The future of one of Colchester's biggest employers looks set to be secured after a German buyout.

Paxman Diesels is in the process of being bought by the German MAN group. The deal has yet to be approved by MAN's supervisory board, but the company's plans to keep the businesses it buys and boost them bodes well for the Colchester firm.

Concerns over what would happen to Paxman, one of Colchester's biggest employers, were first aired last May after parent company Alstom Engines Limited (AEL) announced the Hythe firm was amongst divisions it planned to sell off.

At the time, workers and councillors were united in calls to keep open the Colchester base, which employs about 400 people.

Now, with MAN poised to take over the diesel engines side of AEL, the future looks brighter for the Colchester firm.

Town MP Bob Russell said today: "This link up is potentially good news.

"We now need to see the small print, but this is the most encouraging news Paxman has had in Colchester for a while."

AEL supplies medium and high speed diesel and gas-fuelled engines worldwide through a number of companies. There were always hopes Paxman would be sold as a going concern.

Consultation with employees and key customers will start immediately. After approval it is hoped the takeover will be completed in May.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.