46 new jobs created at baby bottle firm Philips Avent as demand soars worldwide

The company, which started as a family business in 1936 manufacturing hot water bottles, was acquired by Philips in 2006 and it now sells more than 30 million bottles and 27 million soothers every year.

In June 2012, millions of pounds were invested in equipment to enable the plant in Lower Road, Glemsford, to manufacture a revolutionary new baby bottle.

But later that year, the company announced it would have to make cuts to its 450-strong workforce as part of a new organisational structure.

There are currently 430 permanent and 100 temporary staff at the site.

And now the company has just announced that it is looking to recruit 46 new members of staff.

According to Harri Bungay, who is leading the recruitment drive, they are keen to attract as many local people as possible into a variety of different roles, ranging from entry level operators to senior engineers.

She said: “This recruitment drive has been driven by demand – the volumes in our forecast have been really favourable and hence the need for extra employees.

“We want to get the message out to local people that we would like to receive their applications and hopefully provide some employment to the local area.”

The majority of employees at the plant have worked there for between 25 and 40 years and more than a third of the Glemsford workforce is women.

Ms Bungay continued: “We have The Philips University, which promotes training for all of our staff, so our employees have an opportunity to develop within the business.

“We also have entry level starters that begin their career with us and work alongside our more seasoned employees.

“At Avent we are making a positive contribution to mums and babies in the first weeks and months of their lives together.

“We have a very real responsibility to create safe products that assist new parents and it’s very important to us to have people working at Avent who share that same vision.”