WHEN you next visit Harrods or Heathrow Airport take a look at the gleaming escalators, which have a link to Wallingford you may not be aware of.

A team of staff at a company in Wallingford are manufacturing machines to keep them clean and are now into their fourth decade in business.

The industrial cleaners made by Rosemor International are also being used at shopping centres across the country.

The firm was established in 1985 by Efi Rosen and is based at the Hithercroft industrial estate in Moses Winter Way.

Managing director Mr Rosen, who is originally from Cyprus, first established the firm in Reading before moving to Wallingford.

He said: "We came to the Hithercroft estate about 10 years ago and we are very happy with our location - it's fantastic.

"We now have seven staff and a turnover of more than £500,000 a year."

Senior engineer Ben Sprules said staff were delighted to be celebrating more than 30 years together.

The 31-year-old father-of-two from Sutton Courtenay said Rosemor International started out by manufacturing a number of different types of industrial cleaners before it focused on escalator cleaners in 1999.

Mr Sprules added: "The Rotomac cleaner sells for more than £15,000 and works automatically so you can load it onto the bottom step of a stationary escalator and then it cleans each step for a certain amount of time.

"These cleaners are used on the London Underground, by airports including Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, and shopping centres worldwide, including Harrods.

"It's vital that escalators are kept clean for safety reasons, otherwise dust and grease can build up and that can cause major problems.

"And shopping centres obviously want to keep their escalators looking clean and smart.

"Here in Wallingford we are making a very high-quality machine and we also service them and carry out repairs around the UK.

"It's great to think we are cleaning lots of escalators around the UK and in 54 countries around the world."

Mr Sprules said he hoped the company, which manufactures more than 100 escalator cleaners a year, would remain in Wallingford for the time being.

He added: "We are working on breaking into the American market and getting a bigger factory so that we can produce more cleaners could be the next step for us.

"The parts for the Rotomac are quite large and take up a lot of warehouse space - our warehouse is also our factory floor and it would be nice to be able to separate the two eventually."

For further information visit rosemor.com