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A company that specialises in second-hand aeroplane parts has announced nine redundancies at its headquarters on Bedwas House Industrial Estate.

AerFin employs around 125 people, around 65 of which are based in Bedwas. The rest are based at its site near Gatwick Airport.

In total, 18 employees will be made redundant across the business.

James Bennett, director for sales and marketing at AerFin, said: “Due to the significant downturn in the commercial aviation sector and following a prolonged period of economic uncertainty, we’ve taken the difficult decision, following a consultation period with all individuals affected, to remove 18 employees from the business as part of a restructuring process.

“Our focus will remain on delivering exemplary customer service and improving efficiencies across the business in order to position the business strongly for the future.

“Despite the challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, we do expect a significant rebound through 2021 and in to 2022.”

Caerphilly Observer understands the employees who have been affected by these redundancies have been informed.

Last year, AerFin was bought out by Danish equity firm CataCap, in a deal which saw it become the majority shareholder in the company.

The company was founded in Cardiff in 2010 and moved to Bedwas in 2014, with the move part-financed by Welsh Government.

In 2018, AerFin was named as the fastest growing aerospace and defence company in Europe by the Financial Times’ FT1000 in 2018 – and the 23rd fastest growing company across all sectors in Europe.

But during the coronavirus pandemic, the aviation industry has been hit hard.

GE Aviation Wales, which manufactures engines for plane makers Boeing and Airbus, announced 369 redundancies at its site in Nantgarw earlier this year.