BUSINESS leaders have celebrated the opening of a new car component factory at Altham Business Park.

Mr Kazuhiko Kato, the Japanese president of Piolax, made a special presentation to the Mayor of Hyndburn, Coun Douglas Hayes, at the opening ceremony, at the Dunkenhalgh Hotel yesterday.

The firm, which has experienced an annual growth of 15 per cent each year, already employs 72 staff locally and has invested £5million in the new 38,000sq ft plant.

The firm already has plans for expansion which will see the plant extended over another four acres -- leading to more jobs being created. Piolax is one of the world's leading suppliers of plastic and metal fasteners to the automotive industry, including Nissan, Honda and Toyota and intends to expand the Accrington plant over the next five years.

Ken Suzuki, managing director of Piolax UK, said: "We had initially looked at many locations across the UK but the Northwest Development Agency helped us to decide to base our UK operation in Accrington, mainly because of motorway access to European markets, the site itself and, more importantly, the skilled workforce."

Representatives of Piolax, Nissan UK, the Northwest Development Agency, and Hyndburn Council, toured the factory after the presentation.