AN extension to a steel strip plant in the region was opened this week.

Steel and Alloy Processing, in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, which supplies steel strip to TKA Tallent, also in Newton Aycliffe, expects to increase annual output by more than 20,000 tonnes thanks to the 9,000sq ft extension.

The factory, which will hire six people, taking its workforce to 20, thanks to the £500,000 expansion, supplies Tallent, which in turn supplies car makers Ford and Nissan.

In 1999, Steel and Alloy's facility made 25,000 tonnes of steel strip every year - now it hopes to manufacture at least 80,000 tonnes.

Finance director David Johnson said: "We always anticipated that we would outgrow the original space at some future date, so our planning allowed for this extension right from the start. I am just surprised and delighted that the need has arisen so quickly."

The site accounts for about 20 per cent of Steel and Alloy business.