ONE of Worcester's most innovative companies is to transform its drab-looking factory into "a landmark building" with a dramatic new glass frontage.

Yamazaki Mazak, the Japanese engineering firm with its European headquarters at the Warndon Business Park, has been granted planning permission for a huge new showroom which will totally mask its existing home.

The award-winning firm, which designs precision machine tools for hi-tech companies around the world including the McClaren F1 motor racing team, plans to use the new building to showcase examples of its work.

Worcester City council's senior planning officer Alan Coleman told the city's planning committee he thought the firm's designs were "quite exciting."

He said: "Mazak is at the forefront of cutting-edge technology, and the idea is it would have a bespoke building to showcase the products being developed there.

"I feel this is a scheme that will produce a landmark building in this location.

"I'm quite, quite confident the end result will be a credit to Mazak and the future of the city."

Mr Coleman said the glass showroom would be slightly taller than the existing factory, and would therefore hide the current frontage.

"We see this as a positive thing, really," he said. "The existing building is pretty unassuming. It's a product of it's time with no special architectural features that we would want to retain on public view."

As part of the planning process, Mazak has agreed to contribute £23,800 towards highways improvements in Worcester.

Worcestershire County Council intends to spend the money on constructing a new footpath and cycleway along Cotswold Way in Warndon, close to the Mazak factory.

The company has also pledged to construct new car parking provision for its workforce to compensate for the spaces lost when the new development is finished.

Mazak arrived in Worcester back in 1981 and has expanded rapidly over the years, now employing more than 900 people. Its Worcester factory has won several prestigious awards for innovation.