A SMALL Blackburn company is making a big name for itself in the glamorous world of the international cosmetics industry.

Coursegreen Ltd has pioneered a new technology to colour the glass bottles used for top-selling fragrances and other beauty products.

Many of the world's leading perfume manufacturers now use bottles that have been finished at the company's base at the town's Greenbank Business Park.

The production line has a capacity of one million bottles a week, destined for top brands like Estee Lauder, L'Oreal and Liz Claiborne.

And with a move across Blackburn to the Shadsworth Business Park planned for later this year, the company is poised for further expansion.

Coursegreen was set up five years ago by Eddie Scott who has spent the past two decades perfecting his revolutionary approach to colouring glass bottles.

He first came to East Lancashire from his native North East 24 years ago to set up a company in Blackburn called Risdon to manufacture the metal caps and casings for cosmetic products.

"That was my first introduction to the world of cosmetics," Eddie recalled. "We were producing closures, pumps, valves, lipstick cases and caps, but the competition was very intense.

"We had to look for something that was unique so we were not just selling on price alone. That was when I started to think of ways to decorate the glass."

Eddie explained there were two traditional ways of colouring glass: adding the colour at the time of moulding or applying coloured ceramics at very high temperatures.

"With both systems, it is difficult to get the colours exactly right and they are also not very environmentally friendly," he said.

"I had an idea of using organic materials, which when sprayed onto the glass, cured at less than 250 degrees C. The concept was to achieve faster, more accurate production at lower cost."

After five years with Risdon, Eddie was involved in a number of similar businesses in Lancashire, all the time perfecting innovation.

Five years ago, he decided the market was ready to accept the product and set up Coursegreen.

A design engineer by profession, he built his own production line and has developed a sophisticated range of coloured lacquers to apply to clear glass bottles.

Virtually any colour or finish can be achieved using the Coursegreen process. His chairman's office is packed with hundreds of coloured glass bottles.

An important part of the business is to sell a complete production line to other companies abroad. Taking the process to the 'glass' is a more cost-effective solution in some parts of the world. As well as providing the plant, Coursegreen supplies the lacquers and also receives a royalty for each item that is coloured.

Last year, the sale of systems in the States and Mexico helped the company win a major export award from East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce. Eddie is a frequent visitor to New York, the centre of the world's cosmetics industry, and has spent months up and down 5th Avenue talking to industry leaders and their design houses. "Design and packaging is critical in the cosmetics industry," he said. "The whole industry is based on the presentation of the product and it has to make a statement."

Eddie believes the Coursegreen process is now fully accepted by the big names and the company has won a number of awards in New York from the packaging industry.

The company's planned move to Shadsworth later this year will double the size of the accommodation and work-force. Eddie is looking at other applications for coloured glass away from the cosmetics industry. Bottles for spirits and liqueurs have already been produced with distinctive finishes and a range of coloured stem glasses, vases and other glassware is under development.

"The new factory in Blackburn will be the centre of excellence for coloured glass," added Eddie. "We are a world leader in what we do and we intend to stay ahead of the competition."