SKILLED staff are playing a vital role in the success of a Huddersfield manufacturing firm.

Honley-based precision metalworking company Allsops Ltd has reported business almost back to pre-credit crunch levels with a series of contract wins for clients in the UK and overseas.

Technical director Stephane Lericolais said: “We are getting busier because out customers are getting busier, which is a positive sign for manufacturing.”

And he was also quick to credit the efforts of the firm’s 110-strong workforce as a factor in the firm finding favour with clients..

“Twenty per cent of the staff have been with the company more than 20 years and 5% have at least 30 years’ service,” he said. “We have been able to retain the skilled personnel necessary to successfully bid for contracts.

“All our customers can see that the products are world-class and that is down to the experience of the workforce.”

Allsops Ltd, formed in 1959, provides steel and aluminium components for customers in a wide range of industries, including global names in sectors such as food processing, retailing, electronics, logistics, utilities, defence, transport, pharmaceuticals and waste water treatment.

Major end-users have included Nike, KP, Cadburys, Tesco, Argos and Cisco.

Recent contracts have included supplying ovens to a company based in Limerick, which specialises in supplying equipment such as ovens and cooling systems to the catering and food industries.

The company is also set to embark on a contract to provide conveyors used as part of the security systems at Dubai Airport.

Sales and marketing director Robert Machon said the firm was winning export business in the highly competitive markets of Germany and China thanks to the quality of its products.

But he added: “We have not lost sight of the needs of local companies and remain committed to them. No contract is too small for us.”

Previous contracts have included ones to supply all the metal components for a new generation of mail sorting machine, metal enclosures for telecoms and cable companies and self-serve kiosks for a number of leading retailers.