BOSSES at one of Bridport’s major firms say they are full of optimism as they pledged its future to the town.

AmSafe managing director Ian Kentfield said that the award-winning company – which employs 140 people at its West Street headquarters – was having a good year and had a full order book.

Mr Kentfield denied rumours that the netting and defence company had halted the use of outworkers to do contract work at home.

Mr Kentfield said: “Our outworker level and usage fluctuates all the time – almost daily – according to number of people that want to do the work and the contracts that we have.

“We are not laying off outworkers.”

Mr Kentfield said AmSafe had a full order book but could not say how much of the work would be applicable to the home workers.

He added: “We are having a good year. We have been in the town a long time and we intend to remain a long time.”

AmSafe has factories in Sri Lanka, China and two in America.

Mr Kenfield said: “There is no truth behind the fact that we are shipping stuff out to India or anywhere else different from what we have done for the last 10-plus years.

“Our policies have not changed.

“It is very straightforward and I don’t want to encourage rumours.

“I would like it to be a very clear message from us – of optimism and business as usual.”

AmSafe scooped the Technology Award at the Dorset Business Awards last year for its revolutionary Tarian Quicksheld netting armour.

It also won a £2.6million deal with the MoD earlier this year for the armour to be deployed in Afghanistan.

The netting style armour is designed to act as a temporary shield to replace broken bar armour damaged in combat.