Forth to focus on doubling workforce

A TV technology firm that was threatened with closure in 2006 is looking to more than double its workforce in Fife after branching out into a new generation of motion picture cameras being used by Hollywood.

Forth Dimension Displays, which is chaired by Scottish Enterprise board member Fred Hallsworth, is on a drive to increase its engineering and manufacturing staff from 32 to more than 60 by the end of this year. It hopes to have a workforce in excess of 100 at its Dalgety Bay headquarters by 2012 after turning a profit for the first time at the end of 2009.

The company, which is backed by venture capital firms Doughty Hanson and Amadeus, shortly expects to post revenues of 3 million for 2009 and is eyeing 50 per cent growth this year after securing several contracts to supply electronic view finders for the latest range of film cameras.

Chief executive Greg Truman said: "The camera market gives us a much smoother revenue stream so I'd be disappointed if we didn't do 50 per cent growth."

Forth Dimension has secured a contract to supply view finders to several firms, including German manufacturer Arri Group, which have developed a new generation of motion picture cameras. Truman said: "These are the kind of things that the Spielbergs and so on will use."