THE relaunch of former Smurfit company Papermarc has been lauded by Burnley MP Peter Pike.

Former chief executive of Smurfit Paper and Board, at Calder Vale, Mark Slevin led a management buy-out in June when he became managing director and renamed the company Papermarc.

The MP was given a tour of the factory and the management team outlined investment which was already under way and how the company would be progressing in the future.

Mr Pike said: "I think it is a great thing that Papermarc has gone it alone because I think they were increasingly being penalised in preference to Smurfit's main product areas.

"The company is already investing at Widow Hill Road and clearly the management team and workforce realise that their success depends on what they deliver here locally.

"I was very impressed and I think they are very determined to meet that challenge. I was very encouraged by what they have done to date and I feel the prospects for the future are much better than if they had not taken what was a very bold move."

Mr Slevin, who has nearly 20 years' experience of the European paper packaging industry, said the Burnley plant had a limited life time before the buy-out which he said had secured the current workforce's jobs and would hopefully lead to more people being employed in the future.

His company has already started a significant investment in the Burnley mill which would lead to modernisation of the plant over the next 15 months.