EXHAUST maker GT Precision Products has won a £6m contract to supply its patented systems to Volvo/Renault trucks in France.

The Peterlee, County Durham company, part of the GT Group, said extensive investment in research and development was the key to securing the three-year deal.

The company spends £250,000 a year looking for ways to upgrade and improve its engine systems, helping turnover to soar by 200 per cent.

Geoff Turnbull, GT Group chairman, said: "Research and development is the lifeblood of our company and the key to our success in competing in world markets.

"The quality of the product and the design is unique, better than anything else in the world. You need to have a continual research programme, you need to improve your products all the time."

GT Group, based on the North East Industrial Estate, employs 350 people, GT Precision Products employs 110 of them.

Another 20 jobs are expected to be created as a result of the Renault contract.

GT Group is firmly rooted in the North-East, with manufacturing operations stretching from Jarrow in the north to Aycliffe in the south.

Mr Turnbull said: "I moved every factory back to the North-East because that is where the best engineers are and the best workforce.

"Everybody is going to the Czech Republic, China or Poland. We have made our stall here, we are sticking with it and it is proving to be worthwhile.

"There is a decision to be made.

"You can up sticks and move abroad to a place like the Czech Republic where costs are cheaper, but at the end of the day, profit is not everything."

GT Precision Products supplies its products to a number of leading truck manufacturers worldwide.

It has established strong trading links with Scandinavia and opened up new markets in the US.

The company is also exploring potential deals in Japan.

Mr Turnbull said its engine exhaust system gave valuable additional braking performance to diesel-engined vehicles.

The company is looking forward to further success having just completed an exhaust gas recirculation valve that complies with the latest European and US legislation for emissions.