By the '50s it had diversified into producing liquid gas bottles and domestic boilers. It also sold gas hobs to use with the liquid gas.

At the same time, Hotpoint set up a manufacturing plant in Woodston, employing more than 1,000 people.

In 1985 Merloni Elettrodomestici purchased it's biggest domestic rival, Indesit, along with the Ariston brand.

Indesit purchased the Hotpoint Brand in 2001, and took over the Woodston factory in 2003.

More than £20 million was pumped into the factory by Indesit in 2003, to speed up production times and increase the capacity.

But two years later in 2005 the company struggled against a slow year in the high street, and high material and energy costs.

In 2005, 400 staff were forced to stay at home for a week, being paid just £18 per day.

And the following year the company was forced to axe 105 jobs from the night shift.

At the time, 1,500 people worked at the factory, one of the biggest manufacturers of Hotpoint fridges in Europe.

In January this year, workers were promised their jobs were safe, despite concern over documents discovered in an office.

A company spokesman said that the papers were part of a long-term feasibility study, and there was nothing for employees to worry about.

The Woodston factory is the head office of the company's UK operations, and the site includes a Contact Centre, a spare parts warehouse and an after-sales service for over 24 million products.

Indesit is currently Europe's second biggest producer of white goods, behind Electrolux, selling more than 16 million appliances in 36 countries.

It currently employs more than 17,000 people in 17 plants across the world.

In 2006 the company received the Best Training award at the Comet award ceremony, after being praised for its commitment to its staff training policy.