DOMINATING the sprawling site, Darchem’s new £8m plant is a visual marker of the firm’s intentions.

The company’s name carries great credence for its work in the aerospace, oil and gas and automotive industries.

Indeed, its order book boasts international names such as Rolls-Royce, Boeing and Airbus.

The company makes 280 insulation blankets for Boeing 737 engines every month, and is supplying 350-tonne specialist intake and exhaust fabrications for the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier.

Almost half of its products are exported across Europe, the US and the Far-East.

But it is growing.

For a company using aircraft designs on door signs, bosses say, pardon the convenient pun, that it is ready for take-off.

The precision engineering company, based in Stillington, near Darlington, has built a factory to exploit the nuclear sector.

Already a key performer in the field, the plant has created more than 80 jobs and supported 29 further posts.

Bosses say it could allow the company to double turnover, which stood at £83.5m for the year ending October 2013.

Inside the cavernous building, yellow overhead cranes stand idle as they await their next task.

Nearby, a welder’s facial mask acts as a mirror, the bright hues beaming off its eye shield neatly reflecting his skills.

Echoes of voices sweep around the site, though the hushed tones will soon be drowned out by the rumbling hustle of machinery.

The company says the 75,000sq ft plant will be the catalyst to grow in the nuclear sector, and be capable of making large-scale products, including 350-tonne stainless steel waste boxes used to storage spent fuel from reactors.

The move comes as the Government targets low-carbon power and reduced generating costs.

Last year, ministers approved the UK’s first new nuclear station in a generation at Hinkley Point C, in Somerset, and US firm Westinghouse could build a new plant at Sellafield.

Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station, due to close in 2019, will also remain open until 2024.

Billy Meijer, Darchem’s managing director, has more than 30 years’ experience in the aerospace, defence, marine and nuclear industries, and was previously business unit director.

In that role, he was responsible for growing the aero-structures side of the business from £4.5m to a £22.5 turnover.

However, even more significantly, he managed the bid team which successfully won the company’s first major nuclear contract in more than 20 years with a sales value of £8m.

He said: “This has been built for the nuclear sector and we are bidding for a lot of work on that side.

“It could potentially double turnover because of the opportunities in the industry.

“It is purpose-built to our needs and means we have the room to work on the waste boxes, which are 11-metres high.”

Northern Ireland-born Mr Meijer, succeeded former boss Graham Payne in December last year, at a time when the company saw demand for its products increase by 11 per cent.

Last year, the firm signed a contract to protect Indian sailors with a fire barrier designed to withstand temperatures up to 1,000C.

It has also made similar protection systems for the Royal Navy, which have been installed on the HMS Ocean, HMS Queen Elizabeth and the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carriers, as well as the Spanish and Australian navies.

He told The Northern Echo such fervour for its services was continuing.

He said: “We have seen significant growth in aerospace, defence, automotive and energy.

“We are in a good position and on the aerospace side of things we are seeing steady growth.

“A lot more people are wanting to fly, and that means more planes in the sky.

“There are also opportunities in the heat insulation market, where we work with companies like JCB and combine harvesters.

“We don’t want to be there after others have been; we want to be the first in the queue.”

The factory development was supported by £1m Government Regional Growth Fund (RGF) cash.

Energy Minister, and former Darlington MP, Michael Fallon visited the site to officially commission its development.

Mr Fallon, speaking as he drew back royal blue curtains revealing a plaque marking the occasion, recalled the last time he saw Darchem in such close proximity.

It was back in 1991 with then Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd.

He said: “This is a company that is going places and it is great to come back and see it moving forward.

“Darchem is a part of the North-East’s manufacturing history, but its work on energy means it’s also very much the future and key to the area’s reinvention.

“This is one of the most important companies in the region with a big future in growth sectors and is offering high-tech jobs.

“The nuclear programme is on track and Darchem is very well placed to capture the orders from Hinkley Point C, in Somerset, and the power stations that will follow.

“The investment in nuclear is creating jobs right across the UK and the North-East is also sharing in the high growth area of aerospace.

“More and more aircraft are being ordered, and that is growth that the North-East is playing its part in.”