One of Wales' biggest car component firms has warned that the troubles facing the industry could force it to move abroad.

On the day a special taskforce set up to deal with the effects of the Rover sell-off in Wales met in Bridgend, the managing director of Calsonic's European arm has said that the company is looking at new strategies.

Calsonic employs about 1,000 workers at its Llanelli factory where it makes radiators for the Rover group.

But David Pallas has revealed that the uncertainty over Rover's future and the strong pound may force the company to shift production abroad.

Strong pound

"We're in the situation where we have factories abroad and obviously one of the things we're studying is the investment in the factories outside the UK,"

Dozens of car component jobs in south and west Wales have already been lost this year, with several companies also blaming the strong pound.

But hundreds more could be lost in the wake of the sell-off of Rover by BMW.

The meeting in Bridgend comes as trade union officials representing the Rover workforce fly to Munich in a last ditch effort to persaude BMW not to sell the company to Alchemy.

The prospect of venture capital company Alchemy taking over the giant Rover Longbridge works is one the unions are out to avoid.

Key employer

Alchemy has made it clear it sees no future for mass car production in the Midlands.

The company faces a rival - but belated - bidder in the former of Phoenix, headed by former Rover executive John Towers.

It is estimated that the scaling down of Rover production could cost more than 50,000 British jobs - 1,500 of those with Welsh component suppliers.

The special taskforce - established by the Welsh Assembly - has been set up to minimise the effects on an industry that has become a key employer in Wales.