CIRCUIT board manufacturer TDS Circuits is back in the black for the first full year since 1988.

And the Blackburn-based firm is celebrating its highest turnover for a decade.

Heavy investment in equipment and development of new markets helped sales grow to £10.6 million in 1995 and pre-tax profits were £286,000 compared with a loss of £429,000 in 1994.

The firm, which manufactures printed circuit boards for markets including telecommunications and information technology invested £900,000 in its two Blackburn sites in 1995.

And deputy managing director Graham Partridge said the prospects for the firm were very healthy.

"A great deal of effort has been put in by the workforce to help achieve these results and we are confident about the future," said Mr Partridge.

Another 20 workers had been taken on by the firm since the beginning of the year taking the workforce up to 200.

The firm's parent company Zincocelere has been bought out by the management from the Olivetti Group in a £53 million deal.

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