A TEESSIDE engineering firm is forging ahead with a major contract in the Middle East thanks to its partnership with a local recruitment agency.

K Home Engineering, of Thornaby, was helped by Middlesbrough's Calibre Recruitment to sign up nearly 40 engineers for a project to expand an aluminium smelting plant in Dubai.

Peter Kay, engineering director of K Home Engineering, said: "This is a flagship contract for us and Calibre Recruitment took on a task of major proportions to find almost 40 professional engineers of all disciplines.

"They met all of our requirements on time and within budget, and exceeded all our initial expectations."

Calibre Recruitment was founded in 1996 and specialises in recruiting professionally qualified people across a wide range of industries, including engineering, design and information technology.

Founder Julie Lathan said: "Listening to your customers' needs and working in partnership may not sound very radical, but it is a key factor that has played a major success in the growth of our company and something that many suppliers forget to do.

"The right person for the right company actually does make a difference."