A FIRM producing specialist pigging equipment to travel down oil and gas pipes has started work on a £2.5m factory.

Pipeline Engineering's 40,000 sq ft unit will be built at the firm's Gatherley Road Industrial Estate site, at Brompton-on-Swale, near Richmond, North Yorkshire.

The company, which produces equipment to clean, inspect and test oil and gas pipes, has seen sales rise from £3.5m to £11m in the past four years.

Bosses say the firm's facilities, two sites at the Gatherley Road Industrial Estate and one at Scotch Corner, have insufficient capacity to handle the continued growth of the business.

The new facility will bring together the three sites and introduce modern "flow line" technology, providing the capacity to grow the business and compete in the international market.

Managing director Willy Watson said: "Over the past few years our business has become truly global, but to compete in this world we have to be efficient and not stand still.

"When much of the UK manufacturing business is closing down or moving overseas, it is very exciting to see a small company, like Pipeline Engineering, not only buck the trend and grow but also provide jobs for the local rural community and provide a major contribution to the North Yorkshire economy."