MANAGERS at Airsprung have unveiled capital investment plans to help guide the company out of the red.

The Trowbridge-based bed manufacturer is battling to shake off a series of negative stories and restore confidence to a disillusioned workforce.

Managing director Paul Lamb and sales and marketing director Jim Murphy issued a joint statement this week outlining the company's plans to beat the difficult manufacturing climate.

The firm has recently invested £350,000 in new capital equipment and an additional £250,000 will be invested during the year.

Their statement says the new equipment will not lead to any "significant reduction" in the workforce.

Airsprung has been plagued with rumours of redundancies and cutbacks, prompting bosses to set up a consultative committee for staff.

Earlier this month managers at the 800-employee bed factory denied rumours staff were left cleaning windows and weeding gardens as the workload dwindled.

Union leaders were at the Canal Road plant in March for pay talks, and to discuss workers fears over importing finished products from abroad. Up to 60 workers feared their jobs in the firm's wood mill were doomed.

Mr Lamb said the fact the company were committed to investing in cutting-edge equipment and thinking long term could only be good news for workers.

"The investment we are announcing is part of a bigger picture that includes better communication with our employees via our joint consultative committee," he said.

"We are not only investing money in better equipment but also investing time to ensure that our workforce knows that more machinery does not mean less people.

"This major investment is just the first phase of our long term plan to be a world leader in bed manufacturing.

"To achieve this we need to work together with our employees and plan further investment to enable us to become ever more competitive."

Chief executive Toni Lisanti told the Wiltshire Times in March how competitors were already importing more finished products in from Brazil and eastern Europe at the same price as raw materials in the UK.

Annual losses of £1.3m, announced in February, were blamed on the closure of the firm's Gloucestershire plant and a scorching summer, leading to an overall drop in demand for beds last year.

l Airsprung has donated three beds and eight mattresses to a homeless charity based in Bath.

Julian House, in Manvers Street, help provide night shelter for the city's rough sleepers 365 days a year.

Fundraising manager Cecil Weir said: "Money is a constant challenge for Julian House, but very often support in kind is just as valuable to us."