REDUNDANCY is facing 120 workers at the Langrish tool-making firm Tooling Products unless a buyer can be found.

Tooling Products, which also owns the former Diametric factory on Ramshill in Petersfield, has been struggling for some time.

The workforce was whittled down to 120 from around 200 with redundancies earlier this year and in early 2000.

Various new working patterns and efficiency initiatives were also put in place to try to compensate for falling orders and prices because of the effects of the weak euro

But managing director Ralph Davies told staff on Thursday: "Despite best efforts and hard work by everyone, the company has made losses over the last 18 months and forecasts that it will continue to do so. There is little likelihood of any change to that situation in the short to medium term."

He said that Tooling Products' parent company – the Glasgow-based Weir Group – had announced on Thursday a streamlining of its business to concentrate on core businesses. The Weir Group had begun the process of withdrawing from three non-core businesses, one of which was Tooling Products.

Mr Davies told employees: "The group will continue to seek buyers for the whole or part of the company. However, no firm offers have been received to date.

"It proposes to close the company if no alternative can be found. Therefore all employees should consider themselves at risk of losing their jobs."

It is the second time in just over two years that some staff have faced crisis.

In April l999 more than 60 workers at the Diametric factory on Ramshill faced the axe when the receivers were called in.

Uncertainty hung over them for about a month until it was announced that Tooling Products had taken over the Petersfield engineering company.

When the Langrish company took over Diametric it inherited the controversy over noise and vibration nuisance at the Ramshill factory which had raged since May l997, when Diametric began working in its new £750,000 extension.

A total of 29 planning conditions had been imposed when permission was granted.

Residents constantly complained of the nuisance from the neighbouring factory and the Ombudsman was contacted in November l998.

East Hampshire District Council was still monitoring the situation when Diametric went into liquidation.

Last month Tooling Products submitted a planning application to keep the machines at the centre of the controversy.

Brian Evans, who waged a four-year war with East Hampshire District Council on behalf of his neighbours in a bid to stop the noise, told The Herald this week: "This is bad news for everyone but it is not unexpected.

"There has been very little activity at the Ramshill site since Tooling Products took over.

"The management have always tried to keep disturbances to a minimum. We can ring the shop floor directly if one of the machines is causing a problem and the staff are always very helpful. It would be difficult for any new operator to be more considerate."

There has been anger among many of the staff this week, who said they were not told of the situation. The first they knew of the threat to their jobs was from watching the television or hearing from other employees.

But finance director Andrew Barnes said Weir had been obliged to inform the stock market first and although a notice was put up at Tooling Products, shift-working staff did not see it immediately.

One of only a handful of specialist toolmakers in the country, Tooling Products has a long-established history in Langrish. It was founded in the early l900s by the local Talbot Ponsonby family.

A big blow to the company is believed to have been the loss of a major contract to make all the tooling for the new Lotus car. The car failed safety tests and will not now be made.