110 new jobs on track at foundry

A FOUNDRY which was on the brink of closure three years ago has unveiled plans to double its workforce after switching to making specialist railway equipment.

Edgar Allen Limited was forced to lay off 90 staff at its Bathgate works as the company struggled to survive in 2000.

But the foundry’s fortunes have been transformed after it switched to making hi-tech railway equipment, in high demand since the Hatfield rail tragedy.

Now the company is hunting for larger premises in a move that will create 110 new jobs over the next five years.

It has hired estate agents to hunt for a larger and more modern plant in West Lothian, but the move is likely to mean leaving Bathgate after almost a century in the town.

The foundry owes the transformation of its business to the decision to specialise in making switchgear - equipment to automatically redirect trains on track - for railway lines. The decision paid off when the firm recently secured a £7 million contract to supply the trackwork for the Channel Tunnel rail link to London’s St Pancras station, due to open in 2007.

The deal followed a £61m contract won by its parent company, Mowlem, to upgrade four major railway lines to meet improved safety regulations after Hatfield .

Bob Laird, managing director of Edgar Allen, said: "The foundry in Bathgate is showing its age under the strain of a rapid increase in production orders for its specialist switchgear .

"We are looking to move within a ten to 15 mile radius of where we are because most of our skilled workforce come from West Lothian."

The company has drawn up a shortlist of four existing factory units, as well as sites of around eight hectares where it could build its own hi-tech plant. It is understood foundry bosses, with the help of West Lothian Council, are looking at new-build sites at Deans Industrial Estate and Houston Industrial Estate in Livingston, as well as greenfield sites in Bathgate.

Richard Slipper, director of Mowlem’s agent, CB Parker Hillier, said: "The point for Edgar Allen is that they have a Victorian plant on a cramped site with a burgeoning order book and they want to produce more and employ more people. "

Mark Essenhigh, of Mowlem Regeneration, added: "We are still reviewing various sites, but there are challenges in terms of immediate availability. We remain very keen to hear from local parties who might have suitable land or premises."

The foundry was built in 1907 by the North British Steel Foundry Company .

Bathgate councillor John Mc-Ginty said he would be sad to see Edgar Allen leave the town after its long association, but accepted the company’s motives.

He said: "If growth is not possible in Bathgate then we need to look at their longer-term needs, and if that means leaving the town to create more employment, then we have to accept that."