THE new owners of Cadillac Plastic say it is full speed ahead after a management buy-out.

The distribution firm, which employs 24 people in Rivermead Drive, Westlea, has been bought from former owner GE Advanced Materials Speciality Film and Sheet for an undisclosed sum.

Now the new owners, managing director Alistair Kennedy and finance director Martyn Jones, say they are strengthening the customer service and sales teams with a view to expanding the business.

The buy-out was carried out with the help of Thring Townsend solicitors, chartered accountants Bentley Jennison and Fusion Corporate Finance.

Mr Jones joined the firm in 1989 as financial controller.

Mr Kennedy, who joined Cadillac Plastic as a salesman in 1981 when it started, was appointed managing director in 2001.

He said: "The motivation for GE selling the company was that we are a distribution company, and it is a manufacturing firm.

"GE felt we would do better if we could operate as an individual company.

"Although we are now independent, we will continue to work closely with GE Advanced Materials SF&S, and distribute their products to customers across the UK and Ireland."

Because distribution and manufacturing need different numbers of people and different skills, the decision was made to split the disciplines, with the hope Cadillac will be able to take on more business as an independent distribution company.

GE Advanced Materials took over Cadillac in 2000. Cadillac Plastic has a £7m turnover and supplies high-performance plastic films and adhesives to customers across the UK and Ireland in sectors, including screen-printing, electronics and medical.

It provides products from manufacturers such as GE Advanced Materials SF&S, Dupont Teijin, 3M and Avery Dennison.