CORKS will be popping as an Ashford-based engineering company celebrates its 80th birthday. GEI Albro, at Henwood Industrial Estate, maker of world-leading filling machines since the 1920s, is trying to find the oldest working model in the country.

Users of that will receive 80 bottles of Champagne, with all entrants having the chance to win a case of bubbly in a celebration draw to be made in the spring. "We know there are some real vintage machines out there still earning their keep and we are keen to find the oldest," said Albro sales director Ian Hillaby.

The company's range stretches from hand fed to high-speed rotary installations.

Machines are typically used in the handling of coffee, powdered milk, talcum powders, cleaners and chemicals.

Albro shares its Ashford base with sister GEI companies Gravfil, founded in 1929 and Dico, founded in 1945.