A total of 50 workers have been axed at an historic Bloxwich manufacturing firm which has gone into administration. One emergency group is to stay on.

The majority of employees at Mazak Ltd were informed they no longer had a job at the Willenhall Lane firm yesterday afternoon by accountants from Smith & Williamson.

Thirteen workers are being kept on to ensure some production carries on in case a last minute buyer can be found. But this is to be reviewed on a day-to-day basis.

A factory has been on the site since 1902 when it was known as The Delaville Spelter Works and now produces alloys for the car parts industry serving customers in the UK, Western Europe and Far East.

James Money, from Smith & Williamson, said: “There was a workforce of 63 and approximately 50 of those have been made redundant. The remaining staff are being kept on as production carries on. This will be reviewed day by day.”

The company which has employed hundreds of people across Bloxwich over more than a century is known locally as The Spelter. It produces a range of zinc-based alloys for diecasting and galvanising, and zinc-based pigments for the paint and pharmaceutical industries.

One worker, who asked not to be named, said: “We were expecting it because of the current economic climate, but there was a good set of lads here and it is a real shame.”

At one time the works were said to have a productive capacity of 6,000 tones of zinc.