TWENTY new jobs have been created, thanks to a Lancashire manufacturer's plans to double in size.

Rawtenstall based tools and equipment firm Slingco, which already employs around 70 people, supplies the construction, industrial and energy markets.

The Gateway Business Park firm now hopes to take on 20 new employees as part of its latest recruitment drive, having set itself a target of growing by 28 per cent a year.

Managing Director Nick Dykins said: “As a company, we’re continuing to develop new products and we plan to capitalise on this by continuing to grow our Lancashire and overseas operations.

“The new Rawtenstall site will allow us to double our production capacity, but we have also put in place several strategies which will provide a framework to allow us to scale.

“We have started to use value stream and process mapping, in addition to building our IT roadmap and inventory management.

“We have also been reviewing our use of data and performance management frameworks.”

As well as its 32,000 square foot Rawtenstall facility the company also operates in the USA and India.

The local expansion has come about partly with the help of the Scaleup Resurgence programme, run by the Lancashire County Council led Two Zero business support partnership.

The programme was designed to support companies throughout the county during the pandemic and help them return to their growth plans as soon as possible.

Slingco took part in the programme last year.

Mr Dykins said: “The reason for joining the programme was to investigate new ways of working that could assist the drive for performance growth.

“The ability to share experiences with other business leaders in a structured and constructive way and work with specialists provided great insights and helped us to understand the art of the possible.”

To find out more, go to: https://www.twozerolancs.com/.