A family business which began as a milk round has invested £500,000 in new premises.

Rowbotham's move to a 15,000sq ft production unit on the Park Road Estate, Consett, has enabled the company to nearly double its workforce to 49, taking on 20 staff and operating round-the-clock shifts to meet demand for its ready prepared fresh fruit and vegetables.

Three generations of the Rowbotham family work in the business, including 80-year-old Annie, who joined in the 1950s with her husband Ernest. She still works daily on the preparation bench with her youngest son John.

Her eldest son, George, and his son Paul are now directors of the company.

John's son, John Edward and George's wife, Sheila, also work in the business.

The expansion has taken place with the help of Derwentside Industrial Development Agency (Dida).

The new premises has a temperature-controlled environment which increases the shelf life of the products as well as state-of-the-art processing equipment.

Existing customers include chilled meal manufacturer International Cuisine, hospitals and local authorities in the region.

George Rowbotham said: "Over the years, as we have expanded and moved into new areas, we have always aimed to keep the family atmosphere and traditional values that were there in the early days of the business.

"Dida has been involved with us for many years so we have built up a good relationship and they have provided support each time we have expanded.

"The agency helped us with this latest investment by putting together the funding package and helping us to apply for grants from the DTI and Derwentside District Council."

Steve Armstrong, business adviser at Dida, said: "Rowbotham's is a local company that was prepared to adapt its activities to meet the market need and is now a thriving business creating jobs for Derwentside."