An advisory service set up to help manufacturing firms has delivered a £112m boost to the industry. More than 50,000 firms have sought advice and 9,500 have been given "health checks" over the past three years. Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt said: "The Government is committed to UK manufacturing, which is crucially important to the success of our economy. I am delighted that manufacturers have benefited a great deal from the expertise and support the Manufacturing Advisory Service has provided. To date, each business on average has seen an increased added value of over £107,000."

DRIVING DEAL: Darlington-based Williamson Motors has acquired a third dealership to add to its portfolio. The Peugeot dealer, which owns two dealerships in Darlington and Spennymoor, has taken on a third dealership in Casebourne Road, Hartlepool, having been awarded the Peugeot franchise there. The 17 staff at the dealership are being taken on by Williamson Motors, securing jobs in Hartlepool and retaining the staff's experience in the area. The firm has been trading in Darlington for 65 years. Williamson previously employed 63 staff across the two dealerships, but now this has increased to 80 staff over Darlington, Spennymoor and Hartlepool.

£3.5m contract: AK Engineering has clinched a £3.5m contract to upgrade part of a nuclear power station. The company, which is based in Stockton and is part of the Norwegian Aker Kvaerner group, has won the contract from British Nuclear Group Project Services to work on the Dungeness A power station in Kent. The North-East workforce will update the nuclear waste retrieval equipment. AK Engineering employs 1,500 in Stockton and a further 800 in the UK.

POSTING PROFITS: Global chemicals firm Johnson Matthey is to post profits in line with expectations. In a pre-close trading statement, it said its catalysts business, which employs 450 people in Teesside, had performed particularly strongly. Johnson Matthey has invested £5m in its Teesside plant since acquiring it as Synetix in 2002. It warned that the weak US dollar will have a negative effect on its results this year, but said earnings per share should be ahead of last year.