A former MG Rover supplier has bounced back to win nearly £7 million of new orders.

Cobra Automotive UK, based in Shrewsbury, has won the biggest contract in its history after surviving the aftermath of the Longbridge crash.

Cobra, which manufactures interior trim and safety components, lost 60 per cent of its manufacturing business when MG Rover collapsed last year.

It was forced to put its staff on part-time work and move to a potato storage warehouse. It also diversified into making milking nozzles for the dairy industry and a special mobile rig for the Dyslexia Association.

Now it has secured a £5 million order from Volvo which will quadruple the size of the business and has the potential to create around 28 highly-skilled jobs in the process.

Gary Seale, managing director, said: "The 12 months after MG Rover have been really tough and we found ourselves using our expertise in various other sectors to keep us in a position where we could re-invest.

"We had some good months and some bad months, but we managed to survive without losing credibility with our tier one customers. We even completed contracts for pubs and dairies.

"During that time, we were also exploring major new products with some of the world's largest names, but naturally had to contend with the typical industry time-frame and politics. Then, a year on from the very day of the closure, we enjoyed the sort of day that would change the future of the company forever."

Within the space of eight hours, Cobra received four phone calls, which resulted in the Volvo deal as well as another £1.75 million of new orders from Ford's plant in Genk, IAC Interiors and CNH Tractors to produce built-in sun visors.

The Volvo deal, which will last for five years, has seen the company become the Swedish car producer's newest tier one supplier and will see the firm design, develop and manufacture innovative load safety netting.