Dumfriesshire Clydesdale and Tweeddale MP David Mundell and Dumfriesshire constituency MSP Oliver Mundell have warmly welcomed the sale of the former Pinneys' food processing factory at Annan.
Purchaser Bhagat Holdings Limited plan to begin production in the autumn creating in the region 120 jobs and with the prospect of further employment in the longer term.
Both politicians have been involved in efforts to secure future employment on the 11-acre Stapleton Road complex since parent company Young's announced last winter they were closing the factory with the loss of more than 450 jobs.
David Mundell said: "I understand the buyer has a clear detailed long-term business plan for the site and, although the initial number of jobs may be significantly less than Pinneys' employed, more vacancies are expected as production expands.
"Fortunately most of the original Pinneys' workforce has found alternative employment although this encouraging development should mean work closer to home for some.
"It will be a real lift for the local economy after a very difficult year and I'm sure one of the attractions to the buyer was the excellent skills base, flexibility and dedication shown over many years of the local workforce."
Oliver Mundell was equally upbeat about the sale of the site and praised officials from various agencies, including the council and Scottish Development International (SDI), for working so hard to help secure a deal.
He said: "This development has lifted a dark shadow which has been hanging over Annan for many months.Â
"There was a fantastic campaign by former Pinneys workers and other townspeople to highlight the strengths of the workforce and I'm sure that proved one of the deal-makers for the purchaser.
"I'm particularly pleased that this large factory will come back into use soon as sitting empty for too long could eventually have led to it deteriorating."
The local father and son parliamentarians added that they stood ready to help in any way they could to help ensure an early resumption of production on the site.