New £30m contract for Siemens as Chancellor visits Lincoln

Jobs at Lincoln’s largest employer Siemens have been secured for the long-term after the company won a major new contract on Thursday, February 12.

The global giant, which employs around 1,500 members of staff across its three sites in the city, has won a £30 million contract to deliver gas turbines to a major South American company.

All nine of the core engines for these turbines and six of the full packages will be manufactured in the Siemens plant in Lincoln and supplied to OCENSA, the main oil line pipeline operator responsible for 70% of the crude oil transported in Colombia.

To mark the announcement, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne visited the firm’s base at Teal Park where he also set out the Conservative Party’s six-point Long Term Economic Plan for the Midlands.

The Chancellor said the aim of the long term plan is to make the Midlands an Engine for Growth by investing in skills and transport, and creating 300,000 new jobs locally over the next five years.

By 2030, the plan aims to add an extra £34 billion in real terms to the Midlands economy – an extra £3,000 per person.

George Osborne said: “Lincolnshire is an extremely important part of our Long Term Economic Plan and I wanted to come and see a brilliant local business – great British engineering that’s going to create jobs here and deliver products for the Latin American market.

“Our plan involves backing the core strengths of the ‎local economy here in Lincoln, like advanced manufacturing and engineering. It’s a fantastic example of what we want to see more of – more economic opportunities for this county and more economic opportunities for the Midlands.

“Here in Lincoln we’ve seen a massive fall in unemployment and youth unemployment. That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens by having an economic policy that invests in what’s required to bring jobs to Lincoln, and deliver economic security for Britain as a whole.”

Lincoln MP Karl McCartney added: “It’s great news for Lincoln that Siemens has won the £30 million contract and I’m very happy that George Osborne has been up to see the amazing success story of the company in the city and hear the long-standing history of Lincoln’s manufacturing and engineering sector.

“We want to enable all businesses – ones as big as Siemens and smaller businesses – to grow and thrive in Lincoln. We also want to attract new businesses, but this can only be achieved by having that proper transport infrastructure and broadband infrastructure in place as well as consistent economic growth.”

Councillor Colin Davie, Executive Member for Economic Growth at Lincolnshire County Council, also welcomed the news.

He added: “Over the last few months, I have been impressing upon the Chancellor that Lincolnshire is well-placed to play a key role in driving economic growth in the region.

“We continue to support local businesses, helping them flourish and create new jobs – our role in the Teal Park development being a prime example.

“And we’re investing heavily in new infrastructure, such as roads and superfast broadband, which is helping attract new companies to the county.”

The announcement follows a positive year for the Lincoln base of the company, with work having also just begun on the extension to the Siemens Product Training School, based at the University of Lincoln, with the help of a further £500,000 contribution by Siemens.

Neil Corner, Managing Director, Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery Ltd, said: “We are delighted to have secured this contract and it proves once again that by continuing to invest in our people, facilities and innovation, we have a world-class business here in Lincoln that is able to compete and win in the global market place.”