Workers axed as manufacturer goes under

A FUME cupboard and ducting firm near Bolton has gone into administration with the loss of 70 jobs.

Workers at Mach-Aire in Bridge Street, Horwich were called into a meeting on Friday morning and told their employment was terminated with immediate effect.

Some weekly paid staff were paid earlier in the week, but monthly paid staff, who received their last pay cheque in January, were told they would not be paid a salary for February.

FRP Advisory which has offices in Manchester is handling the insolvency of the £8m turnover company.

Mach-Aire was founded 20 years ago by former managing director Roy Allwood who left the company several months ago but had returned recently on a consultancy basis.

It marketed itself as an  expert in airflow technologies, engineering solutions for a multitude of industries and applications.

Co-owner is Iain Macdonald, who is based in Edinburgh and another director is Mark Whittle.

FRP said the company had ceased trading with all employees made redundant following the appointment of Tom MacLennan and Ben Woolrych as joint administrators.  

The administration was caused by substantial losses on certain contracts and cash flow problems. FRP said it is was seeking a buyer for the business and its assets.

Woolrych said: “It goes without saying that we have huge sympathy for those employees who have regrettably been made redundant. As joint administrators our immediate focus will be to assist staff who have lost their jobs and provide them with the necessary support to submit timely claims to the redundancy payments service.

“Mach-Aire is highly regarded for its expertise in the specialist field of controlled environment engineering.

“The company has a strong track record and reputation for technical expertise, design innovation and service.  The administration presents an excellent opportunity for an entrepreneur or related business to acquire and develop the brand. We would urge interested parties to contact us as soon as possible.”

A worker who did not wish to be identified said staff had been advised to apply for statutory redundancy pay from the government.

“We are all utterly devastated,” he said. “We currently have no money to pay our bills and our mortgages. We have effectively worked the last three weeks for nothing.”

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