A SUCCESSFUL Bury company celebrated its 20th birthday in style.

Pennine Telecom, which is now one of the UK's leading independent radio and telecommunications companies, staged a series of luncheons at its Salford Street headquarters.

It played host to numerous customers past and present as well as leading industry figures.

Pennine was founded as a service centre for electronics and communications manufacturer Motorola.

It diversified into telecommunications following market liberalisation in 1983 and over the past 10 years Pennine has achieved growth of more than 20 per cent year on year.

Turnover broke the £5 million barrier in 1995.

Pennine now employs more than 70 people in prestigious offices bought in 1992.

Mr Alan Cobb, Director General of the Telecom Industry Association, said Pennine had used its extensive engineering skills to engender high levels of customer satisfaction.

He went on: "The directors' commitment to providing a career structure for staff and a commitment to training has undoubtedly helped the company prosper.

"In a highly competitive marketplace, Pennine has succeeded yet it is still widely regarded as a nice company to do business with - I often quote Pennine as a role model as to how a radio and telecoms company should be run."

The guests also included Dan Walters, Motorola's Vice President and Director of Distribution.

Mr Richard Evans, Pennine's Director of Sales and Marketing, said: "We were delighted that so many key people in the industry attended our celebrations.

"It is tremendously pleasing to have reached our 20th anniversary and have received so many plaudits from our peers."

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