TRY telling Darren Wilson that Swindon's economy is going through a crisis.

The 41 year-old is choosing a period commonly regarded as being on the brink of a recession as the moment to establish his own electrical distribution business in Rodbourne.

Mr Wilson said he was thinking of setting up Associated Electrical and Lighting, at 127-8 Rodbourne Road, long before talk of a slowdown started in the UK.

And despite the recent spate of job losses at leading local firms like Motorola, Lucent Technologies and Zarlink, he remains con-vinced Swindon is the right environment for a new company to grow in.

"We have had the courage, despite what's happening, to go ahead and trade," said Mr Wilson.

"The Swindon economy is still very much alive.

"You have to go by facts and while the service sector is being affected, people are still doing business.

"After reading all the doom and gloom in Swndon, it will be nice to do some-thing positive and say life goes on."

Mr Wilson's confidence is also partly based on the nature of his new company, and the fact that he has 21 years' of experience meeting the needs of customers in industry, commerce and entertainment.

He has practised as a Lighting Industry Federation qualified engin-eer since 1992 and most recently worked as group commercial director for a Swindon-based industrial wholesale distributor.

Among the projects he has worked on were the Channel Tunnel, London's Mount Pleasant rail mail tunnels, the Thurrock Lakeside shopping complex, the Galleria shopping centre in Hatfield, and various car park sites owned by NCP.

This experience allows him to offer a free and comprehensive lighting design and planning service to customers needing to revamp their office or factory lighting or move into new premises a deal he thinks few of his competitors will be able to match.

And although there were many electrical wholesalers already operating in Swin-don, Mr Wilson feels his firm is unique.

"We do a lot of things that a lot of more mundane distributors won't do," he said. These include lighting and professional sound products for the entertain-ment industry.

"In some cases we stock lamps that are difficult to obtain."

The new business, which was officially opened on Friday by North Swindon MP Michael Wills, is holding an open day for trade customers on November 23 and one for entertainment and leisure customers the following day.