A CHARD business has been boosted this week after featuring on a regional news programme and an internet video.

Numatic International Limited, based on the Millfield Trading Estate, featured on BBC Points West’s Made in the West feature and also in a video on the BBC website.

The firm has been in Chard for more than 20 years, and is the town’s second largest employer with 700 employees.

While it is most famous for making Henry vacuum cleaners, far more commercial cleaning products are made on site, with over 4000 machines produced each day.

While many people believe that manufacturing only takes place abroad nowadays, the UK is still the world’s sixth largest manufacturing nation.

Numatic are proof that products are still very much made here in Somerset. The plant was pleased to get the recognition it deserves in the video.

Andrew Smith, manufacturing manager said: “A lot of people don’t know about us because we don’t tend to shout about it as we specialise in commercial and industrial cleaning equipment.”

The site where Numatic is based continues to expand. It has been home to manufacturing firms since the beginning of the last century, previously making farm machinery and then machine tools, before Numatic arrived.

Andrew wanted to make clear that this was something the people of Chard should be proud of.

Andrew added: “We have only got one volume vacuum manufacturing plant in the UK and it is here in Chard.”

Numatic are continuing to move with the times, making several environmentally friendly models, which have an auto save energy conservation function.

TO see the video feature on Numatic or to find out more about the firm follow the links on this story.