CHEMICAL company Lucite International has enlisted the support of two more former military personnel as it strengthens its skilled workforce on Teesside.

Former Royal Navy Engineering Technician Matthew Angus (pictured second from left) and Sean Flattley formerly in the Royal Artillery of the British Army (far right) have joined five young people taking part in the Production Technician Apprenticeship programme starting on the next leg of their training at its Cassel site, in Billingham.

All seven will spend the next two years sponsored by the company working alongside the production teams learning how to control and maintain plant.

Matthew and Sean follow in the footsteps of five other former military personnel who successfully ‘passed out’ from a sponsored apprenticeship into permanent jobs with the acrylics manufacturer last year.

Both bring experience of working within a small, close knit team, performing physically demanding tasks in challenging conditions where knowledge of health and safety procedures are paramount.

Matthew said: “We’re delighted to be sponsored by Lucite for this opportunity and we’re looking forward to working with new colleagues in a totally new environment. The technical and interpersonal skills individuals acquire in the forces are very transferrable to other sectors, but particularly into chemical process manufacturing.”

Melanie Jury, Site Director for Lucite International at Cassel, said: “The calibre of the ex-military personnel we’ve taken on so far has been excellent and I’m sure Matthew and Sean will be no different and will be welcomed by our team alongside the other apprentices.”

Lucite International is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Japanese Mitsubishi Rayon Company. Lucite’s UK headquarters is in Southampton.

The company employs about 300 people on Teesside and manufactures a total of around 250,000 tonnes a year of two building block products used in the manufacture of acrylics – methyl methacrylate (MMA) and methacrylic acid (MAA) at its 69-acre Billingham site, Lucite’s largest global production site for MMA manufacture.