Workers return to jobs with Lister (From Gazette Series)

Workers return to jobs with Lister

POSITIVE news is emerging from a Dursley company this week following a year of uncertainty.

It has been revealed that former employees of Lister Petter Ltd have been returning to jobs at the factory. Many of those who are re-applying for jobs are engineers.

Chairman of Lister Petter Bryan Draper confirmed that workers who had left were beginning to come back.

He said: "These were people who left the company for whatever reason and they have indicated that they would like to come back here.

"We are beginning to recruit people who have got experience in the industry and who are now keen on returning."

The company, which makes diesel engines, was placed into administration in June last year, after backers decided against extending their support.

In March it was announced that there was a £9 million deficit in the company's £20 million pension fund, with more than 500 employees being warned that their pensions could be cut by more than 80 per cent.

Following this, Deutz UK, the British arm of the German engine manufacturer, acquired the X-series engines and a British-led consortium backed by IIH, an engineering investment fund, acquired the remaining part of the Lister Petter UK business.

It has also been confirmed that the Dursley site will become the global headquarters of the company's engineering group.

Mr Draper added: "We are centralising our engineering group and we decided to move it to Dursley. It is a part of our intention of company growth. In effect it will mean that we will be running a £70 million engineering company from the site.

"A number of people will be moving from our Midland office to work down here." The company employs 226 people in Dursley and 450 world-wide.

Robert Ashton Lister founded RA Lister in 1867, with the diesel engine rolling off the production line in Dursley in 1929.

RA Lister and Petter Ltd merged in 1986 to form Lister Petter Ltd, at one time employing 4,000 people.