SOME of County Durham's smallest companies are going on a trade mission to Finland next month.

More than 20 companies from the North-East, some with just one employee, are taking part in the Trade Partners UK Export Explorer programme.

Among them are Action in Management, and EuroCrafts, from Durham, and Hunters Grinders, of Burnhopefield.

Officials from the British Embassy in Helsinki are finding potential buyers in Finland for the participating companies' products.

Meanwhile, the region's exporters have been preparing for the trade mission at a one day export workshop run by ExportTraining on the Team Valley in Gateshead. Robert Mackay, of Export Training said: "We provide the basic preparation skills they'll need for their trip.

"The workshop covered everything from basic export administration and how to calculate the price to getting paid, VAT and Customs and Excise."

Roger Hancock, director at Action in Management, a training company using drama to change attitudes and behaviour in the workplace, said: "We're looking for ways to expand our business, and I've already got contacts with a teacher in Finland who's hoping to set up a collaboration."

Angela Colbridge, owner of Eurocrafts, a marketing and event organisation for professional designers, said: "We decided to look at overseas markets as a result of the problems we faced due to foot and mouth last year.

"The Scandinavians love handmade crafts and we offer a wide range from tanned salmon skin used to make jewellery and bags to pottery, ceramics and bags."

Keith Cann-Evans, managing director of Hunters Grinders, which produces grinding machines, said: "We already export to Germany, Spain and the Far East and we are anxious to repeat that success in Finland and expand into other Scandinavian and European countries."