ONE of the UK's leading satellite dish manufacturers is set to take on new staff after winning multi-million pound orders.

Raven Manufacturing Ltd, based in Altham, is setting up a base in Chicago after winning contracts to supply antennas to Wild Blue Communications and HNS - two of the fastest-growing satellite companies in the US.

The contracts Raven has won in America are a result of its development of technology to enable satellite broadband, a major growth area in the USA.

The sophisticated send and receive antenna will enable huge expanses of America, unable to get internet through their landline, to receive it through a satellite dish.

Raven, which employs 100 people on Altham Business Park, is the largest supplier to BSkyB, providing them with 750,000 antenna systems a year.

This year it has enjoyed a monthly turnover of around £1 million and its American expansion will continue its quest to become global market leader.

The move will also boost jobs at Raven's Altham base, as the dishes will continue to be manufactured there and sent to the US for assembly and sale, although the company is not in a position to say by how many.

Richard Lambert, sales and marketing manager for Raven, said: "We are already shipping our equipment across to the States and the Chicago factory will go live in January as a fully fledged operational facility.

"We are distributing to pretty much all the satellite companies in Europe and we want America to be a stepping stone to other countries."

Raven will supply the specially designed antenna and electronics systems to Wild Blue - a significant broadcasting company poised for serious growth over the next three years.

They will also supply more standard satellite dishes to HNS.

To support the assembly, distribution and sales of Ravens products in the USA, Raven Antenna Systems Inc has been set up. Operations at the 26,000 sq ft Chicago facility will start in January 2005.