A PAINT firm has launched its new £1million-plus facility, speeding up the filling of paint cans by 75 per cent.

Crown Paints, which has its headquarters in Hollins Road, Darwen, has launched the new facility at its plant in Hull.

As well as increasing filling rates, the new facility halves the amount of water needed to clean paint delivery pipework.

It will also reduce usage of electrical power and compressed air by 25 per cent .

The firm said the new technology resulted in the loss of a ‘small number of jobs’, with six people in Darwen taking voluntary redundancy.

Joe Devitt, managing director, said: “It is a major investment that will pay huge long-term dividends by streamlining production.”