A FIRM based in a Ribble Valley village is set to produce two million paper cups annually – just three years after being set up.

Mark Woodward, owner of The Paper Cup Company, Worston, has his sights set on reaching that level in the next year after a successful 12 months in which it produced 850,000 cups.

With the cups going into vending machines, independent coffee bars and milk bars, Mr Woodward believes much of the new business has come via a new website created by Lancaster University.

Mr Woodward is sales and marketing director of the company he founded with his partner, Jenny.

He has 30 years experience in the disposable cup market.

Mr Woodward said the firm, created with two employees, now has four working to sell the product.

There is also a factory in China, a warehouse in Croyden and a design team in Ireland.

In the first year the firm produced 250,000 cups, then 850,000 and has now set the two million target.

Mr Woodward added: “We have been a succes because we offer a specialist service and we do not have high minimum orders.”

He added: “The website has been massively important to us.

"It has been tailored to our needs and was delivered to us in such a way that we can update it with ease.

“It has been a huge benefit in terms of getting our name out into the marketplace and in securing orders.”

Support for the website has come via Lancaster University’s InfoLab21.

InfoLab21, one of the largest ICT research establishments worldwide, holds the university’s departments of computing and communication systems.

He added: “As a young business, having Lancaster University there to help and guide us has been fantastic.

“We’ve also been on courses at the university that have helped us with marketing and have just built up our knowledge base.”