A MANUFACTURING company has bucked the trend and launched a recruitment drive after exceptional sales.

Octaveward, of Balle Street Mill, Darwen, has already created 30 jobs this year and is now looking for a 'massive number' of skilled and semi-skilled workers.

Management at the manufacturer of mouldings, canopies and composite doors said there had been an unprecedented increase in business over the last few months and that staff were urgently needed just to help them satisfy demand.

They put the boom down to the benefits of a strategy review which helped them tailor their manufacturing capacity to the demands of customers.

Trevor Williams, sales and marketing director, said: "At this present moment, sales are exceeding all expectations and this has had a dramatic effect on our production capabilities.

"Therefore, our recruitment campaign is to satisfy this demand for our products and is paramount to the continued success of the company.

"This year alone we have increased our workforce by over 30 staff in all disciplines, providing a welcome jobs boost for the local economy."

The company has grown from humble beginnings as a manufacturer of hospital mortuary equipment in Blackburn, to the 120,000 sq ft, three-storey former textile mill in Darwen.

Other manufacturing companies in East Lancashire have not been so prosperous this year, with many going out of business and blaming the strong pound.

Two weeks ago another manufacturer in Darwen went into administration and was thought to have laid off 50 people.

In the past 12 months there have been many job cuts, including the closure of Burnley's Michelin plant and cuts at Barnoldswick's Rolls-Royce factory which accounted for 700 workers.