THE skill of the Bolton workforce was one of the main considerations when a local needlecraft business decided to stay in town.

William Briggs & Company, part of the Coats Group, could have been moved to associated premises in either Darlington or Alloa in Scotland.

In the end it was decided that the move from Eagley Mills - enforced by a multi-million pound residential and leisure development - should be to the Halliwell Industrial Estate.

The £500,000 re-location to Rossini Street started last Monday and is expected to be completed in the next two or three weeks.

William Briggs was founded in Manchester in 1874 and transferred to Eagley in 1963.

It is the largest manufacturer of craft kits in Europe.

General Manager Mr Donald McMillan said today that there had been plenty of logical reasons for a move out of town.

But after "selling the story" to the Coats Viyella board the decision had been made to keep the firm and its 80 employees in Bolton.

"The main factor was the skill of the Bolton workforce," he said.

Bolton Council, which makes considerable efforts to stop manufacturing companies move away, provided a £25,000 industry grant to help William Briggs move into the No 2 mill at Halliwell.

Mr McMillan says the move - "a big job" - has been going very well so far.

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