A HYGIENE paper company has been chosen as one of the top 1,000 companies to ‘inspire Europe’.

Star Tissue, of Princess Street, Blackburn, has been highlighted as one of the fastest-growing and most dynamic small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK and Europe.

Managing director Khalid Saifullah was a guest at the launch of the ‘1,000 Companies To Inspire Europe 2017’ report at the five-star Sofitel Hotel in Brussels.

Mr Saifullah said: “We are delighted to be recognised as one of Europe’s most inspiring and high-growth businesses.

“It’s a magnificent accolade for Star Tissue to be included in the exclusive report and is a testament to our workforce in Blackburn for providing a fantastic product and service, which has enabled the company to again outperform the growing hygiene paper market.

“Our continued investment enables us to improve our manufacturing and service capabilities, ensuring we continue to meet the growing demands of our diverse customer base.

“We are honoured to be up among the elite of Europe and look forward to continuing our growth ahead of the hygiene paper market.”

The launch of the report was hosted by Xavier Rolet, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange Group, and Luca Perano, chief executive of Elite, the capital raising programme.

A spokesman for London Stock Exchange Group, which commissioned the report, said: “The criteria to reach the final 1000 are very challenging.

“A company must have shown an exceptional financial performance and fast growth in rate of turnover over a three-year period.”

Star Tissue employs about 80 staff at its factory in Mill Hill. The company was established in 2003 and has grown year-on-year to become one of the leading independent manufacturers of hygiene paper products.

It has made continuous investment in new production technology and systems in order to enable it to operate efficiently and meet the needs of its customers.

The core of Star Tissue’s business is manufacturing away-from-home hygiene paper products, manufacturing private label products for major suppliers and distributors in the personal hygiene, catering and medical markets in the UK and Ireland.

Star Tissue offers a number of premium quality brands including Sirius, ecoroll, Bliss and Evotex.

Mr Saifullah is also chairman of the Hive, a business ambassador network in Blackburn and Darwen that was launched in the autumn of 2016.