Leading office systems designer and manufacturer Fitted Furniture Centre (FFC) is undertaking two major contracts for Woodstone Business Interiors, a Bristol-based independent office fitting company. FFC, based at Chesham Street, Keighley, has been asked to provide purpose-built workstations for an ongoing refit at the Cardiff offices of DAS Legal Expenses insurance company.

Woodstone sales manager Stephen Blake says: "We look at what the client is trying to achieve and then specify the product range best suited to them on quality, budget and delivery. FFC fitted the criteria."

Another contract on which Woodstone has specified FFC products is part of a total office refurbishment package at the Bristol headquarters of Blackfriars Paints, one of the largest paint manufacturers in the UK.

FFC has supplied a number of workstations and ancillary storage units so far, with more to follow as refurbishment work progresses. Mr Blake said FFC again fitted the bill on quality, cost and delivery specifications.

Labour threat

Labour's policies are a serious threat to business and jobs in the town, claims Keighley Conservative Association. A spokesman says: "We may be on the brink of a recession in manufacturing industry that will lead to factory closures and unemployment. The level of the pound is crippling exporters, who are being priced out of overseas markets. But it is also hammering British firms competing with foreign companies for contracts in the UK.

"The pound is being pushed up for two main reasons. First, because Labour has abandoned its responsibility for setting monetary policy by handing that power to the Bank of England. Second, because Gordon Brown has let the consumer side of the economy overheat, while ignoring manufacturing."

The association says the right course of action would have been to encourage higher savings through restoring tax breaks for savers.

"The government is not on the side of British business. It is bad for business in Keighley," says the Association.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.