THREE fire crews battled in the early hours of today to put out a blaze which swept through part of an electronics factory at Melton.The fire at Cogent Technology's premises in Dock Lane started at 3.30am after a circuit board in a large soldering machine caught alight.

THREE fire crews battled in the early hours of today to put out a blaze which swept through part of an electronics factory at Melton.

The fire at Cogent Technology's premises in Dock Lane started at 3.30am after a circuit board in a large soldering machine caught alight.

But today the factory - which makes electrical products for other companies, including medical devices, instrumentation and control equipment - was in operation as normal.

Managing director Nigel Slator praised the police and fire service for their quick action in dealing with the incident.

“We want to say a big thank you to the emergency services because without their help it could have been much worse,” he said.

The soldering machine was in a 45 metre by 20m building on the site and had been in stand-by mode overnight.

Mr Slator said the machine was designed to hibernate at night so it didn't take so long to warm up when needed. The fire was contained in the machine, which was a write-off.

“The machine will have to be replaced and the room is very smoke damaged so we have a bit of a clean up on our hands. We are in business as usual and should have the affected part of the site up and running again in a week,” he said.

The company employs 70 people and has been in business since 1985 and has a £4.5 million annual turnover.

Firefighters from Woodbridge, Princes Street and Colchester Road in Ipswich were called to tackle the fire. It took just over an hour to extinguish the flames.