A WESTHOUGHTON company completed a transformation when Ruth Kelly MP opened its latest extension.

Ms Kelly, MP for Bolton West, opened the development to finalise a four-year, £2.5 million expansion at Frank Mercer & Sons Ltd, in Manchester Road.

Douglas Mercer has run the company with his sister, Rona, since their father, Frank, retired in 1998. He said: "My father founded the company in 1968, recycling plastic and manufacturing refuse sacks. In recent years, this market has been completely taken over by India and China. We had to adapt our business to survive so we moved into making damp-proof course membranes and general sheeting materials for the building industry." The change has required investment in new buildings and machinery and has resulted in the company becoming the third-largest recycler of plastic in the country.