Whatman, one of Kent’s most illustrious manufacturing names, is shedding 60 jobs but insists the move has nothing to do with the credit crunch.

The maker of high-quality filter paper, especially in the DNA field, has confirmed that it is cutting its workforce at Springfield Mill, Maidstone.

The decision follows the takeover of Whatman by global company GE Healthcare - part of General Electric - earlier this year for £363 million. GE bought Whatman to boost its life sciences business.

A spokesman said that "in the region of" 60 jobs will be affected, reducing Whatman’s workforce in the County Town to just 140, well down on the thousand or so who worked there as recently as the 1990s.

He said the job losses were due to a refocusing and restructuring of the business. It had nothing to do with the economic downturn or credit crunch.

"Maidstone is going to be a centre of excellence for the really hi-tech, high-profile, high-value products," he added, saying that some new activities would be coming to Maidstone, with some existing ones going elsewhere.

Whatman is regarded as a global leader in filtration technology, providing innovative life science products to the scientific community.

It is at the forefront of DNA technology involving the capture and storage of vital genetic data.

The history of Whatman goes back to 1740 in Turkey Mill, Maidstone, where James Whatman founded the business and made what was admired worldwide as the finest handcrafted paper in the world.

The business was later taken over by William Balston who set up the Springfield Mill operation on the banks of the River Medway in 1805.

Whatman has since transformed itself into an international separations technology business making filters, membranes and other specialist products used in healthcare and bioscience. Its products are found in medical devices and diagnostic kits. Maidstone is now one of many offices and plants around the world.