A West Wales environmental engineering company has tripled the size of its manufacturing facility as part of a £1.2m expansion programme that will enable it to meet the increasing demand for its products and services.

Celvac Environmental Solutions was initially established in 1993 to service the needs of the water industry, but has expanded into a multifunctional company, with clients throughout the UK and Middle East.

The investment by the Tenby-based company is part of a two phased programme that has been grant aided by the Welsh Assembly Government and received a Property Development Grant from the WDA. With the new development Celvac's work force will rise from 32 to 52 by the end of 2004.

The first phase - the construction of a new purpose built 12,000 sq ft manufacturing facility - has now been completed and will enable Celvac to significantly increase its capacity while work on the new office and training facility starts this month.

Throughout the construction period the company operated a split site, using a WDA unit in Pembroke Dock.

The company's growth has now established Celvac's three main divisions as mechanical engineering, R&D and industrial cleaning.

All three divisions will benefit from the new state of the art facility - from the highly innovative R&D unit, to the mechanical engineers building bespoke equipment, which the highly trained industrial cleaning teams need to deliver a high quality service successfully.

Minister for economic development and transport, Andrew Davies said: "More and more companies are becoming aware of the importance of improving their environmental performance.

"Celvac Environmental Solutions already provide vital support and services to many blue-chip companies. They are an excellent example of a company offering expertise in a niche market, something that I want to nurture and encourage in the Dragon economy."

Managing director, Kim Beynon, described the expansion as an extremely exciting development for the business which also demonstrated the company's commitment to their Welsh routes.

"We have a very innovative team and the new facilities will improve the efficiency of our manufacturing division, which will enable it to compete in what is a very competitive market place.

"The 'Hyper-Vac' which really is our trademark and the brainchild of Ron John, our head of design, has been very successful in both the UK and overseas markets and development of the next generation is currently well underway."

Mr. Beynon said Celvac had clients throughout the UK but had tremendous support from Welsh based companies such as Dwr Cymru Welsh Water, Texaco, Total, Petroplus, Dow Corning and Inco which firmly believed in developing a Welsh based supply chain.

Celvac have been frame work suppliers to Welsh Water - currently through their operations contractor United Utilities - for several years looking after their industrial cleaning needs.

It has also been recently appointed as a Tier 1 mechanical contractor to Black & Veatch, which, as part of the DCWW Alliance, is responsible for delivering the capital programme which means a busy manufacturing workshop for Celvac over the next two years.

WDA executive director, Mike King, described Celvac as an extremely important employer in West Wales that would now be able to expand and create a number of high quality jobs across a range of disciplines.

"Celvac services a niche market and as a result of its investment in research and development and its innovative approach, it is successfully competing against the major players.

"The company's client base already includes blue chip companies throughout the UK but is committed to developing and expanding its services and agency support will enable the company to compete more effectively and efficiently and hopefully win new markets."

Mr. Beynon concluded by saying: "Our commitment to the future of the Welsh economy and employment in Wales has been enhanced by the support shown by the Welsh Assembly and WDA throughout the first phase of this project."