ORGANISERS of a North-East business expo have revealed details of this year's event.

Durham Oktoberfest will take place at The Xcel Centre, in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, on Thursday, October 20.

Back for a ninth year, bosses say the event will allow manufacturing and engineering firms to meet potential suppliers and customers.

They said seminars and workshops, on issues such as funding and social media, will also take place, while details on sessions and and speakers will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Speaking at last year's expo, David Land, chairman of County Durham Engineering and Manufacturing Network, which organised the day, said: "There are a lot of firms who don't shout about what they do and keep quiet, but we can use Oktoberfest to promote them.

"It has grown year-on-year and the idea is manufacturing and engineering companies can come together and get business-to-business contact.

“We’re trying to match all the different parts of manufacturing together.

“We have large companies in the region, but a lot of the growth is going to come from the small and medium-sized enterprises.

“This event helps that by allowing them to promote their services."

To register a place, visit durhamoktoberfest.org.uk/visitors