Telford car-part manufacturer Ogihara today announced a major cash injection from a company in Thailand but said it was too soon to predict whether the move would safeguard jobs.

Bosses at the Hortonwood-based company, which is the largest independent supplier of automotive press tooling to the world’s car industry, said the new major shareholder in the global business would give “increased financial stability” amid the crisis facing the car industry.

Thai Summit, a manufacturing company based in Thailand with a $1.2 billion turnover, currently manufactures automotive parts, motorcycle parts as well as white goods and industrial parts.

It has become the major shareholder in Ogihara, a company with a $750 million turnover with factories in Japan, Thailand, China, North America and Europe.

Ogihara Telford today said Thai Summit was interested in the company for its specialist die-making skills and capacity, together with its subsidiaries with new markets abroad.

Damian Richmond, general manager at Ogihara Europe sales and projects, said: “We have a new shareholder bringing fresh cash into our business, it gives us time at a critical point for the whole industry. This gives us some buoyancy, we are quite strong and this will re-enforce our presence.”

Mr Richmond said it was too soon to say whether the injection of capital would safeguard jobs at the site, which recently made 45 workers redundant.

“It will depend on how long and how deep the recession is and no-one can predict that,” he added.

The exact details of the deal have not been revealed.

Ogihara said: “Thai Summit and Ogihara have worked together previously in establishing a joint venture for the manufacture of panels in China in June of 2008.

“Ogihara Corporation welcomes the move as it gives it greater emerging market coverage and increased financial stability in a very difficult period for automotive suppliers.”

The company is an international supplier of press tooling, heavy stamping and BIW parts to the automotive industry. It axed 45 jobs from its 179 workforce at the end of last year, in addition to 45 redundancies announced in April.

Louise Alexander, senior manager human resources, said the losses were down to the “extremely tough economic climate in which the company is competing in.”