A FAST-growing firm has sold off part of its business in a major deal.

Thorsman & Co (UK) Ltd has accepted an offer from Hewetson plc for its raised floor access business which employs about 60 people in Blackburn.

Personnel manager Jim Allan said the staff side would continue working in the business at the Stancliffe Road plant for around three to six months.

Production would then be switched to Hewetson's plant in Hull and, Mr Allan said, it was intended the Blackburn workforce would then be absorbed into Thorsman's other two operations on the site.

Management of the raised floor business is expected to be transferred to an office locally. The other areas of business on the Blackburn site are Thorsman's cable management business and fixing products.

Bosses at the plant, which employs 250, said today that the deal would strengthen the site's long-term future. "Now we have a great opportunity to develop our Blackburn factory as a centre of excellence for the manufacture of our steel cable management products," said managing director Paul-Ingvar Ohlsson.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.