A PLASTICS firm hopes to double its workforce and gain greater DIY sector penetration after finding land for new headquarters, The Northern Echo can reveal.

Plastic Mouldings Northern has identified a plot to expand in a £1m investment.

The business, based in Bishop Auckland, has been searching for a site for months, with the Echo previously reporting how bosses feared its predicament could harm supply agreements with leading DIY chains.

However, sales director Freddy Bourdais said it is now going through the planning process for a new factory, based close to its existing site, which he said will strengthen the company’s status in the home improvement market and bolster deals with operators such as Homebase, B&Q and Wickes.

Mr Bourdais, who was previously frustrated by what he saw as vendors preferring land sales to the housebuilding sector, said the plans will allow the firm to steadily transfer work and distribution from its current bases.

The business has built up an industry reputation for supplying Jouplast adjustable risers, which ensure decking and paving slabs sit even, having previously gained an exclusivity agreement to distribute the equipment across Britain.

But Mr Bourdais said its cramped confines, eased by a temporary rental agreement in nearby Coundon, raised the very real prospect of having to walk away from further contracts.

However, he said the new headquarters will remove such fears, revealing the business, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary, hopes to take its workforce to around the 40 mark in the next five years and more than double turnover.

He told the Echo: “We are very confident about the expansion.

“We currently have about 12,000sq ft of space at Bishop Auckland and further space on the AGL Business Park in Coundon, but this will give us so much more. Coundon lifted a bit of pressure and allowed us to sign with Homebase, but the business is out there for us.

“We shouldn’t be thinking ‘how do we get the chance to do that?’.

"There are people who have the chance but not the business.

“John Parnell from Business Durham (Durham County Council’s business division) has given us support, as has Laura Eden in the planning department, who has helped us avoid unnecessary delays.”

Alongside Jouplast, the company is known for products such as plastic storage containers and has worked with luxury operators Bentley and Jaguar Land Rover on car parts.

Mr Parnell, Business Durham’s business development area manager (South), said such dealings prove just how important the company’s status in the region is.

He added: “It’s great to see the company retain its business in the Bishop Auckland area and we wish them every success.”