A SPECIALIST Nelson engineering company is celebrating a record deal with the world's largest fragrance and cosmetic dispensing business.

Decorpart Limited has secured a three-year contract with Valois, the premium perfume and fragrance division of the giant French-American-owned Aptar Group.

Products from the big names such as L'Oreal and Estee Lauder will now come in containers made in East Lancashire.

Decorpart, which employs 250 people, first established trading links with Valois a decade ago, manufacturing anodised aluminium packaging components for its perfumes and cosmetics.

Managing director Nigel Clark said the relationship had developed steadily, culminating in the latest deal worth more than £10 million.

"To secure this contract with such a major player within our industry is great news," he said. "It is a reward for significant effort on behalf of a lot of people here, not least our business unit team which has worked tirelessly to satisfy a most discerning customer. "It cements our relationship with Valois, who are now our biggest single customer, aand comes at a time when the UK manufacturing market is struggling.

"We operate in a highly-competitive industry where the demand for quality standards is paramount and this order underlines the progress Decorpart has made."

The Aptar Group, listed on the New York stock market and with a head office in Paris, is the world leader in fragrance and cosmetics dispensing, with around 55 per cent of the global market.

Valois makes up about a third of the group and customers include the likes of L'Oreal and Estee Lauder.

Stephan Le Deuf, purchasing manager at Valois, who travelled to Nelson from Northern France to strike the deal, said: "We have been increasingly impressed with the development and performance of Decorpart and the company's commitment to further improvement.

"We are very happy to pass on this order for metal components which will be used for both functional and aesthetic purposes in the manufacturing process."

Accompanying Mr Le Deuf to Lancashire were Alain Mazurie and Philippe Lepycouche, key personnel in Valois' pharmaceutical division.