It is a case of 'onwards and upwards' for the owner of a Peasehill factory that was destroyed in an alleged arson attack last month.
Technique Composites, on Peasehill Road, in Ripley, was gutted on June 23 in a fire so fierce 20 nearby homes had to be evacuated after it was feared at one point gas canisters inside might explode.
But now, a month on, owner Giles Dyson has spok
en about rebuilding his 14-year-old business, which manufactures materials such as carbon, GPR and carbon twintex used in the motor and leisure industries.
Giles, who was insured, and his three members of staff have moved to a new unit on the same business park and are determined to build the business back up.
He said: "There's 16 years of effort gone into it so I'm not going to let all that go up in smoke.
"We're continuing on, onwards and upwards as they say.
"Things are really busy now because we're in the process of getting new stock in and getting back up and running.
"It's going to be a bit of a slow process but as long as our customers stick by us we'll be fine and they all seem to be sympathetic to our situation.
"We just need to get through the next six months."
But the fire has had a big effect on the business. The new unit is smaller than the previous one, which has caused some problems.
Giles added: "We'd sort of grown in to that unit over the last 14 years.
"It's the everyday things that you miss – like you go to pick something up and realise you haven't got it.
"The main focus is keeping the business up and running and putting all of this behind us.
"We're moving forwards and we've got to keep smiling otherwise we'd go into a massive depression."
A 12-year-old boy and a 17-year-old have been arrested on suspicion of arson and released on police bail pending further inquires.
