It is refreshing to see a new business starting up, and even more refreshing to hear one of the founders brushing off talk of an economic downturn.

Simon Barker, of newly-opened Weldtec Engineering, said: "I don't think there is a recession, really. I know the banks have made mistakes and that's causing a lot of trouble, but underneath all that I think there is still healthy business to be done."

Mr Barker and his partner, Chris Jolly, have certainly put their money where there mouth is. They have taken one of the largest units on an industrial estate on the edge of Chipping Norton and installed new welding plant.

Welding and fabrication are their specialities and between them Mr Barker and Mr Jolly have more than 40 years’ experience.

Mr Barker said: "We can weld virtually any metal, ferrous or otherwise. Our target market is local companies who want specialist parts fabricated and welded."

Being in the new unit has already yielded a lead from a local company.

"We were moving in here and a man came over from another unit to say he had a job designing some pub signs and could we do the fabrication. It might come to nothing but it's a good sign at least," said Mr Barker.

The two directors met while working together on large engineering projects like the three-year project constructing the wind tunnel at Honda Racing F1's headquarters (now Brawn GP). Being in Brackley that particular job was reasonably local, but that was a rarity.

Mr Barker, 41, and 29-year-old Mr Jolly have spent virtually the whole of their working lives away from home, living on site. In Mr Barker's case that often meant working in another country, not just elsewhere in the UK.

The decision to set up business together in Chipping Norton was driven largely by a desire to change that.

Mr Barker explained: "I live in Broadway and Chris lives in Banbury, and this unit is exactly halfway between the two of us."

But it was not just the convenience for themselves that made them choose Chipping Norton. Hard graft went into examining the local market and competition in the area.

"There isn't anyone within 25 miles of us who can do what we do," claims Mr Barker, who prides himself on the quality and versatility of the firm’s offering.

"Our motto is 'excellence in welding and fabrication technology'. We often come across people who call themselves welders but can only do one sort of welding.

“We can look at what the metals are and can use any welding method, whatever is best for the job."

A large proportion of the firm’s work is for racing drivers, a market that often requires specialist welding plant.

"A lot of drivers want absolute perfection and we've got vacuum welding equipment here that can guarantee no contamination in the weld. The racing boys can be quite fussy but they don't want their parts to break during a race."

However, it is not all exotic titanium racing parts. Weldtec can take on almost anything involving metal, so a job could be making a part for a jet-ski, or repairing a classic car part.

It could just as easily be a bottom bracket of a gate for which replacements are no longer available, although they have longer-term plans to find work in the pharmaceutical industry and agriculture.

"We are always looking at ways that parts can be remanufactured or modified, so their working life can be extended," said Mr Barker.

That is an aspect that resonates with the current green trend and is also now becoming an economic necessity for many companies.

Even if Mr Barker and Mr Jolly are sceptical about the reality of the current recession, it looks like a shrewd move to set up a company that deals with smaller jobs, instead of traditional large projects.

"About 75 per cent of our customers know exactly what they want and will order it directly from us. The rest will pop in to see if it's possible to mend or make something for them," said Mr Barker.

"At the moment we're busy with moving in, getting the machines set up and doing existing work for our customers, but we wouldn’t be making this move if we weren't confident of growth.”

Name: Weldtec Engineering Established: 2009 Directors: Simon Barker and Chris Jolly Number of staff: Two Annual turnover: N/A

Contact: 01608 641660 or 07759 267683 Web: www.weldtec-ltd.co.uk