STEEL-MAKING on Teesside has a profitable future, according to a Government Minister.

Patricia Hewitt, Trade and Industry Secretary, said that if management, unions and the workforce continued to pull together, there was no reason for Corus to fail in the region.

Ms Hewitt was speaking during a fact-finding mission to the Redcar plant to see how operations in the area would survive in the wake of a decision by the company's board of directors that it no longer needed Teesside steel for internal use.

She said: "I think it is perfectly possible that the Teesside plant will find a future as a very profitable operation.

"I was very impressed by the fact that management and unions are working so closely together."

There was no way the Government could intervene to artificially support Corus Teesside, due to EU laws, but she said regional development agency One NorthEast could help.

The agency is looking at potential deals where unused plots of land could be sold or rented out to businesses.

There was also the opportunity of getting regional selective assistance to help Tees Port expand to cope with the predicted rise in export activity arising out of Teesside's need to compete on the global stage in two years' time.

Ms Hewitt also pledged to continue the fight against the US protectionist policies of levying tariffs on foreign steel imports.

Andrew Page, managing director of Corus Construction and Industrial, said: "We firmly believe it can compete in the market. Clearly there is a lot of convincing to do. I have every confidence it will survive."

Ms Hewitt's visit was warmly received by workers as a sign the Government is taking note of the plight of Teesside.

Tony Poynter, chairman of the multi-union steel committee, said: "It raises the profile of what we are trying to do to make sure everybody who can help us does so and make sure this process on Teesside succeeds."

MP Vera Baird said: "Redcar steelworks is a vital part of the North-East economy. It is profitable and viable, and Patricia Hewitt's visit has boosted our hopes and reinforced our belief in the future of steel on Teesside."