Olympus Engineering has relocated to a prime site next to the A500 in Stoke-on-Trent which serves as a showcase for manufacturing in the city and has helped regenerate part of an area that had lain derelict for years.

On 14th January Lord Jones, who served as Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry for more than six years, unveiled a plaque to mark the company's £8 million relocation from College Road, Hanley to Garner Street, Etruria, which was secured with the help of funding from regional development agency Advantage West Midlands.

He said: "There is a mood that prevails in this country that we don't make things anymore which is a complete misconception. Companies like Olympus Engineering are living proof that the UK does make things and it's firms like this which are pivotal to the country's future success.

"If this nation is going to succeed it has got to manufacture it's way out of economic difficulties. That means exporting and that means manufacturing and engineering.

"As a country we are only going to succeed by making things and it's small to medium engineering companies like Olympus Engineering who will help generate the wealth for the UK and create jobs for the future."

Like most manufacturing companies, Olympus Engineering was badly hit by the recession with the workforce shrinking by half to around 60 people at a time when relocation was in full swing.

But the company has bounced back from the downturn and employment levels have returned to pre-recession levels - with the promise of more jobs to come in 2011.

Advantage West Midlands was instrumental in securing Olympus Engineering's presence in the area, providing government grant assistance of £1.36 million to remediate the Garner Street site and two business support grants totalling nearly £900,000 to help the company invest in machinery and equipment.

Neil Blood, Managing Director of Olympus Engineering, who founded the company in 2000, said: "As a company we are living proof that you should always invest in a downturn to take advantage of the upturn when it arrives.

"That's precisely what we've done and while we were severley affected by the recession, we have recovered strongly and in a position to seize opportunities for growth in the future from our new site. We are already looking to expand after just a short time in the new premises.

"We are delighted to have moved into such a fantastic building but it could not have happened without the support of Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Advantage West Midlands.

"This city has endured some very tough times in the past few decades and i believe, as a relatively young company, that Olympus Engineering highlights that industrial regeneration is possible if you have an entrepreneurial spirit."

Mick Laverty, Chief Executive of Advantage West Midlands, said: "Manufacturing is a crucial sector in this region and the story of Olympus Engineering is a great example of how this agency works with private sector businesses to direct government funding where it can achieve maximum impact, creating jobs and helping other areas of the economy to flourish.

"The can do attitude of Neil Blood and his workforce at Olympus Engineering. combined with our expertise  and deal brokering know-how of AWM, adds up to a genuine business success story for Stoke-on-Trent and i wish them well for the future."

The new 82,000 sq ft facility is on a brownfield site and houses CNC production facilities making precision machined components for prestige customers like Bentley and JCB. The new premises also include a rapid prototyping centre and facilities for machining components up to 2.5 tonnes in weight and two metres long.