A £20 million expansion programme described as "an act of belief" was today announced by Moores Furniture Group Ltd, one of the biggest employers in Yorkshire.

The five-year programme includes the massive £5 million extension just completed on part of the factory's 35 acres on the Thorp Arch trading estate, Wetherby.

The factory is already in use manufacturing kitchen, bedroom and bathroom furniture but will be fully up and running by the summer.Built by Amec Construction Company in eight months, the new extension brings the total factory area to nearly 600,000 square feet and increases production capacity by 30 per cent.

In anticipation of massive growth, the Moores Furniture Group has this year taken on an extra 150 employees, largely shop floor assemblers and machine operators, to cope with expanding demand from most of the big-name house builders, housing associations and local authorities as well as a growing export portfolio. It brings the number on the firm's payroll to 1,100. But Fred Davies, chief executive who led a management buy-out in 1987, said: "We expect to take on more people, however, we don't anticipate anything like that rate of employment growth from now on because of the new systems and, to some extent, computerisation of the operation."

Apart from investment in plant and machinery, Moores is also setting aside £3 million to improve its transport fleet of more than 50 vehicles which includes seven new lorries bought last year. By June there will be another 21 Moores lorries, along with two new distribution depots in Ware in the Home Counties and Stroud in the West Country.

"We expect this to lead to increased capacity, greater efficiencies in distribution and a higher level of customer service," said Mr Davies.

The company was started by George Moore as a joinery in 1947 and by the 1970s was selling kitchen furniture to the direct works departments of local authorities, then extended its portfolio to include bedroom and bathroom furniture, supplying also private sector house builders, such as York-based Persimmon, Wimpey and Barratts.

The management buy-out in 1987 came as the building industry was first to tumble into recession. "It was a bumpy ride," recalls Mr Davies, "yet we still managed to grow year by year".

Moores was bought out in 1996 by the Detroit-based Masco Corporation, which immediately began to invest in its new acquisition. Mr Davies said: "This investment is not just an act of faith. It is an act of belief. You have to have very strong belief in firm plans to generate business in order to justify the expenditure we have just undertaken. Quite simply, we believe we have products and services which are superior to our competitors."

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