A manufacturing firm has launched a recruitment drive as it celebrates a record year for the business.

Maycast-Nokes in Halstead will be increasing its 130-strong workforce by 20 after its annual sales soared to £6million. It expects turnover to rise further in 2014/15 to £6.5m.

The company, which makes precision castings, has seen continued growth in sales to the aerospace sector as well as significant business wins in new markets such as the optician and automotive sectors.

Sales director David Blower said: “We are delighted with our continued growth, which has created a number of new job opportunities for which we are now actively recruiting.

“This is all part of our continued plans for growth and we can confidently predict a realistic turnover of £6.5m for the next financial year, which is great news for us, our workforce and the local economy.

“We feel our success is due to the way we get the basics right.”

The firm strives to be responsive and flexible, he said.