A BOLTON manufacturing firm has seen an increase in staff and turnover after it salvaged parts of a trouble-hit Wigan company.

Assembly Solutions (ASL), which produces cable assemblies, wire harnesses and control panel work for electronic applications and heavy-duty electrical engineering, is based at Gilnow Mill, in Spa Road, Bolton.

The company stepped in when Golborne-based Quality Wiring Services (QWS) went into voluntary liquidation in May.

QWS, which had a £300,000 turn over, employing 16 staff, ran into trouble and outside consultants PNC had identified parts of the business that could be saved.

"We were invited to get involved to see if we could keep some of the business in the region, rather than losing it entirely," said Graham Balshaw, MD of Assembly Solutions.

"It was clear that QWS as a complete entity could not be saved, but I looked at the business and saw opportunities."

Mr Balshaw retained former QWS managing director Mark Lloyd as production manager for Assembly Solutions, who brought with him half of the existing QWS business, worth about £150,000.

He also bought about £20,000 worth of QWS' equipment, such as machines, tools and benches, and increased his staff by about eight, taking his payroll to 40 people. The deal, he says, has given the company an edge it didn't previously enjoy.

"Having someone like Mark now on board in charge of our growing automotive wiring section has allowed us to set targets that were previously out of the question.

"His experience in a specialised field means that our skill base at a senior level has increased dramatically."

Assembly Solutions was founded in 1995.

Most of its contracts are in the UK, though it has contacts in Holland and it has also developed partnership arrangements with Far Eastern suppliers to provide larger volume wiring components and assemblies when needed.

Since January this year, its turnover has reached nearly £1 million.