A LARGE Weymouth engineering firm which once employed more than 100 workers has shut its doors for good.

Company director Ben Edwards said Park Precision Engineering’s last day of trading was ‘a sad day’.

But taking over the Granby Industrial Estate premises is Titan Manufacturing – another local engineering company which is expanding in size.

Mr Edwards said only around five of his firm’s 64 redundant workers have failed to secure another job.

He added: “All but a handful are all in jobs now. When the news came in we contacted recruitment agencies, Job Centre Plus, local authorities and mortgage companies to help people.

“It’s not all doom and gloom. So many positive things are coming from this.

“Titan have really expanded their business. It’s nice to see them coming in. They have employed quite a few of our staff.”

The Surrey Close firm went into administration in March with all of the company’s workers being made redundant.

Just six members of staff were left on the company’s last day on Friday.

Mr Edwards, who began at the company as an apprentice welder and worked his way up to becoming co-director, said the firm first got into difficulties in 2008/09.

“We were involved with DEK and their business started to drop off.

“We went out and put together an aggressive growth agenda. Our sales team went out and did a reasonable job but it takes time for all these new things to grow,” he said.

Weymouth resident Mr Edwards said there appears to be signs of ‘green shoots’ within the local manufacturing industry.

“The Granby is thriving. It’s nice to see that the smaller companies are growing when a big company like this has gone. Manufacturing was suffering first, then retail. Now manufacturing is picking up and retail is struggling.”

A big farewell party is planned for the second week of June for present and former staff.

Mr Edwards, who alongside co-director Richard Archer helped to find £1 million to save the company in 2010, said the company’s premises have seemed ‘so empty’ as the firm wound down and people left.

“It’s been really really sad. This place had a really good group of people and a very committed group of people. If you needed people to finish a job they would work until midnight,” he said.

Titan Manufacturing, which is also based on the Granby Industrial Estate in Cambridge Road, moved into the premises as the administrators left.

Past Glories

IN the company’s heyday it sponsored Weymouth Football Club and its logo appeared on the Terras shirts.

Set up in 1986, it became a leading contract manufacturer offering product input, manufacturing, assembly facilities, finishing and logistics. It was formerly known as Park Engineering.

The business grew rapidly into one of the town’s leading engineering firms and did work for Granby-based DEK and the Ministry of Defence after investing in modern computerised engineering equipment.