ONE year on from a fire which nearly destroyed its factory, Craven & Co is celebrating a growing order book.

The Knaresborough-based manufacturer saw hundreds of thousands of pounds of damage caused when a blaze broke out at its Manse Lane factory in January last year.

Angus Milnes, managing director of Craven & Co, which makes shelving, storage and handling equipment for the catering, medical and commercial sectors, said: “We set about working our documented disaster recovery plan and liaising with suppliers and customers.

“Four weeks after the fire, we started initial production trials and one week after that went back to full production.”

Since then, orders have increased in growth from existing clients and from new clients, which national sales manager Neil Fox puts down to the fact they were quick and honest in letting people know what had happened. He said: "I believe customers appreciated our honesty and openness.”