The founders of the Stafford-based heating manufacturer Altecnic, are leaving the firm after 22 years.
Stuart Gizzi, Cynthia Fisher and Barry Humphreys set up Altecnic in 1988, building the business up to a £45m turnover with 70 staff, but now they will concentrate on developing Intatec, its sister company IntaEco and flue specialist M&G Altecnic.

The founding trio established Altecnic as a supply of heating products including pressure vessels, valves and thermostatic devices and in 2005, Caleffi, the Italian-based global brassware manufacturer, acquired a majority stake in the firm. At the same time, a new company, Intatec was formed to supply anti-scald valves and Intatec continues to be owned by Gizzi, Fisher & Humphreys.

'We are delighted that from humble beginnings we have built a business that proved such an attractive proposition to a global manufacturer,' said Stuart Gizzi.

He added:'Our association with Caleffi and with other major suppliers, right from the very early days when we were just a fledgling business has been fantastic. None of us are in the early part of our careers and we feel that the time is right for us to concentrate our expertise on growing Intatec and IntaEco, creating and supplying products into the expanding and exciting new markets of anti-scald bathrooms and eco-friendly heating systems.'

Altecnic has not yet announced who will take the helm. Altecnic and Intatec have historically shared some business resources and staff. It is expected the new move will result in more jobs across both firms.