THE final bolt was secured yesterday on the steel structure of a new headquarters building that will ensure job security for 500 construction industry workers.

As part of a £2m investment a new corporate base for the Esh Group is taking shape at Bowburn, near Durham City.

In a week of bad news for industry in the North-East the progress made on completing the 2,000sq m office block on a nine-acre site at Bowburn North Industrial Estate represented a small ray of sunshine.

Durham's Mayor, Councillor Eileen Rochford, and Councillor Brian Walker, Durham County Council's lead member for business support, performed yesterday's bolt-fixing ceremony, overseen by Michael Hogan, Jack Lumsden and Tony Carroll, majority shareholders in the Esh Group.

The company was formed in 1999 by the amalgamation of a number of established construction-related companies.

The group now consists of Lumsden and Carroll Construction, Dunelm Castle homes Limited, Deerness Fencing, Sones Maintenance and Environmental, Bartrams, Robson Walker and Dunelm Property Services.

Rapid expansion since the merger, with turnover now of £46m, forced the group to search for new premises, initially in its original base at Esh Winning, and when that proved impossible, at the Bowburn site.

Esh chairman Mr Hogan said: "With 30 years in Esh Winning and with many employees living here, we were initially disappointed that we couldn't stay in the village, but we actually outgrew our present base some three years ago and had to move somewhere.

"The move to Bowburn is very good news for the group, in that it consolidates all the presently fragmented companies under one roof.

"It will enable us to realise the synergies and economies of scale that exist between the various companies, with the location of Bowburn, just off the main A1(M), making better geographical and logistical sense for the business."

Members of staff from all seven companies will work in the main office block, with service, storage and fabrication areas all on-site.

Councillor Walker wished the group continuing business success at the new Bowburn base, and said it will offer improved job prospects for the young people of Durham.

Yesterday's event also saw several long-serving members of staff receive 25-year awards from Esh Group bosses.