CAMBORNE MP Candy Atherton says she feel "bitter" and "angry" after one of Cam-borne's oldest employers announced it was closing its factory with the loss of nearly 200 jobs. The whole Camborne community has been left reeling after Compair announced the closure of its Camborne factory, with the loss of 184 jobs, last Friday. Ms Atherton said the government had pumped millions of pounds into keeping the company in the area. "I feel bitter and angry that they have decided to close in Camborne," said Ms Atherton. "For months many of us have been working to persuade the company to remain. I have met with the company's representatives, trade union representatives, those involved in a possible management buyout and engaged in discussions with the local Urban Regeneration Company and government departments to see how the company could be persuaded to reconsider. "I would still hope that even at this late stage they would change their plans but the manner in which they have operated does not give me confidence for the future. "Five years ago the company approached me and said that if the government did not provide nearly £10 million in support then they would close and if any news of this leaked out then they would withdraw. "After extensive lobbying the government supported the company with a multi-million pound Regional Selective Assistance award and much of that money has been drawn done by the company. "In recent months English Partnerships have bought the site to assist the company as it is in a strategic location and a great deal of land was unused. "If there is still a chance that a management buyout will succeed I will do all I can to assist any such development." Town mayor John Beare, who was elected to Kerrier for the first time the day the news was announced, says the closure is a major "body blow" for the town. "This news has come as a bolt from the blue." he said "I have to tell you, having got onto Kerrier for the first time my celebrations are extremely muted. "As far as the town is concerned, Compair has been synonymous with Camborne for a long time and I am totally gutted to hear that news. These will be very, very difficult times for Camborne. "We as a town for such a long time have relied on mining and engineering. It's a real wrench. It's difficult to see Camborne without Holmans because it has been part of the town for so long." Mr Beare said as an elected representative he would be meeting with other councillors to try and find a way forward. The possibility of a management buyout was given a boost this week after Finance Cornwall, which provides loans and equity investments ranging from just £5,000 up to £650,000 to small and medium-sized businesses in or locating to Cornwall, offered its help. Chief executive Robin Teverson said Finance Cornwall will be contacting the company to explores its options in the coming weeks. "There may be existing managers or others interested in taking on parts of the business and we're here to provide financial support to exactly that sort of proposal," he said Finance Cornwall is a £20 million investment fund backed by £9 million from the Objective One European Regional Development Fund, £10.12 million from Barclays Bank and £880,000 from Cornwall County Council. Compair's union representative Terry Solomon said the closure announcement was "devastating" and the company had suffered a death by a thousand cuts in the last four years. In May last year it, was purchased by venture capitalist company Alchemy, renowned for its tough management style, for £1 from Invensys. Compair's financial report for the year ending March 31, 2002, said the business, whose head office is Buckinghamshire, made an operating loss £12 million and spent £7 million on restructuring. In its heyday the company, which used to be known as Holman's, employed more than 3,000 people making portable compressors. l THE employment situation is also looking gloomy in Redruth where jobs are under threat following the appointment of administrators to take over Precision Audio Products. Formally Harman Pro Audio the company was subject to a management buyout just 18 months ago. But the administrators were appointed following a high court hearing in Bristol last month to take control of the company based on the Cardew Industrial Estate. Managing director John McFarland said he was hopeful that the directors would be able to buy the company back from the administrators, safeguarding jobs at the company.

Press release breaks news about closure Compair broke the news about the closure of the Camborne factory in a press release on Friday. This is the full text of the company's statement: Compressor manufacturer Compair has announced a proposal to close its portable compressor manufacturing plant at Camborne in West Cornwall. The 184-strong workforce has been informed of the closure proposal and consultations with employee representatives will commence immediately to review options and alternatives. The company proposes to further rationalise its production facilities and to transfer its Camborne operations to other sites, closing the plant before the end of September. The company plans to maintain a sales office in the Camborne area. Making the announcement, Compair's chief executive Nick Sanders said: "The business in Camborne has faced severe global competition and continued trading losses. We have looked at a number of ways to reduce our continued costs at Camborne, including reducing headcount, implementing purchasing cost reductions and introducing initiatives to improve sales revenue. Unfortunately these measures have not been sufficient to counter the effects of poor trading conditions and strong competition and our trading losses continue. Regrettably, due to these adverse conditions, we need to further consolidate our operational facilities and therefore propose to close the site." Mr Sanders added: "For a long time, our Camborne site has been under utilised and we have recently had the opportunity to negotiate a sale and leaseback arrangement which has enabled us to realise some capital. This, however, does not affect our proposals for the Camborne operation." The company has informed CPR Regeneration, the Urban Regeneration Company for Camborne, Pool and Redruth, the South West Regional Development Agency and English Partnerships, the national regeneration agency which has purchased the Camborne site, of its intentions. Nigel Smith, acting chief executive of the CPR Regeneration, said: "We are committed to the long-term regeneration of Camborne, Pool and Redruth and will work closely with our partners at the South West RDA and English Partnerships to do everything we can to mitigate the impact of any job losses."