A Potteries ceramics company that was established at the height of the Napoleonic Wars is approaching its 200th anniversary with a new spring in its step after securing the future of its workforce.

Wade Ceramics has invested in state-of-the-art robotic machinery that will allow it to meet the future requirements of existing clients in the whisky industry and compete more effectively with rival firms in the Far East.

Managing director Paul Farmer says that as a result earlier fears that redundancies would need to be made from amongst his 170 employees have been allayed for the foreseeable future.

The firm's development plans have been aided by a £684,000 Selective Finance for Investment (SFIE) grant from regional development agency Advantage West Midlands.

"The investment has safeguarded the jobs of the workforce and the future of manufacturing here," said Mr Farmer.

Wade's development plans also involve a move from its existing building - the Royal Victoria Potterty in Westport Road, Burslem - to purpose built premises at Festival Park in Hanley next year.

The company is perhaps best known for its Whimsies, the ceramic collectable animal series that has developed a worldwide fan base since it was first introduced in 1953 by "the Jolly Potter" Sir George Wade.

The series helped Wade become a household name in the UK and America and the company has been known ever since as the "Home of the Whimsie".

However, Wade's main area of business these days is manufacturing porcelain flagons for the spirits industry, especially malt and deluxe whisky producers.

Demand is such that new robotic equipment was essential to streamline the production process. Wade worked with SAMA - a German ceramics machines specialist - to develop a bespoke machine to produce porcelain whisky flagons.

The SAMA machine manufactures sets of flagons whilst 'Big Ed', the largest robot in the system, takes the cast flagons out of the moulds and delivers them on to bats for the drying process. Fettling robots then drill and machine the flagon's top before it is placed on a conveyor ready for firing in the kiln.

Its new equipment has helped Wade to secure a five-year contract with Chivas Regal to supply 90 per cent of the drinks company's demand for ceramic decanters, a requirement that could reach two million units by 2008/9.

Mr Farmer said that meeting contractual obligations requires increased productivity and the ability to manufacture products to much tighter tolerances than is possible on existing machines.

"We have installed a high-pressure casting machine which is far superior to the existing machinery. We have been developing this technology for 18 months," he said.

"The new equipment is less labour intensive and more fuel efficient. The whole project is based on the new factory and having the most up to date equipment for ceramic hollowware.

"The grant for this project will help us to meet the growth requirements of the whisky industry, which is growing by 16 per cent a year. And we can now compete cost wise with manufacturers in the Far East."

Richard Clift, from the Access to Finance team at Advantage West Midlands, said: "This is a great success story for Stoke-on-Trent.