JIM McColl recalls every detail of the first day he set foot over the threshold of Weir Pumps as a new apprentice in 1968.

It was a vibrant place and the 16-year-old from Carmunnock walked through the front gate, past security and was taken up to the training room with the rest of the new intake to be addressed by the supervisor.

"His surname was Nelson and he told us if you boys work hard here the sky's the limit'. He said it was up to us to decide how hard we wanted to work. That stuck in my mind," said Mr McColl.

Almost 40 years later, and with a wealth of hard work and business acumen under his belt, the apprentice has returned, this time as a knight in shining armour.

Mr McColl, engineering entrepreneur, self-made millionaire, and Scotland's 10th richest person, is the man Weir Pumps workers now call boss.

His old supervisor's words were to prove prophetic because Mr McColl refused to stand back and watch the company in its most critical hour.

He launched a successful £100million takeover bid and saved the jobs of the 600 workers. Little wonder he has been welcomed back as a saviour.

"Back then, when my supervisor said that, if someone told me I would end up buying it I would not have believed them, not in my wildest dreams.

"But you would not believe the number of e-mails and messages I have had from people I do not know and who do not know me. There is a real feeling of emotion and care for this company because of its fantastic heritage in Glasgow and Scotland.

"There was even a voice message from Ally McCoist, thanking me because his dad had worked here for 43 years.

"There are letters coming from people saying great things about me. My secretary was crying this morning reading them.

"It is the impact of this company, the roots and the history and the whole background, which was started here in Cathcart in 1886."

Mr McColl met every worker on his first day in charge. "I started at 8am and met them in groups and didn't finish until midnight. I'm knackered now," he joked.

"It went down really well.

I think they appreciated someone speaking to them directly and having the chance to ask questions.

"There is fantastic potential here, a great platform to build on, and I told them that. The company is in very good shape."

Mr McColl insisted he did not buy the company for emotional reasons, but that he had to treat it as a business deal and not let his heart rule his head.

"I don't think it has sunk in yet. I have been on the shop floor and met people I used to work with all those years ago."

He left Rutherglen Academy at 16 and had the choice of two apprenticeships, Weir's or the Rolls-Royce factory in East Kilbride.

"I chose Weir's because there was no direct bus route to Rolls-Royce. I could get the bus to Barrie's Garage and walk here.

"Engineering was what I wanted to get into, I was very keen on cars. My father had been a butcher, then a plant operator, and I had two brothers who went into different careers."

He remembers his first weekly wage was £4.16s in a "wee square brown envelope".

THAT was enough money, he said, to "run my car, have five pints of beer a night and a fish supper".

He added: "It was a tough environment. I worked with people from all over Glasgow - Easterhouse, Springburn, Drumchapel - but I enjoyed it.

"There were around 900-1000 people then. There was a lot of shipbuilding going on and the company was making all the pumps for the ships."

He completed his apprenticeship, passed exams in engineering and went to Strathclyde University before returning to Weir Pumps as a manager.

After working his way up the ladder he left again, this time to join accountants Coopers & Lybrand helping to turn round firms that hit financial difficulties.

He spotted a gap in the market, set himself up in business and went on to make his fortune. Now he has returned to turn round his old firm - the biggest and most satisfying takeover of his life.