Sheffield electric bus firm in recruitment drive

A Sheffield electric drivetrain company is creating 19 jobs due to clean air laws and new technology.
Apprentice Alex Gorringe at Magtec. Picture Bruce RollinsonApprentice Alex Gorringe at Magtec. Picture Bruce Rollinson
Apprentice Alex Gorringe at Magtec. Picture Bruce Rollinson

Magtec is hiring engineering and specialist staff to support growth from sales of electric systems for new trucks, buses and dustbin lorries and conversion kits for old vehicles.

The firm employs 71 at factories in Sheffield and Rotherham after hiring 22 in the last financial year.

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Now it needs production engineers, a production manager, a service manager, a demand planner, a health and safety manager and software, electronic, electrical and mechanical design engineers.

Marcus Jenkins, founder and managing director, said: “We want ambitious and energetic people to join our fast-growing business and help us make a global impact as a UK pioneer in electric vehicle drive systems.”

The company, which is headquartered on Newhall Road, Attercliffe, designs and makes motors, gearboxes, generators, power controllers, batteries and monitoring systems for electric and hybrid commercial vehicles.

This year it has brought in apprentices from Sheffield City College, engineering graduates recruited via the Sheffield City Region’s Rise programme and teenage work experience placements from local schools.

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Apprentice Alex Gorringe, aged 26, said: “I used to work as a butcher in Grimsby, but I always wanted to do something in engineering and now I am a mechanical assembly apprentice.

“It’s very hands-on at Magtec. I am paired with a senior colleague who is walking me through everything from start to finish. “

Magtec deals include a multi-million pound contract with a Chinese off-road vehicle maker, Indian bus builder Ashoka-Leyland and the conversion of tour buses in York.

In July 2017, London mayor Sadiq Khan said the Ultra-Low Emission Zone for lorries, buses and coaches would apply London-wide from 2020.

HR manager Sinead O’Neill joined in September 2017.

She said: “We have ambitious plans. We have the world knocking on our door and we need to recruit.”