ONE of Kidderminster's biggest employers is celebrating a successful first 20 years - with plans to grow still further in the future.

Purac, which designs and builds water and sewage treatment plants, has seen its staff and turnover rocket, especially since the privatisation of the water industry in England and Wales in 1989.

It now boasts 300 staff - 200 of whom are based at its Birmingham Road head office - and will turn over more than £50 million this year.

At its inception the company, which prides itself on its "friendly but professional" approach, had fewer than 20 employees.

As managing director Malcolm Wilkinson explained, what catapulted the company from minnow to major player was the huge investment in the water industry in the 1990s.

"For the first five years after privatisation a lot of the capital spend was in water treatment, bringing drinking water up to the standard set by the EU. Since that has been achieved the emphasis has shifted to sewage treatment."

Mr Williams said lobby groups such as the Environment Agency - and the public - were now becoming more and more demanding about issues like the cleanliness of beaches.

"Once you give people more information they want higher standards. It is more challenging, but it also gives us a bigger market."

Purac has just completed its largest ever project - the chemical, electrical and mechanical engineering for a £75 million "state-of-the-art" sewage treatment works in Suffolk.

The company has also worked on water and sewage treatment plants in countries as diverse as Chile, China and New Zealand.

With an eye firmly on the future, the firm has now patented ultra sound technology to generate bio-gas - and ultimately electricity - out of sewage.

"The government has a big drive to get 10 per cent of energy from renewable sources by 2010," said Mr Wilkinson.

"Renewable energy is a big, big market and we're looking to move into it."

He predicted the company would continue to thrive and added: "We are always looking to further expand."

Despite the "huge changes" in its industry, Mr Wilkinson said the company's culture had stayed the same.

"We have a friendly atmosphere and people enjoy working for the company."