A NEW factory has opened in Blackburn as part of a massive expansion plan for a North West furniture firm.

The Chesterfield Company has started operations at its 2,000 square metre Clerkhill Street base, which will allow the company to increase the number of hand-made settees it makes.

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Skilled craftsmen will also create other items of furniture including beanbags, footstools, arm chairs and sofa beds.

There are already 17 employees working within the new factory, including a production manager and coordinator, sales advisors, accountants, floor manager, frame makers, sewers, wood machinist, frame assembler and an upholsterer.

Dave Foster, director of The Chesterfield Company, said there were plans to expand once the business is established.

He said: “The building offers a lot of factory floor space, which will enable us to both store and manufacture products.

“As we now have the room for lots of different production areas, this will ensure we can consistently make our products to the highest of standards, as quickly as possible.

“There is plenty of room in the building to accommodate our immediate growth plans, and to allow further expansion in the foreseeable future.”

The company, which was established in 1951, also has another factory and a showroom based in the Pendleton area of Manchester.

The furniture is manufactured to order with a typical production time of four weeks.

Mr Foster said: “We have created thousands of hand-made, bespoke Chesterfield leather sofas for satisfied customers up and down the UK and even as far afield as Japan.”