AN engineering firm is to bulldoze the LG Philips factory in Simonstone to build a new plant - which could lead to new jobs.

Nelson-based Fort Vale is expected to takeover the site, off Burnley Road, later this year.

It plans to shut its existing three sites and move all 210 staff to a new Simonstone factory.

Last year, LG Philips announced that glass production was to end at the plant - built in 1955 - in the autumn, with the loss of 400 jobs.

Fort Vale announced today it will be consolidating its UK operations at Simonstone and a spokesman said operations will relocate from its existing sites at the Parkfield Works, Valley Mills and Pendle Industrial Estate, in Nelson.

The company said it will move on to the site this year before work starts on new premises in January 2005. Production of safety valves and specialist equipment for the transport and storage of liquids, foodstuffs, gasses and powders is expected to begin in 2006.

Fort Vale's special projects director, David Smith, said: "Working from several sites is never ideal and was proving very restrictive.

"We are delighted to have found somewhere that can accommodate all our operations and provide space for expansion.

"A purpose-built unit will give us the opportunity to create an ideal layout in order to maximise our efficiency. We are confident this step will strengthen our position in world markets and help secure the future for us all."

Steve Dodd, plant director at LG Philips Displays, added: "We are pleased we have been able to sell the site so quickly and that the manufacturing tradition going back almost 50 years is to be maintained."

Fort Vale was established in Lancashire by its current chairman, Ted Fort, in 1967 and now employs 350 people worldwide, with operations in America, Holland, South Africa, China and Russia.

It specialises in the manufacture of valves and fittings for use on chemical containers and road haulage tankers, producing around 750,000 items per year, of which 75 per cent goes to the export market.