JAPANESE company Futamura Chemical has officially opened its Wigton cellophane plant.

The firm took over the factory from Innovia Films earlier this month after completing a £60m deal and now employs 270 people in Cumbria, most of whom transferred from Innovia.

This deal was marked by a traditional Japanese Kampai Sake barrel ceremony attended by executives who had travelled from Japan, officials from the UK and the company's Wigton staff.

Keith Fell, the company's general manager for Europe, who worked for Innovia for 44 years before coming out of retirement for his current role, said: "This is fantastic for the cellophane business and fantastic for the town that these guys have come across from Japan to celebrate in this opening ceremony.

"The morale in the plant is very, very high. Everybody says this is a really good thing for the business."

Mr Fell added that Futamura, which is based in Nagoya, has made a long-term commitment to the Wigton plant, giving staff there a greater sense of security.

He also said that Futamura has a history of creating a family atmosphere in its business, which was similar to the environment which already existed in Wigton.

Nobuyoshi Goto, Futamura's UK president, said: "From this partnership we can bring Japanese skills and UK skills, which have both been building up for years, and integrate them. At the same time, we can try new things."

Yasuo Nagae, the company's president, spoke to the Wigton staff before the opening ceremony.

"I believe you have, for a long time, played a very important role locally. This approach and way of thinking is exactly the same as the Futamura way."

Five of the guests - Mr Fell, Mr Nagae, Mr Goto, Claire Hensman who is Cumbria's Lord Lieutenant, and Peter Heginbotham, Japan's Honorary Consul for Japan in Manchester - smashed a barrel with wooden mallets before sake was served. This ceremony dates back more than 300 years and was first performed by a shogun (military leader) before a successful battle. A ribbon was also cut and a plaque unveiled.