A MEDICAL device manufacturer has launched a major expansion programme after cracking the lucrative US market.

Lombard Medical Technologies is taking another 10,000 sq ft facility at Trident Park, Didcot, on top of its existing 20,000 sq ft building and has already added seven more manufacturing staff to its 65-strong workforce.

A further nine jobs will be created with the closure of its manufacturing business at Prestwick, in the west of Scotland, as it looks to bring all its operations under one roof.

And the number involved in manufacturing the firm’s Aorfix abdominal stent device is set to double in the next year following approval of the device by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Human resources director Kate Forster said: “We are really proud of the business and want people to be involved in our success. It is a life-saving product and very satisfying to work on.”

The expansion looks likely to continue, with Aorfix set to receive regulatory approval in Japan early next year.

About £300,000 is being spent on the Didcot facilities, including construction of a new “clean room”, involving a special dust-free environment for manufacturing medical devices.

Chief financial officer Ian Ardill added: “We are looking for people with the capacity to learn what we do.

“This area has a background in medical device manufacturing and we believe it is a good place to be with a lot of specialised people here.”