A WELL-KNOWN Bolton company is investing in a new £1.1 million warehouse.

The 55,000 sq ft structure is taking shape at the Verna Group's site in Folds Road.

It is an investment for the future at a business which has grown consistently since it was established about 35 years ago.

The latest move is a direct result of ongoing success in one of the group's divisions -- Care Shop.

It is a catalogue-selling business, launched about seven years ago to supply the private hospital and nursing home market.

There are four separate catalogues, now also available to the general public, covering a wide range of items ranging from incontinence products to furniture.

The company is experiencing significant growth in the incontinence market. Mr Bernard Hatton, the Chairman and Chief Executive, said: "We are one of the main suppliers of nursing homes and private hospitals throughout the country."

Care Shop is based in the Slater Street mill where the Verna Group started in the 1960s.

Mr Hatton said Care Shop had grown so much recently that it had been decided to create more space in the mill by building the new warehouse. It means that the traditional Vernacare business producing disposable bedpans and male urine bottles -- it is the NHS's major supplier -- will be concentrated in Folds Road.

The new warehouse, which is due to open at the beginning of February, will provide a 24-hour delivery facility and will accommodate stock previously kept in Slater Street and at premises in Scotland and Warrington.

"It will make us more efficient and self-sufficient," Mr Hatton said.

He said that as Care Shop developed, they expected it to grow and employ more people.

At the moment the Verna Group has about 340 employees, including 180 in Folds Road and 100 in Slater Street.

There are other operations in Somerset and Hertfordshire.

The Care Shop business, which is due to go on the internet in the near future, is also beginning to target doctors and dentists.

Mr Hatton said the new warehouse was being built on the site of an old gas works which dated back to at least 1890. Contamination regulations had to be met and the building work included the removal of huge tar tanks.

"I would be interested to know more about the history," Mr Hatton said.

The Verna Group, which says more than 50 per cent of its staff have more than 10 years' service, believes its Investors in People status is a big help when it comes to promoting and nurturing talented employees.

Peter Lord started his apprenticeship straight from school and after becoming a maintenance fitter was selected to accompany a project team to Canada, which was installing new equipment for a client.

Peter Barlow joined the company as a process worker, but was later accepted on a Modern Apprenticeship and eventually became a maintenance fitter working on machinery development.