MACKIE International is continuing an orderly run down of business activities after a bidder for the ailing engineering company failed to step forward since a receiver was appointed four weeks ago. The receiver, Mr Tom Keenan, of Deilotte & Touche, said yesterday the focus was now switching to the sale of the assets and the workforce had now been reduced from 300 to 80. A Mackie electrical business subsidiary, Automatic Temperature Control (ATC), which employs about 60 people, was sold as a going concern.

However, Mr Keenan said the engineering sector Mackie is involved in - the manufacture of machinery for the textile industry - appeared to be suffering from over capacity. "It makes it that much more difficult to find a going concern buyer," he said.

He added that an Industrial Development Board grant of £350,000 sterling to assist with the sale of the business by covering ongoing trading losses had been used up in the period to last Friday. Asked about earlier speculation that there might be a management buy-out led by the company chief executive, Mr Sul Sahota, Mr Keenan said he was not confident about getting an offer. Over 200 different parties had been contacted, and serious discussions took place with six of these. However, with no firm offers on the table, there was no alternative but to begin winding the business down.

"Time is against us," he said, "because we are incurring significant losses every week we are trading. Making the redundancies now means that the losses are significantly reduced."

In the first week after the receivers were called in 90 people were laid off. Following Friday's redundancies, 80 employees are now left at the Springfield Road plant.

However, Mr Keenan said that he would not be giving up on finding a buyer. "Our game plan is to keep looking until time finally runs out."

He added that the decision to run the business down was only taken after it was clear that there were no firm offers from the six interested parties. "Given the status of their enquiries," he said, "we were not optimistic that they would lead to any bids. It is disappointing to be making this announcement, and we thank the Mackie workforce for their support and commitment over the period of the receivership during what has been a very difficult time for them."

However, a spokesman for the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union (AEEU), Mr Sam Mulholland, said that the employees were less than impressed by the efforts which had been made to save their jobs. "We should never have been put in this position. More should have been done. The workforce in there has done everything that was asked of them down the years. We cannot go out and get the orders. That's the management's job, and the management has failed and failed miserably."