Many people would be surprised to hear that a leafy back street in Chipping Norton hides the head office of a successful firm that counts many familiar retail names among its customers.

Underneath the spreading horse chestnut trees, Danny Turner heads up Astech, a firm supplying IT systems to control the delivery of stock to shops such as Argos, Threshers, Robert Dyas and Laura Ashley.

With systems that are so obviously critical to the performance of a major chain, it is no surprise that support is as vital as the consultation and project management skills that lead to successful implementation.

Mr Turner said: "Many retailers still have systems that are considered old by IT standards.

"But they still work just as well as when they were first designed and, being built to a higher standard in the first place, are supremely reliable."

He added: "We have the skills not only to support these systems but also to develop new programs to work with them.

"Retailers appreciate that, as they don't have to go out and buy new computers all over again."

But does that mean they cannot cope with recent developments, like Internet shopping?

Mr Turner said: "Not at all - here we have some of the first developers to be accredited for Java in the United Kingdom, so we are right up there in adopting leading edge development as well.

"Because of our ability to blend new with old, we can build and support modern Internet-aware applications that talk comfortably to the older back-end systems."

The move to Chipping Norton came in late 1998. Mr Turner looked for somewhere in the middle of the warehouse networks of the major retailers, while at the same time giving staff a decent quality of life, although he divides his time between Chipping Norton and Rossendale, near Manchester.

The office is well placed for Birmingham and Heathrow airports, which is important as the number of continental clients is increasing.

"Many of our staff commute here but the drive is pleasant and far less stressful than trying to get into somewhere like Reading or Swindon. And one member of staff lives in a house right behind the office," he said.

"Chipping Norton is a lovely place - it has all the shops, cafes and restaurants that people need, so they can go for a meal, or a sandwich at lunch time, and shop for essentials, too."

He is also pleased that many clients want to visit Chipping Norton.

"We offer to go to their corporate headquarters but they decline, and will often book a night in one of the hotels, so they can go out for a meal and enjoy a drink, too."

Mr Turner tells the tale of some Milanese clients who stayed in Hook Norton.

"They were saying bella, bella' all the time as we drove them through the countryside. Sometimes we forget how beautiful this part of the world can be."

The dual nature of the business, supporting systems as well as performing the consultancy and implementation for new applications, has stabilised the company and fuelled growth.

"Doing just consultancy and implementation leads to a bit of a feast and famine situation," Mr Turner explained.

"But now the support contracts offer a solid regular income and new developments can fit alongside that."

Mr Turner believes this also improves job satisfaction. Staff can be presenting to a client one day, then working on a program the next, which makes work more interesting and keeps their technical skills sharp.

Increasingly, there is a need for consultants who understand the way businesses work at least as much as they know their operating systems and programming languages.

The company had a ceiling of 11 staff until they got this right, as they felt it was too risky to expand, but the rota now stands at 18.

Mr Turner added: "I believe we are ready to take on more graduate trainees. Our first, who lives in Long Compton, joined us in September.

"We can offer them an excellent career path in a field that is very different in IT because you can see the results of your labours when you're out shopping - far more interesting than working on some program that always stays hidden."

Name: Astech Established: 1997 Owner/managing director: Danny Turner Number of staff: 18 Annual turnover: Confidential Contact: 01608 645251 Web: www.astech.uk.com