ORDERS for products made by Gloucestershire-based company Renishaw plc accelerated in the second half of last year proving the recovery really has begun.

In a week when the Government announced the country was officially out of recession, albeit by less than a per cent, manufacturing and engineering company Renishaw announced they too have seen light at the end of the tunnel.

In its interim report for the second quarter of their financial year from the start of October until December 31, 2009, published yesterday, Renishaw showed orders and revenue were up on their first quarter.

The chairman and chief executive of Renishaw Sir David McMurtry said: "I am delighted to announce that the improvements in order intake and revenue previously reported for the first three months have accelerated throughout the second quarter with order intake now exceeding revenue in each of the last six months.

He added: "After a serious and protracted global downturn we are encouraged by the progress in this first six months, particularly by the performance in this last quarter and the improvements in the rate of order intake."

He said he was "cautiously optimistic" about the company’s future and that he was grateful to his employees, many of whom are based at the company’s head quarters in Wotton-under-Edge, for their commitment over the last year.