THE 'For Sale' sign outside one of Hereford's biggest employers, Special Metals Wiggin, has been taken down as its American parent company crawls out of the shadow of bankruptcy.

The manufacturer of specialised metal alloys announced a financial reorganisation plan, which includes suspending the sale of the Hereford plant.

With the company looking forward to emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection later this year and a new long-term contract for the Hereford plant, bosses believe the firm is set to take advantage of any future upturn.

Richard Shacklady, operations director at Special Metals Wiggin, said: "Trading conditions remain very difficult across all our markets but we remain confident that the actions we have taken this year at Hereford to reduce costs and refocus our business will ensure we survive the downturn and emerge well positioned to take advantage of the recovery which will eventually come."

The news could signal the end of a troubled six months for both the Hereford operation and its American parent company.

A strike greeted the offer of a one per cent pay deal in February as the company revealed £500,000 losses.

Two months later bosses announced 80 job cuts, taking the total workforce down to about 700.

But with a three-year agreement to supply nickel alloys to Rolls Royce pushing the company into number one spot for the supply of metals to the aero-engine manufacturers and 10 new jobs for a new service centre in Hereford things are looking up.

Ian Hedley, director of European sales, said: "This is a very exciting new venture for Special Metals and will enable the company to gain a major foothold in the aerospace metals distribution business."