A BOLTON-BASED recruitment company is making a name for itself in Eastern Europe.

Recruitment Zone Ltd, which has its headquarters in Chorley Old Road, brings highly-skilled workers to Britain and finds UK staff for construction and petro-chemical companies in countries such as Slovakia, Romania, Ukraine and Poland.

"I would say nobody else in the North-west has got these mechanisms in place," said managing director David Bedford.

Mr Bedford, aged 46, founded the company in 1998 in Bolton and Edinburgh with fellow directors Andrew Barton and Lisa Kwiecinska. Turnover was £7.5 million in 2001 and is expected to rise to £10 million in the next financial year. Staffing levels are expected to grow from 22 to more than 30 before long.

Oldham-born Mr Bedford, who has lived in Bolton since he was 15, founded the company to help meet the demand for IT professionals created by de-regulation in the utilities industry.

It has expanded to include specialisation in engineering, commercial, banking and finance and sales and marketing.

Mr Bedford said their office in the Slovakian city of Bratislava, which has three local staff, was established 18 months ago to enable UK companies to recruit professional IT staff to fill vacancies which existed at the time.

Recruitment Zone flew companies out to Bratislava to interview local hopefuls and hire people who fitted the bill.

But the after-effects of the September 11 terrorist attacks caused the shortage to "evaporate" and the company has now reversed the process -- providing UK experts for the growing oil and gas industry in Eastern Europe.

"So far we have placed some 20 to 25 staff in Europe, with most being supplied on a two to three-year contract basis," Mr Bedford said. "We play an integral part in the whole recruitment and integration process, from setting up interviews and selecting the candidates to assisting with travel arrangements, accompanying hiring staff to their offices in any of the five continents, and sorting out work permits and repatriation."

Mr Bedford said they were also involved in finding staff for various projects in Middle East countries. "I would say this is growing into a significant chunk of business," he added.

Recruitment Zone deals with clients throughout the country.