COMMUNICATIONS firm Executel has won a contract with one of the UK's largest paint companies.

The Gateshead company will upgrade the voice and data technology at Tor Coatings' head office, on the Portobello Industrial Estate, in Birtley, near Chester-le-Street.

The £22,000 contract is the second win for Executel, after installing Tor's Avaya INDeX telephony system in 1998.

Michael O'Sullivan, Executel account manager, said: "The company is currently going through a period of dramatic change and expansion and we have therefore provided a scaleable and future-proof communications platform from which the company can grow its operations and evolve."

Tor Coatings, which has sales of more than £23m and employs 200 staff, was acquired by US company RPM International Group in a multi-million pound deal in March.

Established in 1976, it is now one of the largest paint companies in the UK.

The company has provided paint for the Sultan of Brunei's palaces and Big Ben, as well as anti-climb paint for the Tyne Bridge, in Newcastle.