The Welsh drives-maker Invertek is planning to invest £6.3m in a new innovation centre at its global headquarters in Welshpool, Powys.

The centre will provide state-of-the-art research and development facilities for designing next-generation VSDs. Invertek has acquired land next to its headquarters and manufacturing facility at the Offa’s Dyke Business Park. Design work is already under way in preparation for a pre-planning application later this year, ahead of a full planning application.

Invertek Drives CEO, Shaun Dean, says the investment will create one of the most modern VSD R&D facilities in the world. It “will be a hub for the design of our next-generation technology.

“Work is about to start on an extension to our existing manufacturing facility at the site as part of a £10m investment,” adds Dean, who is also senior vice-president of Sumitomo Heavy Industries and CEO of Sumitomo’s Power Transmission and Controls Group. This investment – announced in December 2021 – includes a new application and training centre, 

The extension will allow the company to increase production of its Optidrive VSDs (variable-speed drives) from 460,000 a year to more than 1.2 million. It will also will lead to the creation of 85 jobs.

Invertek currently employs more than 350 people. The company is currently recruiting staff for a variety of roles, ranging from electrical engineers and production line staff, to graduate placements.

The application centre will showcase Invertek’s products to potential and existing customers, and will also be used for training, sales, marketing, technical and servicing personnel.

“The new innovation centre will be a beacon for the research and development of next-generation VFD technology,” says Invertek’s technical director, Glyn Jones. “Our products not only create efficiencies in motion and pump control systems, but they are also supporting the reduction of harmful CO2 emissions through energy-saving technology that is supporting the efforts to reduce climate change globally. We’re committed to creating technology that will continue to support such needs in today’s society and this is another clear commitment to that.” Invertek Drives, established in 1998, was acquired by Sumitomo Heavy Industries (SHI) for £100m in November 2019 – the same year that it opened a 5,500m2 global manufacturing and distribution facility at its headquarters, capable of producing up to 400,000 drives a year.

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