IT'S joy by name and joy by nature. If ever a business was aptly named then it must be a certain happy company in Bromyard Road that is rapidly making a very big name for itself.

Joy Mining - one of Worcester's biggest employers - has landed a major multi-million pound deal producing equipment for the Hatfield Colliery, tipped to be the most productive mine in Europe. In a manufacturing climate that has been exceedingly harsh of late, it is difficult to imagine better news.

The Worcester factory has every reason to celebrate. The order books were already looking very healthy, and this latest development can only inspire confidence throughout the company's 400-strong workforce. For once, prospects on the industrial front are good, and we trust that jobs will be that much more secure in the light of these glad tidings.

The Worcester News is not prone to counting those proverbial chickens, yet we are nevertheless tempted to speculate that Joy Mining's coup could herald a modest renaissance in the city's manufacturing base. We are not naive enough to gaze with misty eyes at the prospect of a return to the old days - a finger in the dyke of manufacturing seepage will do as far as we're concerned.

Worcester is gradually changing from being a centre of light industry to becoming a university city with an increasing reliance on tourism. However, we cannot afford to stop making goods that other people need and want to buy. The success of Joy Mining is a reminder - if one were needed - that British know-how and the skills of her people are still vital and viable commodities.