THE chief executive of a multi-national engineering company told delegates that the North-East was well-positioned to attract global companies.

Alan Boeckmann, chairman and chief executive of Fluor Corporation, said the region's work ethic, engineering skills and expertise in such industries as power and energy, meant it was well-placed to compete against other areas when it came to companies investing here.

Mr Boeckmann said: "The economic trends of late have been hard on those who have relied on traditional industries, and it is they who have become victims of globalisation.

"In today's technology and knowledge-based economy, information and lifelong learning are the coin of the realm.

"When multi-national companies look to site their facilities today, they look at basics such as infrastructure and transportation.

"But at the same time, every region needs to have a vision for the future, an accepted strategic plan based on the strengths and weaknesses of the area. This must incorporate not only the attraction of new businesses, but also the building of the area's own enterprise.

"The work ethic that is resident here in the North-East, the engineering skills expertise in industries such as power and energy, and the proximity of the North Sea and Scandinavia, means the region is well-positioned."

But he warned that Government grants alone were no longer the only incentive for companies looking to invest.

He said businesses looked for stability as well as an entrepreneurial culture - and for agencies and business to work together with no separate agendas.

"The North-East was once at the forefront of the industrial revolution," he said.

"The challenge now is for history to repeat itself, through businesses which are essential to the 21st Century's knowledge economy."

Mr Boeckmann, from Texas, in the US, said he was familiar with the North-East from previous visits and had attended a similar economic forum in Dallas.