AS many as 30 new manufacturing jobs will be created from an Unlocking Investment grant given to a company in Burnley.

The special £28,500 hand-out will be used by die-casters Lupton and Place at the start of a £1 million investment, making the firm a pioneer in its field.

The cash is from the challenge fund being distributed by the council's economic development unit.

Lupton and Place joint managing director David Gill said: "Without the continuing support of the council, manufacturing industry in Burnley will not be able to compete effectively into the next century.

"When it comes to quality and service, we have built a reputation on delivering perfect castings on time, every time and at a competitive price.

"We can only continue to achieve this goal if we continue to invest in state-of-the-art technology; and assistance provided through the council's Unlocking Investment programme has, therefore, proved invaluable."

The family-owned firm, based in Athletic Street, has become the first in Britain to install the latest Swiss-made die-casting machine, capable of producing detailed castings with unmatched consistency.

It was bought for a nominal amount from Thorn EMI in 1985 and has grown rapidly since. In the last financial year turnover increased by 30 per cent to £5.2 million.

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