As part of a £600,000 investment programme, Fitzroy Joinery is moving to modern premises at Langage Industrial Estate, Plymouth in April.

The company, which employs 30 people, has gained planning permission to develop its current Stoke site in Plymouth for housing.

Company managing director Robert Le Masurier said: ‘We will be sorry to leave Stoke after nearly 50 years, but Fitzroy will now have the most advanced joinery workshop in the south-west. This investment will secure our position as one of the most versatile manufacturers of joinery products in the UK.’

The new plant will incorporate computer-aided CNC machinery, new safety systems and an environmentally-

friendly dust extractor. ‘We are moving into the 21st century in every sense of the term,’ said Mr Le Masurier:

Fitzroy’s owner, former Conservative MP Nick St Aubyn, said: ‘Eight years ago many people doubted that a traditional joinery business had a future. Yet we are just completing the most successful year in the history of our company and are well placed to serve the demands of our growing range of customers.’