Hope for 700 jobs in turbines project

David Brown is working on Government-funded prototype gearboxes for a 10MW offshore wind turbine, which could lead to hundreds of orders.

The wind turbine manufacturer, Clipper, will test the equipment next year and is then expected to start production of hundreds of new turbines for the North Sea.

The chief executive of David Brown, Geoff Charlson, said mass production of gearboxes to meet Clipper's demand would be worth 250m a year and was likely to create up to 700 jobs in Yorkshire.

He is planning to redevelop David Brown's site in Huddersfield so it is "capable of servicing high-volume significant growth opportunities". He said the redevelopment would lead to "significant" investment in plant and machinery and job creation. David Brown, which is famous for its defence work, tractors and as the former owner of Aston Martin, celebrates its 150th anniversary this year.