THE invention of the wheel was the best thing that could have happened as far as a major employer based in Cookley was concerned.

Titan Steel Wheels, which specialises in manufacturing wheels used by vehicles in the construction industry, is one of a handful of companies worldwide in its sector. That semi-exclusivity, however, does not mean it does not face problems in its competitive market.

Although 370 people are employed at its Bridge Road site, recruitment can be a problem, with the firm having to look abroad for workers.

Vince Wicks, director and company secretary, said he has had to use agencies to recruit people from Eastern Europe.

That has led Titan Steel Wheels to take on people from Lithuania to fill vacancies. Mr Wicks puts the reluctance of people from the local area and elsewhere in the UK to go into engineering down to perceptions about the industry.

"People do not perceive working in engineering, on a shopfloor, as a good job anymore," he said.

"I think that's our problem."

That thinking is becoming somewhat outdated, as more processes become automated, with computers increasingly playing a part in making components.

Phil Field, the company's operations manager, said of the Lithuanian workers: "They're meeting the need but the difference is they're prepared to have a go for a good rate of pay compared to what they get at home."

Steel Wheels started making wheels around a century ago, with Mr Wicks explaining: "The company itself is still, basically, doing the same thing, mainly now for the construction industry."

Eighty per cent of the output at Cookley is exported, with the customer list including globally recognised names like Caterpillar, Volvo and Hitachi, and the firm has associated businesses in Italy, France and Germany. It is also prepared to move with the times.

Mr Field said: "We're developing new products, where we move away from the traditional methods of manufacture and more automated methods, so it's cutting down the heavy labour."

He added: "You will find a lot of people on the shopfloor operating what are computers down there."