THE owners of world-famous pram manufacturers Silver Cross are to expand the business by taking on 50 new people - almost doubling the workforce less than two years after they bought the firm.

Bolton-based The Design Company took over the Guiseley factory in September 2000, initially making 22 people redundant. But since then they have managed to turn the fortunes of the flagging factory around.

Design Company director Joan Spours said they had spent the last 18 months stabilising Silver Cross and developing the company. She said that its progress had been so good that the second phase of the company's development would now take place - and that will mean increasing the workforce from 77 to 127.

Silver Cross was due to be interviewing people for some of the positions as experienced sewing machinists and ancillary workers yesterday and today, but local people are still being urged to apply.

Mrs Spours said: "We're very pleased with the way we have been able to reorganise and rearrange the business and get it right so far. Now it's time for the second phase where we push the business forward.

"We have been busy coming up with a number of exciting new ranges, we've bought another pram company called Pegasus which will help us and we're about to move into the American market. We're also looking forward to showing off our new ranges at the pram fair in Harrogate at the end of March - we feel we have some quite spectacular products.

"Some of the work was being done externally and we are now proposing to do this ourselves. With all that's going on we simply need take people on."

The new jobs are welcome news for Silver Cross and its workers, who have endured a roller coaster ride in recent years.

Part of the Otley Road factory site was sold to a housing developer in a bid to raise cash and in 1999 the company's future was plunged into doubt when it went into administrative receivership with debts of more than £4 million and 70 workers were made redundant. It was then taken over by a team of Oxfordshire-based investors who were unable to turn the business around.

The investors had also taken on extra staff while they ran the business, but Mrs Spours said that she was keen to stress that the new positions being created where sustainable.

"We want these jobs to be sustainable - when we first bought the company, there were jobs that were not sustainable and that's why we had to do what we did," she said. "We like to do things for the long-term."

l Anyone interested in the positions should call Karen Hubbard on (01204) 570200.