Wales and the fact that they have selected our site at Carmarthen speaks volumes for our world class operation in Llangennech.

“The support of Carmarthenshire County Council and Welsh Government has been one of the key enablers to help develop our business and support the local economy in a very demanding market.”

Cassidian chose the site based on a number of criteria which included R & A’s pedigree, the site infrastructure, capacity for expansion, and Carmarthenshire County Council’s proactivity. It will service its current and future contracts there for a minimum of five years, with a number of jobs being created.

Carmarthenshire County Council Chief Executive Mark James said: “This is extremely good news for Llanelli, in bringing more jobs to the area. It is good to see that the decision we took for the Llangennech site is really paying dividends in terms of further employment for local people.”

Paul Watson, CEO Cassidian UK said: “We are excited to be working with R&A and to have a footprint in Carmathenshire. The support of the County Council has been tremendous and I firmly believe that we will have the foundations for future business relationship. The storage deal itself will allow us to consolidate our activities onto one site and streamline our logistics. Furthermore Cassidian will be able to take advantage of a sustainable energy supply and in doing so enhance our environmental credentials.

“Cassidian seeks to support the activities by local and national government in building strong infrastructure facilities for business in Wales.”

Cassidian is a worldwide leader in global security solutions and systems, providing Lead Systems Integration, products and services to civil and military customers. They include air systems, land, naval and joint systems, intelligence and surveillance, cyber security, secure communications, test systems, services and support solutions. In 2010, Cassidian – with around 28,000 employees – achieved revenues of €5.9billion. Cassidian’s headquarters in the UK is in Newport, South Wales. EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2010, the EADS Group – comprising Airbus, Astrium, Cassidian and Eurocopter – generated revenues of €45.8billion and employed a workforce of more than 121,000.