Business leaders have praised the investment of a major industrial employer in newly expanded premises.LTi Metaltech has taken on additional space to boost the size of its headquarters at Milton Park, near Didcot to cope with increased demand for its precision engineering technology.

The company, which produces vessels used by clients such as Eynsham-based Siemens Magnet Technology, has spent £1.5m on the move.

Speaking at the official opening of the new premises, Wantage MP Ed Vaizey said: “It is a tremendous feather in Oxfordshire’s cap to have such a fine example of a British manufacturing success story right here on our doorstep. LTi Metaltech has demonstrated that with the combination of cutting-edge technology, a highly-skilled workforce and significant investment, it is leading the way and winning orders in a very specialist field.”

A launch ceremony was attended by Dr Martin Dare-Edwards, chairman of the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Councillor David Robertson, deputy leader of Oxfordshire County Council, as well as more than 70 key customers and suppliers.

The company is now starting work on a major order for Siemens to produce cryogenic pressure vessels capable of operating at extremely low temperatures for its next generation of magnetic resonance imaging scanners used in hospitals around the world.

The new jobs will take the firm’s total workforce to 124 at the site which has been expanded by 25 per cent to 46,000 sq ft.

Operations director, Phil Lacey said: “This is a very exciting time for us. While investing in the latest high-tech manufacturing equipment, we are also keen to transfer our skills into new applications in the cryogenics field and other areas, such as the nuclear and renewables sectors.”

Mr Lacey said that further investment would be ploughed into the plant over the next 12 months.

Dr Dare-Edwards praised the company for its investment and job creation. He said: “Supporting businesses to innovate and grow is one of Oxfordshire-LEP’s priorities. I am delighted to hear LTi Metaltech is looking ahead to applications of their technologies to further high opportunity business sectors.”