IT'S just the Italian job for a Bury engineering company which has just clinched a lucrative £3 million contract.

And Harwill Engineering is literally rising from the ashes thanks to support from Bolton and Bury Chamber's Business Link in securing the order from an Italian manufacturer.

For a year ago, the company was at its lowest ebb. It was a victim of an arson, which destroyed its premises, and a burglary which forced Harwill to move to its new base in Pilsworth.

Director Lynda Hannam recalled: "We set up at Prestwich's Mountheath Industrial Estate in April of 1997.

"But that December, we had a very bad fire. And then the following March, we suffered a serious break-in.

"These incidents were just horrendous and they did nothing for morale. It was a kick in the teeth and very demoralising for us.

"Some days I'd wake up and wonder what was going to happen."

These setbacks prompted the four-strong company to transfer to its new base at a unit in the Pilsworth Industrial Estate. Lynda added: "At that time, we were in need of a business angel and we found one in the form of Malcolm Joels, personal business adviser with Business Link.

"He helped us take stock of what the business was about and where it was going and helped us develop the confidence and skills to take massive leaps forward.

"Since then, we've increased profitability by 25 per cent and expect much greater rises over the coming year."

In fact, business is so buoyant that Harwill envisage recruiting additional staff.

Lynda continued: "Our new Italian contract to supply FBR industrial burners is worth £3 million over five years.

"It secures both the UK and Ireland markets for distribution and service for FBR, which is an aggressively expanding Vernona-based manufacturer."

Business Link's international trade team is also helping the company develop its export service, which involves offering rapid response engineering solutions and sourcing engineering parts.

A recent customer was the Singapore owned Melvina bitumen carrier which had come to a halt out on the China seas with hydraulic pump failure.

They found the original pump was obsolete, so approached Harwill to create a copy.

Joint director Roy Coombes said: "This is typical of the sort of challenge we're ready for and we will be setting ourselves fresh challenges in the year ahead when we intend to explore Scandinavian and Northern Ireland markets."

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