Marchants Contract Cleaning, the Swindon-based cleaning firm, has just won the cleaning and support service contract to service Avon Rubber Plc.

The three year contract, worth in excess of half a million pounds, will cover five of Avon Rubber's sites in Wiltshire, and employ more than 15 staff to carry out the work.

Based at its head offices in Shrivenham, Marchants was first established in 1967 by founder Peter Marchant.

Today, 37 years on, the company employs more than 300 staff and is run by Peter's son, Jerry Marchant.

The firm, whose other clients include Woolworths, Honda Logistics and Aldi, specialises in cleaning offices, factories, retail premises and leisure centres.

According to Jerry Marchant, the Avon Rubber contract was the icing on the cake for the company in 2003.

He said: "Last year was a very good year for us and this capped it nicely. It also means that we kick off 2004 from a very confident position."

Last year, the firm's turnover increased by more than 20 per cent and this year, Jerry predicts, the firm's turnover should hit £2.7 million.

"Winning a contract like this is very important because once you can prove to a large company that you're capable of delivering the service they demand, it gives them and other similarly sized companies confidence in your overall ability," explained Jerry.

"And winning this contract is undoubtedly a feather in our cap. It's very sizeable and even though we were up against some national firms, we won because of our regional base."

Jerry added that his staff deserved a major vote of thanks.

"They have helped us build up and maintain our reputation for delivering a professional service with a personal approach," he said.

Avon Rubber, with head offices in Bradford-on-Avon, is a major supplier to the automotive, engineering, dairy and defence markets, with premises in Chippenham, Melksham, Westbury and Trowbridge.