SHOPFITTING company Newman Scott has spent £500,000 on expansion.

The company has also taken on ten employees, taking the number of staff to 74. A recently completed extension takes factory space to more than 22,000sq ft.

Newman Scott spent more than £250,000 on the extension on Teesside Industrial Estate, in Thornaby, which was part-funded by regional development agency One NorthEast.

It has also spent £200,000 on woodworking and IT equipment and it hopes the investment will boost turnover by £6m in the next three years. A further £20,000 has been invested in an architectural printer for the company.

Managing director Dave Smiddy said: "In order to stay at the cutting edge of the shopfitting industry, this scale of investment in our facilities was essential. The industry is very fast-moving and we believe it is important for us to take advantage of all the technological developments available."