Bosses at Walsall foundry firm Chamberlain today revealed they are on the road to recovery after a year in which they had to axe 40 of their 160 staff.

And they have paid tribute to loyal workers who saw their wages slashed as a collapse in orders forced the company to cut hours to just three days a fortnight. The company revealed it had lost £809,000 in the last six months, compared to a profit of £905,000 for the same time last year. At the same time income fell nearly 50 per cent to £14.2 million.

Chief executive Tim Hair said the company had decided to limit the number of redundancies and instead rely on short-time working to keep its costs down as industry was hit by the worst recession in decades.

“Our employees have had a tough time of it,” said Mr Hair.

“At times during the spring the foundry at Walsall was working only three days every fortnight. We tried to use holiday pay to support them but they had to bear a very significant reduction in income.”

In a personal tribute he added: “It’s been difficult for all the employees and it is important to recognise their commitment to the business.

“They have been very supportive and I am proud to be part of a business with people as committed and sensible as ours.”

But the company believes it had now weathered the worst of the economic storm and the Walsall operation has won a major order for turbocharger castings that would be worth £3 million over the next 18 months.

The company said demand from the passenger car sector, which accounts for 13 per cent of its sales, was showing signs of recovery as are other key sectors.