AN AWARD-winning Keighley company is forging links with another firm in the town.

Squashed Pixel, a design agency and expert in e-commerce platform Shopify, has seen considerable growth in new business during the past year.

Now it has launched another Shopify website – this time for The Original Metal Sign Company, in Royd Way.

The Original Metal Sign Company, founded over 30 years ago, designs and produces its hand-finished products onsite.

In a bid to boost online sales, it approached Squashed Pixel to revamp its outdated website.

Robin Milsted, managing director of The Original Metal Sign Company, said: “Selecting an agency that blended the creativity and e-commerce skills we needed to relaunch and refresh our website was no small task.

“We offer an extensive range of British-made wall art and unique gifts, with new lines being introduced constantly.

“Therefore, we had to ensure our site was easy to navigate for our customers as well as simple to update with new products.

“Appointing Squashed Pixel not only fulfilled this criteria, it also gave us the opportunity to support local business. The added bonus for us is that the team at Squashed Pixel is on hand to offer face-to-face training and support whenever we need it.”

Claire Gatenby, operations director at Squashed Pixel, said it was delighted to be working with another locally-based company.

“Getting to work with a local business is always great – especially when it is such an established firm like The Original Metal Sign Company,” she said.

“Although we have a worldwide client base, working with local businesses is really important to us, as we are able to contribute significantly to the wider community.

“Having relationships with other businesses in the area means that money is being spent locally, which pumps up the local economic multiplier – the foundation for local income, wealth and jobs.”

Since 2009, Squashed Pixel – which is based at Parkway House – has been using the Shopify platform to help over 600 businesses sell more products online, in-shop and across third-party marketplaces such as Amazon.

Earlier this year, the expanding firm boosted its in-house team.

Recruits included Sonny Adams, who has joined the company initially on an 18-month work placement, but with a view towards him becoming a permanent member of the team. The placement came about thanks to a close working relationship with Craven College at Skipton.

He joined Squashed Pixel as a level-three apprentice in information technology and is working alongside the company’s development team to learn on-the-job skills, whilst studying one day a week at college.

And another addition to the team is Jamie Throup, a web developer.

He has a strong background in retail and has worked with brands such as La Redoute.

In his new role, Jamie is responsible for the design, build and development of web platforms.