A BELEAGURED Kidderminster engineering firm has been saved from closure by a buy-out deal which will safeguard 70 jobs.

Half of the workforce at United Engineering Forgings, Stourport Road, was made redundant last week following the completion of the deal with Smethwick Drop Forge Ltd.

A total of 68 workers agreed to take a reduced redundancy package while the remaining employees accepted wage cuts of between £30 and £130 a week and new conditions to save their factory.

The offer by Smethwick Drop Forge, which owns Platts Forge, Willenhall, was revealed by the Shuttle/Times & News last week.

The company, which originally employed about 250 people, went into administration on June 12 last year.

UEF, formed in 1997 from the forgings division of British Steel, manufactures connecting rods for major automotive companies.

Myles Halley, corporate recovery partner with administrators KPMG, said: "The sale process for this site proved to be protracted and I am delighted to have finally achieved a sale as a going concern."

Mark Adams, director of Smethwick Drop Forge, said: "All the parties concerned have worked extremely hard to conclude this deal and I am very pleased to now have this opportunity to take this world-class forging company forward."

An offer by the company was rejected by workers at the Kidderminster plant last month. One of the conditions of the deal was a cut in pay rates which were above those normal for the industry.

According to the union Amicus, securing the new offer required the majority of the workforce at the plant to accept reduced pay and redundancy packages.

Since the appointment of joint adminstrators last year, five of UEF's six sites have been sold, saving half of the group's 1,500 jobs. The Bromsgrove plant closed with the loss of 500 jobs.