CHIEF Executive John Griffiths, pictured above, has left Edbro, one of Bolton's best known companies.

His successor, David Coveney, refused to speak to the Evening News after an anonymous caller told us about Dr Griffiths' departure last week.

Dr Griffiths, who joined the Nelson Street company in 1977, later spent 10 years as technical director and took over sales and marketing for three years before moving up to Chief Executive in March, 1993 at the age of 46.

Tipping gear manufacturer Edbro, which is French-owned, celebrated its 80th anniversary in 1996.

Dr Griffiths said then that it was hoped a small improvement in fortunes could be sustained following problems which had included a major industrial dispute, redundancies, lay-offs and a hand-to-mouth existence caused by a shortage of orders heightened by the cyclical nature of the construction industry.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.