A Test Valley tool company has created 12 new jobs as part of a £300,000 plan for expansion.

Direct Tool Company Limited (DTC), which is based in Castle Hill Business Park, Flexford Rd, near Kightwood, has announced the new roles alongside a series of initiatives in response to increased demand for its products, signalling significant investment in both personnel and site facilities.

The initiatives include the recent opening of its expanded warehouse, which now spans 22,000 square feet, allowing for the continued satisfaction of its 'next day' delivery promise for its Automotive, Marine and Composite customers, as well as providing space for thousands of new products.

A significant proportion of the new warehouse space will also be given over to product lines which are exclusively available from DTC, namely BAXT, which supplies a wide range of refinishing products to

the automotive and marine sectors, and Aeronix Technologies, suppliers of tools and consumables for the emerging composite manufacturing sector.

Seven new roles have already been created across sales, customer services, marketing and commercial development as part of the companies' growth, with plans to add a further five in the pipeline for the coming year.

The business has also improved its digital facilities, too, launching its new website just last week.

The site has undergone a "comprehensive redesign", making it easier for customers to quickly locate products as well as view a wide range of ever-changing offers and deals,

spanning all their market sectors.

Tim Wakeford, managing director at DTC, said: “This is an exciting time for us, our rapid growth has presented some significant challenges that we have been working hard to overcome. Our new warehouse space means we can offer the widest range of products in our 30 year history and our new website means customer can access them faster than ever before. The new roles and departments we are creating are all focused on upholding our core aim, to offer the very best products backed by market leading levels of service and support.”