MANAGEMENT and workers are tackling stress by embracing meditation and T'ai Chi exercises.

General manager Chris Strang and eight colleagues at Indmar Sheetmetal in Hindley Green are hooked after being filmed for a BBC Everyman television documentary.

They were taught techniques by Paul Darby, an expert in Eastern relaxation practices.

Mr Strang, aged 39, who lives in Bank Meadow, Horwich, admits to being sceptical at first but now says he has been converted.

"We were definitely stress-free by the end," he said.

The Manchester-based TV team selected Indmar from 26 North-west companies which volunteered to feature in a Stress in the Workplace programme.

Mr Strang and his fellow guinea pigs were filmed over four weeks in the works, at home, taking part in leisure activities and on a trip to the Yorkshire Dales away from the clamour of a busy factory which employs more than 100 people.

The programme will be shown next March or April as part of a series on alternative medicine.

T'ai Chi is a Chinese martial art and system of callisthenics -- it means "great ultimate boxing" -- which consists of sequences of slow controlled movements.

During the filming, the nine people taking part -- five men and four women from different departments -- took part in meditation and T'ai Chi sessions at 8am (to get in the right frame of mind for work) and 4pm (to wind down after the day's activity).

Mr Strang said he had continued the process at home after the experiment was completed and he felt the benefit.

"I feel that I am getting a lot more done in the same number of hours and it is making me, as an individual, more productive," he said.

Although he felt it would be impossible to introduce the techniques to entire workforces on a regular basis, Mr Strang was keen to encourage individuals to learn them and use them at home.

"It is not just about stress in the working environment, it is about how you deal with it in all aspects of your life," he said.

Systems manager Ian Robinson, aged 42, said: "Initially, people made fun of us but when they started to see the effect it was having, it was amazing how many inquired about it."

Elaine Walsh from Westhoughton, who works in the press shop, said: "I have found it worthwhile and so has my husband -- I am not as bad-tempered as I was."

Development manager Tony Haydock from Blackrod also found the experience useful.

Indmar Sheetmetal, which was created 30 years ago, moved to Hindley Green from Adlington 14 years ago.