A MASSIVE press is being installed at a Cookley firm 50 years after it sank to the bottom of a canal.

Titan Steel Wheels, which makes huge wheels for heavy plant vehicles, hopes the new 5,000-ton press, believed to be the biggest in the Midlands, will enable it to continue to dominate the European market for off-highway parts.

The press, which measures six metres by 7.5 metres by 8.5 metres and which was originally manufactured in the States, sank in the Manchester Ship Canal in the 1950s en route to its home. chief production engineer

Neil Vicash at Titan Steel Works.

However, it was rescued after about a year by a salvage company and was put into use by BAE Systems, formerly, British Aerospace, in Manchester, as a rubber press.

Its acquisition is being hailed as a major coup for the firm, which started out as Cookley Ironworks in 1650 and which now has a global portfolio with factories in India, Italy, Germany and France.

Chief production engineer Neil Vivash said transporting the press to Halifax to be restored and back to Cookley to be installed had been a "logistical nightmare."

The press was transported in 11 pieces and to get the machine in the plant, doorways had to be opened up and the heating ducts removed to make room for a three-metre deep hole for a firm foundation.

Marketing manager Lindsay Akers said: "The environment for manufacturing at present is difficult and this is exacerbated by the fact that Titan exports 85 per cent of production.

"Despite this, and the cyclical downturn of the construction industry, the company has invested in new machinery. This will help us to continue to dominate the European market."

The machine will work around the clock to produce 28 wheels per hour for Earthmover. The wheels are being tested at one of the firm's biggest customers, US construction vehicle giant Caterpillar.