ENGINE maker Cummins last night pledged its commitment to the region amid growing fears that it may become the latest manufacturer to move abroad.

The company ruled out closure of its Darlington plant and revealed plans to boost order books, raising hopes of new jobs.

American owned Cummins - which employs more than 700 people in the town - has been the focus of intense speculation after slashing its workforce over the last year.

Yesterday, it emerged that Amicus union shop stewards at Cummins had written to Prime Minister Tony Blair to express their fears over its future.

The move is thought to have been prompted by Cummins' restructuring of its American operations and a number of North-East job losses by foreign-owned manufacturers.

In the latest, Black and Decker announced last month it was shedding 950 jobs at its Spennymoor base and transferring production to the Czech Republic.

Last night, Dave Womersly, manager at the Darlington plant, said it remained a key part of Cummins worldwide operations and there were no plans to close.

Cummins is planning to introduce two new engine models into production at the plant during the first half of next year, which will be assembled from scratch for UK customers.

Sources at the plant said they were also optimistic that it would land a "bumper new order" before Christmas when tough new EU regulations on exhaust and noise emissions from diesel engines kick in.

Mr Womersly said: "We are operating under highly competitive conditions but we have achieved all our targets for 2002.

"Our efforts are committed to winning new customers for the Darlington operation, so that existing jobs are further secured and hopefully, new jobs may even be created in the future."

Cummins axed 65 temporary assembly staff in August after bosses said orders were down ten per cent in the spring.

This came on top of 52 job losses in July and a further 95 in November last year. The company has been under pressure in the US domestic market with the picture being worsened by a general global economic downturn. As a result, it has been forced into a series of cost cutting measures.

The good news from Cummins follows Tony Blair's backing for The Northern Echo's Working for a Future campaign, which aims to secure investment in the region and attract new jobs.

The Prime Minister has said he remains upbeat about the region's manufacturing future.