SPORTS footwear firm New Balance increased its UK pace last year and still finished in much better condition than a year earlier.

The company has its European headquarters in Warrington and its manufacturing facility in Flimby, Cumbria, where it produces 1.2m pairs of shoes a year.

Sales increased 7.6% to £57.7m in 2009, growing its market share in a largely static market. It said sales this year remained strong with forward orders for 2011 also very positive.

Andy Okolowicz, New Balance’s factory manager, said: “At our factory, we have an order book through to mid-April. I can’t make enough. We are really excited about where it can go. My long-term goal is to get production up to 2m and then 3m pairs a year.”

The jump in sales helped to turn around pre-tax losses of £2.65m to a profit of £3.31m.

It attributed the gains to a reduction of operating costs through optimised marketing activities, using lean manufacturing techniques and restructuring its back-office operations.

Part of the restructure includes a partnership signed last month with Groupe Royer, which will see the French company distribute New Balance apparel in France, Germany and Benelux.

This agreement will lead to some redundancies in Warrington in areas that support its operations in those countries, although the company last night said it was unable to say how many people would be affected.

New Balance reduced the amount of money tied up in raw materials by nearly half and its finished goods by one-quarter so that its stock value was £4m lower at £6.4m at the year end.

Mr Okolowicz said: “We have tightened up stock levels enormously, that helps in terms of less clearance.”

Manufacturing in the UK, close to European retailers, rather than in the Far East, has seen the company benefit from what it terms “economic patriotism” while it also improves its customer service, allowing the company to be flexible to changing circumstances.

He added: “The way the industry works is they will forecast and buy 100% of their product and sell it throughout the year,” he said.

“But if a customer has forecast a large quantity of product and it doesn’t sell as well as they thought, we can get out of some of the order.”

SEE October’s LDP Business magazine, out next Thursday with the Liverpool Daily Post, for more on New Balance’s UK manufacturing.