Chorley firm on the road to new jobs (From Chorley Citizen)

Chorley firm on the road to new jobs

8:00am Friday 4th January 2013 in Chorley

A Chorley-based company which helps local authorities to test and maintain road surfaces plans to hire 20 more staff after securing finance of £250,000 from the county council.

Pavement Testing Services (PTS), which currently employs 65 people, plan the expansion to coincide with the introduction this year of new European standards on road construction products.

PTS started out by providing specialist engineering services to help the Highways Agency and councils assess the condition of road networks and plan maintenance programmes.

In recent years it has developed the capacity to carry out a wide range of analytical tests on tarmac and other road materials and is now well on its way to achieving recognition as a certification body in its own right.

In addition to its base on Chorley’s Cowling Business Park, PTS operates a laboratory in Adlington, a depot in Cramlington, Northumberland, and has recently acquired a further laboratory in Swansea.

The finance has come from Lancashire’s Rosebud Fund, the county council's economic development company.

County Councillor Michael Green, Cabinet member for economic development, environment and planning, said: “The investment we've provided through Rosebud will help support the growth and diversification of an already-successful business, and help create new and highly skilled jobs in the county.

“Businesses involved in professional services, like PTS, are operating in one of our priority sectors for economic development.

“Rosebud is designed to support businesses in Lancashire by providing them with the finance and support they need to grow and develop.”