'WE have weathered the storm' — the words of a company director of a Winkleigh firm after it was saved from liquidation.

Pet food specialist Forthglade Ltd was placed into administration on September 13 after HM Revenue and Customs petitioned for the company to be wound up for debts in the region of £250,000.

The company has been purchased by a team of six shareholders, ensuring a good outcome for creditors and securing the future of 55 jobs.

The purchase was completed on October 7, with the directors taking full control of the business on October 10. The day-to-day running of the site has been taken over by site manager Chris Brooking.

Bruce Palmer, one of the company directors to have taken control of the company, said: 'We have a real opportunity now to get the company growing again, get things stable, get things clean and tidy, and get back the export trade the company used to have. More importantly, for the local people and for our staff, jobs are protected now.

'The business takes local produce from the county and adds value, to send it up the line. It's protecting the rural community and rural jobs.

'Too much is being taken from Devon and Cornwall, out of the county, unprocessed, with no added value.

'All that does is create jobs somewhere else. We need the jobs down here. What with the decimation of the job market in Okehampton over the last twelve months, this is positive news for the area.'

The business was started by Mr Palmer in December 1971 on an old RAF site just outside Winkleigh. Initially dealing in pharmaceuticals, the business gradually grew, taking up more plots on the Bellinster Factory Estate and evolving into the pet food business it is today.

Forthglade now specialises in wet dog food, providing a rich source of protein and nutrients for family pets. They supply meat to pet food stockists Judge's Choice, Pets at Home, and Nature's Harvest as well as European brand Renske.

Director and site manager Chris Brooking said: 'The business has gone through troubled times through its forty years and has always pulled through — whether the problem is foot and mouth, BSE, banking crises, or the recession it has always survived. It has done so again.

'We operated under administration for four weeks, well supported by the people that work here, the customer base and our supplier base as well. It's only through this outstanding support that we managed to operate through the administrative process.

'Now owning Forthglade, we are stabilising the business with a view to turning it around. We have got big customers out there and we have a big presence in the European market place, and that is growing.

'We are one of the few companies to have survived the bad times in and around the Okehampton area.

'We've weathered the storm. We're employing 55 people here, the local economy needs us to survive. It's a local business run by local people, using wherever we can, local produce, to deliver a national and international product.

'The atmosphere among the staff has been positive throughout. There was nervousness during the administration process, but the reaction to the news of the purchase was fantastic.

'Production is going very well, having increased by 25 to 30 per cent in the last three to four months.

'Morale is good, production is up, customers have remained loyal. We have a full order book and an empty warehouse. As fast as we can make our product, it's selling. What we have got is currently unique in the market-place and it's local.

'With the right support from the directors and from the factory floor, there is no reason why we can't make this a particularly strong business.'

The high morale at the factory was evident last Friday as staff took part in Breast Cancer Campaign's Wear it Pink day to raise money for the charity.

Last year the team managed to raise around £400 and are hoping to have raised a similar figure this time.