Ortak shop reopens in Kirkwall

Ortak, which is back manufacturing its products in Orkney has reopened its shop in Kirkwall town centre today, Friday.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has provided a grant of £136,400 to Ortak Jewellery Ltd for the £506,000 project which has created fourteen new jobs initially and has the potential to create further employment in the future.

The new business is led by majority shareholder and managing director Michael Gardens, ex-production manager of the former Ortak company, and Alison Firth, a finance professional from Castletown.

Earlier this year it was announced that Ortak had gone into administration and manufacturing ceased at the Hatston factory with redundancies made as the company was wound down as a buyer could not be found for the company as a whole.

The new partners purchased the brand, including the intellectual property rights, as well as the original designs and patterns of the jewellery moulds and drawings.

Production is being carried out at a former dental surgery on Great Western Road, Kirkwall which has been adapted to provide the necessary workstations.