A MANUFACTURING company may be forced to move work to China after struggling to recruit skilled workers in the region.

Despite more than 1,000 manufacturing job losses in County Durham in the past year, ALM, in Newton Aycliffe, cannot recruit ten skilled and semi-skilled workers.

The company hopes to acquire three companies and grow further - but cannot expand until it recruits the staff.

Alan Hall, of the Engineering Employers' Federation, said the problem was widespread, with many companies planning to bring in European workers to fill skills shortages.

ALM was set up 11 years ago by Tony Thompson, who started his career at Darchem Engineering.

He said: "Despite 200 job losses at Presswork Metals, more than 700 at LG Philips and Acre Products, in Darlington, closing, we are struggling to find people with the right skills and attitude to help the company expand.

"We have taken on apprentices - and they are great - but for every four semi-skilled people, we need one really good skilled worker - and we just can't find that.

"We have been through the agencies, but a lot of people don't turn up, or if they do, they don't want to work."

ALM makes locks and other hardware, but is expanding into powder coating.

It has just invested £50,000 in a treatment plant at Fishburn, County Durham, and nearly doubled its workforce from 28 to 43 after an acquisition programme and an investment of £600,000. The company was helped by a Government grant to move into more specialised areas.

Mr Thompson said: "We offer a better package than the majority of other manufacturing firms.

"If we can't get these workers, we will have to look at other options.

"We get about two or three e-mails from China offering us to outsource every week, and it is becoming more tempting, even though it is just as cheap to manufacture a lot of our stuff here, with a quick turnaround.

"We want to expand, but we have this barrier to it and it is very frustrating."

Mr Hall said: "We have quite a number of companies reporting this problem.

"Many of them have already brought workers over from Poland successfully.

"Despite the problems in the manufacturing sector, order books are strong at the moment, although margins are narrow, and there is a lot of work for skilled people, which means there is a shortage.

"There is also some truth in the fact that people tend to work for companies they have heard of, but it is often more secure to work for smaller companies which are growing, and locally based."

Anyone interested in vacancies for machine operatives, painters, quality technicians or administration can contact Lesley Thompson or Jo Langley at ALM on (01325) 313377.