A YEAR after it was rescued from the brink of collapse, a famous North-East engineering company is winning contracts worth millions of pounds and announcing plans to triple staff numbers.

Since it became part of the Samsung Group, Darlington’s Whessoe Engineering has secured deals to design huge storage tanks for clients across the world.

The Morton Palms firm recently won accreditation that will enable it to build the biggest gas tank of its kind in the world – opening up new global markets and creating jobs in the North-East.

“Right now I have 50 design engineers up to their necks in work, and I need 50 more,”

said Steve Kim, Whessoe chief executive, who is targeting work in Africa, North America and Europe following deals in China and Greece.

When Samsung bought Whessoe last year, it took over a firm where staff numbers had fallen from hundreds to only 57, and morale was at rock bottom.

There were fears for the future of the company, which had once employed thousands of workers in the North-East.

Mr Kim expects to have about 160 on the payroll by the end of this year, and there are plans to start a graduate training programme to help secure the firm’s long-term future.

Samsung C&T, the construction and trading division of Korea’s biggest company, has invested millions in new technology so the Darlington firm can compete with some of the industry’s biggest names.

“My vision is to make this the brain centre for Samsung C&T,” said Mr Kim.

Despite its recent troubles, Whessoe, whose Darlington roots date back to 1790, retained a reputation for high quality design.

Its engineering expertise is now helping Samsung to land billion-pound projects.

Andy Beedle, who heads Whessoe’s business development division, said: “Having the credibility of Samsung has been a game-changer for us here. It gives us opportunities where we otherwise just wouldn’t have got through the door.

“Instead of being a small company in Darlington we are part of the biggest company in Korea.”