THE Wingates project has rounded off Tony Crompton's 44-year career in some style.

Tony, who is 59 and lives in Tottington, became a 15-year-old time office clerk at the former Bolton Evening News headquarters in Mealhouse Lane when he left Whitebank Secondary Modern in 1957.

He went on to develop a distinguished career in printing which has taken in the atmospheric Mealhouse Lane building (the Shipgates Centre stands there now), the replacement press hall in Cranfield Road, Lostock, and start to finish involvement in the new Wingates operation.

"I am very pleased," Tony said in a quiet moment at Lostock after printing transferred to Wingates.

"It is just as we imagined it to be -- it's nice when that happens."

As works manager at Lostock, Tony was part of the team which saw the development grow from a hole in the ground to what it is today.

As he looks forward to a well-earned retirement, he sums up his career with the words: "It has been fantastic.

"I have seen everything from the old type-setting days through to photo-setting and web-offset printing -- within the same company."

In the way of things in those days, Tony moved from messenger duties in the Time Office to become an apprentice compositor.

By 1973 he was the deputy composing room manager and he moved on to become director and works manager between 1979 and 1983. He then went to Mexborough to be works director with NCN (South Yorkshire Ltd) and while he was there became involved in discussions about the proposed transfer of printing from Mealhouse Lane to another centre. It was eventually decided that this should be in Cranfield Road and in 1986 he found himself back in Bolton supervising the creation of a sophisticated printing operation in a unit which had previously been a textiles store for Marks & Spencer and other firms.

The two single-width Urbanite presses which were installed then were used to print the Bolton Evening News and other papers from 1987 until the recent transfer to Wingates. Tony, who was appointed works manager in 1989, became involved in the Wingates dream in late 1999 after senior Newsquest managers decided to acquire a double width Goss Metro press from the Washington Post.

A number of sites were considered for the new printing centre -- including one at Blackburn -- before Newsquest executives plumped for a green field site on the Wingates Industrial Estate, just off the A6 and convenient for the motorway network. Tony was directly involved over the next two years as the centre moved from the drawing board to reality. Now that the project is completed, he has decided to retire.

He is looking forward to spending more time with his grandchildren, playing golf and going sailing -- he is a member of Elton Sailing Club and next year he plans two sessions at sea round the Greek islands.