One of the North’s fastest growing mechanical engineering and electrical firms has launched a new division based at Grimsby.

Intelect Engineering has occupied an 8,000 sq. ft. former BT workshop and office complex on the South Humberside Industrial Estate and in so doing has already created 20 new jobs with more to follow in the next few months.

The expansion into the Humber region by the parent group, Middlesbrough-based Intelect UK, has been backed by an investment of around £1m and will be welcomed as a rare piece of good news for the South Bank economy.

The group is in the process of completing a £4m-plus five-year expansion programme at its Riverside Park, Middlesbrough, headquarters, where the workforce has grown quickly in recent years to its current total of more than 100.

A recent recruitment campaign attracted almost 500 applications, mostly from people working in the engineering sector in North East Lincolnshire.

Director Phill Bodsworth, self-confessed “Grimsby through and through”, said: “Intelect is one of the most progressive companies in the electrical and mechanical engineering sector and it sees the Humber region, especially the South Bank, as an area of opportunity.

“Much of our work will be concentrated on serving the food processing and manufacturing industry, both locally and further afield, and with that in mind we have hand-picked a number of applicants with impressive levels of knowledge and experience gained from working in that sector. Some of them have more than 25 years experience in the industry.

“We will also be working with the pharmaceutical and chemical sectors, both very important to the economy of North East Lincolnshire, and we hope that by putting together a team of people who have top quality skills, lots of experience and local knowledge we can provide a valuable service to other local businesses without them having to look outside this region.

“North East Lincolnshire has had its fair share of knocks in recent months but we hope Intelect’s investment and job creation will go some way to reversing this trend. Certainly, we plan to move forward at pace with this new division, creating new jobs as we go. We have already created 20 jobs and we expect this number to double before the end of the year.”