ALBRIGHT and Wilson has been taken over in a deal worth £408 million pounds, with the new boss promising not to make major job cuts.

American company Albermarle, which has only one factory in England, made a deal to take over after meetings with A&W executives. The news was released on Monday.

Albermarle chief executive Floyd Gottwald called the companies 'a good fit' and promised that the takeover would not prompt a major redundancy programme.

He said: "I am sure we will make cost reductions but with no massive layoffs like you might find in other deals."

The company, which employs 170 people at its Widnes site, opened an expensive new phosphates facility at the factory in September.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.