THE merger of two Hampshire-based recruitment agencies has led to the creation of the Matchtech Group.

It is one of the UK's largest recruitment consultancies in the engineering, manufacturing, construction, scientific and IT sectors.

The amalgamation of Matchmaker Personnel and Matchtech Engineer-ing, two of the south's largest recruitment specialists, has formed one of the UK's top 50 recruitment consultants and one of the country's top ten engineering specialists.

The merger also makes the new company one of the most technologically advanced in the sector, with a new online service for clients, customers and candidates, while maintaining the personal service from its 100-plus specialist consultants.

George Materna, chairman of Matchtech, said: "Matchtech will provide total recruitment solutions in our specialist areas under one brand, operating from one large site.

"We have formed the new company from two companies who were already achieving record years prior to the merger.

"Together, we are able to build on that growth and provide a more complete package to clients than has previously been possible.

"Our aim is to provide a better service to existing clients and demonstrate to potential clients that we are uniquely placed to service their needs in technical and IT recruitment."

Matchtech is based at the Solent Business Park and employs more than 100 consultants and 40 support staff in almost 30 divisions, each concentrating on activities within one particular field to bring a depth of specialist knowledge of that industry sector to clients and candidates.