A NORTH-EAST firm supplying fire protection equipment has secured a number of overseas deals.

Ecco Finishing Supplies, in Middlesbrough, has picked up sales in Russia, the Philippines, Abu Dhabi and Canada.

The successes, augmented by enquiries from customers in China, Kazakhstan, Nigeria and the US, have helped lift turnover above £5m, with overseas trade making up nearly half of sales.

The company is known for its passive fire protection machines, which are used in the offshore energy sector to increase structures’ heat resistance, and blast cleaning equipment, used to prepare surfaces for painting.

Earlier this year, The Northern Echo reported how Ecco, based on Letitia Industrial Estate, has set up a Dubai-based joint venture to supply parts in the previously unchartered territories of Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq.

Reacting to the latest sales, Mr Miller, who founded the company nearly 20 years ago in his bedroom, said: “For many years we dabbled with exports, but it’s really taken off since I decided it was our best way to avoid a downturn during the financial struggles of five or six years ago.

“My biggest breakthrough in the Middle-East was discovering most of the ex-pats out in Dubai play golf on a Friday morning and go to a social club for the afternoon.

“I made it my business to go there and get talking to them.

“My first contact in Dubai was with a Redcar lad, who I got talking to by sheer coincidence.

“It all started to take off from there.

“Our reputation is based on customers readily telling others our story; that we’re reliable, honest and up front.

“If we say we’ll do it, then we’ll do it.”

Ecco has previously sent blast and painting supplies to Angola, with Oman-based Tech International relying on its spray machines to lift heat resistance in steel structures on oil and gas refineries.

The company also works with Teesside-based Wilton Group, Hertel, Cape and Tees Valley Coatings.