Waterford company Keltech is expanding and looking to hire 50 new employees between now and the end of the year.
The company was founded in 1988 by Ray Breen, its chief executive, in his garden shed and now employs around 220 people at its Waterford factory on the IDA Industrial Estate on the Cork road.
Keltech specialises in the supply of integrated metal assemblies, and supplies six of the world’s ten largest original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of construction machinery.
The Waterford-based contract manufacturer is in the process of expanding its premises by 40,000 square feet with the addition of cutting-edge technology and dedicated space for upskilling staff in the latest tools and methodologies.
Business development director Seamus Lawlor told WLR News the company has implemented a ‘growth hacking’ strategy, quadrupling its customer base over the past five years and now they are on a hiring spree:
"So at the minute we have about 220 people here employed, and we have the need for four 50 people to be added to that, between now and Christmas. So we have a range of opportunities across the manufacturing floor from CNC machine operators to weld trainees to experienced welders and then general operators in our paint and final assembly hall."
Expansion
He added that they expect to expand further next year:
"We have a very, very strong sales pipeline. So we would expect kind of around mid-2022, that there will be further opportunities.
"We're looking for experienced and inexperienced people. One thing we're very strong on here is training and development. So we welcome, I suppose, all suitable candidates, enthusiastic individuals both male and female. There's a huge drive on here at the moment to increase our female staff headcounts, especially in the manufacturing area.
"We've basically been expanding over the last 10 years. We're currently building K3, so it's an extension of the plant. So at the moment, the factory is 120,000 square foot, and we're expanding that by 40 thousand square foot. And we'll move into K 3 in December, and we'll be actually in full production in K3 by January."
The company says that in spite of Brexit their customer acquisition numbers over the past 36 months have been the highest in their 30-year history. Keltech has entered several new overseas markets, including Germany, France, Belgium and the US, while also continuing to grow in Ireland and Britain in recent years.
