Stories about major fires don't tend to have happy endings. Just look at the outcome at Amcor in Livingston, where a devastating blaze has resulted in the permanent closure of the facility and the loss of 77 jobs.

How delightful, then, to read about Alexir Packaging's astonishing phoenix-like resurrection just a few weeks after a terrible fire in November that destroyed its Crawley factory.

The firm swiftly relocated to a new site in Edenbridge, and has put on a special minibus service to help workers cope with the new commute. An incredible 99% of its 90 staff have been retained.

Thanks to a worldwide scramble for equipment by its suppliers - by the sounds of it a few demonstration facilities have been denuded to help Alexir get back on its feet - the company was up and running again within just 10 weeks. Manufacturers who pulled out all the stops include Fuji, Komori, Bobst and Kohmann. Alexir handled its first post-fire finishing job on 13 January, and completed its first end-to-end project on 3 February - a recovery timescale made all the more impressive considering it also coincided with the Christmas break and a heap of snow-based disruption.

What a fantastic good news story from something that began with such bad news.