Cleveland Bridge UK Ltd is opening a new office in Newport creating 12 jobs.

Located at Langstone Business Park, the office will deliver sales, design, engineering and project management functions and will lead to creation of up to 12 new jobs.

It will also provide a hub for the company’s employees who live in Wales to dedicate their support to projects in Wales and the South West of England.

The company, which is one of the world’s oldest bridge builders and steel structure specialist manufacturers, aims to benefit from South Wales’ skilled workforce and will recruit local people across varied roles including design engineers, sales professionals and project managers.

Cleveland Bridge has experienced an upturn in activity in the south of the UK and Wales, which has contributed to two consecutive profitable years with the company reporting profits for 2016 of £4m, an increase of more than £1.5m on the previous year.

Among these projects was the design, build and installation of a 228-tonne, 50m steel road bridge crossing the Great Western Main Line in Newport.

The project, undertaken for Network Rail, was part of a significant overhead line electrification programme. Fabricated in the North East, it was transported to South Wales by road and assembled prior to installation by Cleveland Bridge engineers in a trackside temporary works compound at Godfrey Road, Newport.

Andrew Morris, head of infrastructure at Cleveland Bridge UK Ltd, said: “South Wales is strategically important for Cleveland Bridge, opening a large office here will enable us to strengthen our Welsh team and provide closer support to the Welsh infrastructure and construction sectors as well as regions such as the South East and South West of England.

“It will also allow us to take advantage of the wealth of skilled people from the area that will help Cleveland Bridge further grow its market share.”