A successful Rose Green company has been given permission to expand.

Osborne Refrigerators received the go-ahead for its extra room by Arun District Council, which will add a third to the current amount of space.

Jeff Osborne, the business’ owner, said he expected the extension to be in use within three months.

More workers, though he has yet to decide the number, will also be taken on to add to the 60 currently employed.

The company makes between 50-150 commercial fridges and chillers a day at its existing factory of 1,430sq m on Rose Green Road. It is the largest manufacturer in its field in Europe.

“I have always found we do well in times of recession and not so well when money is freely available,” said Mr Osborne.

“I think it’s because when money is short people look to spend it wisely and get value and they don’t so much when times are better.”

“Our annual turnover before the financial crash was £5.5m. It’s now £3.5m and climbing back up again.

“But a lot of firms didn’t survive at all. We’ve been in business for 51 years now and not a lot of companies can say that.”

His firm has benefited from the boom in coffee shops in the nation’s high streets. It is the only maker of the chilled units which fit inside coffee machines which dispense milk as well as coffee powder.

“Every one of those machines has our equipment in it,” he said.

“We send them around the country and export it directly to countries like France and Switzerland and indirectly in machines made in this country.”

Osborne Refrigerators also makes upright chiller cabinets, undercounter cabinets and fishkeepers.

The extension was approved by Arun planning officer Janice Chapman.

Her report says the extension with its green metal sheeting will blend in with the existing factory and the surrounding area.