THE future for the workforce of a local firm was looking gloomy when its parent company decided to move to Nottinghamshire.

But now everything is looking up for the employees who got together and staged a management employee buy-out (MEBO) which resulted in the safeguarding of eight jobs. Now all the employees have shares and a stake in the company.

The jobs came under threat following the re-location to Nottinghamshire of the Tarmac Building Materials Limited Subsidiary. But thanks to financial backing from the Merseyside Special Investment Fund's Acorn Fund and help from the St Helens Chamber, employees were able to defend their jobs by forming a brand new company, Matrix Moulds and Models Ltd.

The company makes moulds, patterns and models for all kinds of markets including road, rail and air transport, as well as moulds for pre-cast stone and architectural units. And just six months on, the organisation is already making a profit and looking to create new jobs in the area,

Managing director Peter Ogden said: "We are all delighted that Matrix Moulds and Models are doing so well. Obviously when we heard about the re-location there were fears of job losses but Tarmac were extremely co-operative so the transition was smooth.

"Help from Merseyside Special Investment Fund and Business Link division of St Helens Chamber was invaluable, without their support the venture would simply not have happened."

MSIF's fund manager Mike Procter was also very enthusiastic about the company. He said: "We are delighted with the success of Matrix Moulds and Models. It is wonderful to see a company creating new jobs, having already secured eight.

"The sponsors of MSIF's Acorn Fund - Pilkington, SmithKline Beecham, Manweb, the St Helens Trust and St Helens MBC - are all very keen and supportive of measures assisting businesses like Matrix Moulds in St Helens and will be delighted to see this success."

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