ture after staff were told they could face redundancy or shorter working hours.

Christopher Shaw, chairman of Micro-Metalsmiths Ltd, said that it was vital for both the company and the workforce to move all its business to one site - the firm's base at Ings Lane, Kirkbymoorside.

He added that this would mean vacating the company's site at the Thornton Road industrial estate, in Pickering, and thereby leaving it open for another company to bring its business to the town.

Mr Shaw said he thought this provided an ideal opportunity for a company and also Pickering itself.

"There is room at Pickering for an excellent company to come in," he said. "This could be a real boost to the town."

The Gazette & Herald reported two weeks ago that the high-tech manufacturing firm had told workers that they may face redundancy or shorter working hours following a sustained fall in the value of orders placed for castings since April last year.

About 180 people are employed by the company, which manufactures metal components for industrial use.

But Mr Shaw said that the company had "no intention" of losing its Pickering workforce or its existing markets.

The following is a statement, in full, issued by Mr Shaw about the current situation at Micro-Metalsmiths Ltd: "Micro Metalsmiths Ltd has determined that it is in the best interests of the business and employees for the company to vacate its Pickering site and bring all its business to its Kirkbymoorside site.

"There are several reasons for this. The Pickering site is not owned by the company and cannot be redeveloped into the kind of building that the company needs for the markets that it addresses today.

"The building at Pickering was purpose-designed for very high quality production of components for radar systems at a time when the Cold War prevailed. Markets in the UK and the USA were very open to the type of work that the company specialised in making.

"The UK defence industry now supports a minute base of such equipment and most of what the company might do for complex weapons systems such as the Eurofighter and the Meteor missile have been allocated to Germany and France as part of various international collaborative agreements.

"Meanwhile, although the UK Government has negotiated with the USA Government for the right of British firms to trade in the USA defence market with equal rights, these negotiations do not have any effect at sub-contractor level. American buyers are just as nationalistic as any others and will earn no medals for "buying foreign". Additionally, the US State department insists on delaying the transmission of any classified documents by six to 12 months, thereby effectively preventing foreign firms from getting their bids in place in time to be considered.

"Looking forward, the company has adapted its capability to the production of components for the mobile phone market. Whilst this market is temporarily depressed, the company believes that it will revive. However, it is a fiercely competitive business. Big companies have shifted much of their production to China. Micro-Metalsmiths will have to use its Kirkbymoorside casting facilities to compete and will have to make every possible economy elsewhere.

"Meanwhile, the company has no intention of losing either its very skilled Pickering workforce or its existing markets which, in spite of the difficulties alluded to above, it is making every effort to enlarge. Therefore, the company is intent on putting up a suitable new building on its Kirkbymoorside site which has to be as cost-effective as possible if we are to continue to compete. Our application for a change in our present full planning permission is with the Ryedale planners at this time.

"If we succeed with our plans, there are several plus factors which will work for the company and for the district. The company will be able to get the concentrated benefit of all its engineering and production skills at a time when "speed to market" and ability to change designs rapidly and be flexible with production rates are all vital. The district will have a viable high technology company of increased size in Kirkbymoorside, whilst the Pickering site should attract a good electronics or similar light engineering company looking for new premises.

"I hope this statement will allay the usual fears that arise whenever a company makes any sort of manoeuvre that reaches the public's attention. Having started the company in 1964, I have no intention of presiding over its contraction in 2002. We have many and excellent friends in the district, a superb and very well-trained workforce, and a good friend in our MP, Mr Greenway. With a little help, we will be on our way again."

Updated: 11:00 Thursday, February 07, 2002