ELECTRONICS firm Filtronic has won a major contract that will secure jobs and could lead to expansion.

The factory, in Newton Aycliffe, near Darlington, yesterday announced what it described as a highly significant deal with mobile phone component supplier RF Micro Devices (RFMD).

Professor Chris Snowden, chief executive of Filtronic's integrated products division, said: "Newton Aycliffe beat competition from around the globe to win this contract.

"It shows the market we are addressing is now the major league players."

The plant manufactures semi-conductors for the communications industry.

Filtronic, a multi-national company, set it up on the former Fujitsu site five years ago.

As well as Newton Aycliffe and Shipley, the group has manufacturing sites in East Kilbride and Stewarton, in Scotland, Wolverhampton and Milton Keynes. It also has bases in the US, Finland, China and Australia.

RFMD is the world's biggest manufacturer of the radio frequency modules found in every mobile phone and it supplies most of the main handset producers.

The contract also makes Filtronic its Tier 1 supplier, which means RFMD will come to Newton Aycliffe for semi-conductors before it goes anywhere else.

Prof Snowden said: "They are a very high quality supplier, which illustrates that the type of product we are manufacturing is of the best standard."

He said the company could not disclose how much the contract was worth.

"It is price sensitive, but is obviously a significant activity for the site," he said.

"The strategy is to develop a number of key customers and RFMD is one."

Anticipation of the deal being secured has already led to the creation of jobs, taking the workforce to about 400 - the plant's full capacity.