An investment of more than £1 million over the past 12 months has helped Stoke on Trent car parts manufacturer Klarius Products Ltd (www.klarius.eu) to increase its UK manufacturing capacity for automotive OEM and after-market emission control products — including exhausts, CATs and DPFs.

Since 2017, the business has invested heavily in new machinery, including a new VPL pipe-welding machine. It has also launched a recruitment drive to boost its 300-strong workforce by creating 40 new jobs, after winning a number of UK and overseas supply contracts.

Paul Hannah, business development director, said: “Demand is being driven by both the UK market and export growth. The after-market is changing rapidly' while quality is still very important, once the required standards and certifications have been met, the focus is all on range and availability.

“Garages can now access all the products they need in a matter of hours.

“To play our part in the supply chain as effectively as possible, we have invested in each aspect of the product manufacturing life-cycle — starting with our R&D department, which has moved into purpose-built design offices and engineering facilities.

“To boost sustainability and increase flexibility, we manufacture and overhaul our own machine tools via group company KMT, plus we operate our own logistics operation via the AutoLogistiks brand.”