AN Astley Bridge firm is celebrating after being awarded another prestigious standard of quality.

Franking Sense has been awarded awarded gold service partner status with Ricoh, one of the world's largest manufacturers of photocopiers and printers.

The Gold Certification focuses on support levels, technical escalation, development and account management, to streamline and improve the services offered to customers.

In order to receive the award, the firm, which is an independent supplier of mail room equipment, was audited by Ricoh's technical and service team to ensure the firm's work is up to standard.

Daniel Gilbert, operations director at the firm, based in the former Astley Bridge Library in Moss Bank Way, said: ‘We are delighted with this award.

"It recognises the hard work our people do every day to deliver great service to our customers.

"We have made significant investment in staff and training in the last year and see this as a great growth opportunity for us over the next 12 months."

Franking Sense was also recently awarded the ISO 9001 and the ISO 14001, which recognises firms which implement quality management systems and effective environmental management systems.