AT a time of closure and hardship in the engineering industry, one Worcester company is bucking the gloomy trend by going from strength to strength.

The business started from scratch 16 years ago by Les Jenkins and Chris Parkes is forecast to have group sales of more than £4m in 2006.

For much of the 20th Century, Worcester was one of the engineering heartlands of the UK, boasting a host of giant names such as Heenan and Froude, Meco, Alley and McLellan and H. W. Ward to name but a few.

Some still exist in lesser forms, but the general ethos is not as it was.

But in 1990, Les and Chris set out to help reverse the decline.

They formed a hydraulic and engineering partnership called Central Hydraulic Services and after three years sales hit £470,000.

This partnership has now developed into the Centinal Group, which employs more than 40 staff based in Worcester, Oxford and Reading.

The company manufactures and supplies all types of hydraulic and pneumatic products and has invested in the latest technology to provide high quality machined parts.

"It will be a real milestone for us to reach sales of £4m in the current financial year," said Les.

"The main reasons for our success I would attribute to customer service and a very focussed and empowered team of employees."