Doosan Babcock, whose European headquarters are already based in the town, have earmarked the town for 266 new jobs, with over 100 more being created at other sites across the UK.

The engineering company that manufactures equipment and provides services for, amongst others, the fossil-fuelled and nuclear power industries, has revealed that the vast majority of the 380 positions will be available at the Renfrew site.

The news of the jobs boost is even more welcome in the wake of the recent announcement that Rolls Royce is axing staff numbers by 200 at its Inchinnan site, with 40 of those affected facing compulsory redundancy.

Doosan Babcock, which first established a manufacturing facility in Renfrew in 1891, is investing £4.5m in launching the new Process Engineering centre. That figure has been boosted by an additional £1.5m from Scottish Enterprise through its regional selective assistance (RSA) programme.

The news was welcomed by Renfrewshire North and West MSP Derek Mackay, who told the Gazette: “This is great news for the local and wider economy. I believe this to be another indicator of economic recovery, and a strong vote of confidence in Renfrewshire as a place to invest.

“The Renfrew Westway site continues to be a strong hub of activity and economic growth, from innovation to industrial production.” The centre is the first step in Doosan Babcock’s plans to almost triple the size of its process business over the coming five years.

The jobs in Renfrew are set to be created by 2018 and will provide openings for engineers, and project management and professional services personnel.

The new department will deliver a complete service tailored to companies operating in process industries such as oil and gas, refining, petrochemicals, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

The services provided will range from concept design, construction and hand over of new production facilities to repair, overhaul and the upgrade of existing plants and will be available to customers in the UK before being rolled out internationally.

Doosan Babcock CEO, Andy Hunt said: “The process sector can be a highly complex area to operate in but, thanks to this investment, Doosan Babcock will have the skill set and specialist knowledge to offer customers an integrated engineering and construction service that is unparalleled.”