Black & Decker may be a global name but most of its products start life in the minds of designers on the outskirts of a small County Durham town, as Business Editor Owen McAteer discovered.

"We are the best kept secret in County Durham - the things we do here are truly world class, as are the people and processes behind them," says Black & Decker's director of global innovation Vincent Cooper.

For those of us of a certain age Black & Decker, founded in 1910 by S Duncan Black and Alonzo G Decker, in Baltimore, Maryland, is synomonous with pre-Christmas TV adverts for the type of gift a dad might have expected in the 1970s or 1980s, a power tool or workbench of some sort.

But the 21st Century firm provided much more than DIY equipment and the vast majority of these products are dreamt up and designed at a facility on the outskirts of Spennymoor in County Durham.

Hidden in the heart of the Green Lane Industrial Estate is Black & Decker's research and development innovation centre holding some 800 patents relating to appliances which can do everything from vacuum clean your home to cut your grass.

There is often the perception that Black & Decker left Spennymoor when its manufacturing plant closed in 2008, but the research base that remained employs around 120 people, including an award winning design team driving the strategic direction for the company on a global scale.

In addition the facility puts approximately £3.3m into the local economy every year.

Vice president of global outdoor and home products for the company, Kevin Hewitt, said: "In the past Stanley Black & Decker has been synonymous with power tools. Today our product portfolio has expanded to included multi surface steam mop, flexi vac and numerous cordless garden tools which are the products with the most rapidly rising sales.

"Our team here is at the forefront of the development of new technologies - taking global feedback and putting that into the new product design, reflecting global needs and end user requirements."

One of the new technologies employed by and of major significance to the Spennymoor base has been the use of 3D printing to help deliver rapid product development.

Mr Hewitt said: "3D printing means we can produce a new prototype overnight and we can test its functionality the very next day. The part is bespoke so we know it will fit and it means we can instantly gauge whether it will deliver the product improvement we require.

"To beat the opposition you need to be ahead of the game. We can now bring better products to market, faster by using new technologies, which in turn support our innovation and design process. This printing development process along with a number of other technologies means we can cut the development time in design to market from two years to nine months."

The company enjoys a high level of staff retention and says it is committed to local recruitment, staff development programmes and apprenticeships.

Mr Hewitt, a former Ferryhill Comprehensive School pupil, started out as an apprentice with the firm at 16.

Mr Cooper added: "We have an excellent level of workforce loyalty, a proactive programme of staff development, great commitment to internships and close ties with local schools and regional universities."

Former Fyndoune Community College pupil, now director of outdoor engineering at the Spennymoor base, Brian Wadge, started as an apprentice 25 years ago.

Mr Wadge, from Coxhoe, said: "I think this area has a good reputation for loyal, hard working people.

"That, coupled with a world class apprentice process, has resulted in a team of talented motivated individuals, many of whom have worked here since leaving school.

"Over the years with Stanley Black & Decker I have travelled to many parts of the world and met and worked with a wide range of talented people from different cultures and backgrounds. This is certainly a fantastic experience that I would never have achieved in the majority of other careers."

"All of the projects are interesting and challenging in their own way - whether it's because of the design complexity, innovative features, the time constraints we need to work towards or the cost challenges. That's what keeps the job fresh for each new product."

Mr Wadge, who holds daily video conferences with counterparts in China and the USA, said he still got a thrill seeing products dreamt up at the centre introduced into daily life.

"I'm sure that any of the teams working on New Product development would say that the thing they are most proud of is seeing a product that they have been involved in on the shelf in-store, knowing that other people are going to be using the product they developed to complete their DIY tasks," he said.

Such has been the research centres expansion that it now needs new premises, although it is keen to remain at the Green Lane site, which is now being developed as DurhamGate.

About 375 homes will eventually be built at the site, as well as a number of office and leisure facilities.

Durham County Council's Cabinet member for regeneration and economic development, Neil Foster said: "I have made it clear that both the council and its business arm, the County Durham Development Company, will assist in every way we can to support the company's continued success here in County Durham.

"As a local authority we have the drive, desire and duty to retain our young talented men and women here in County Durham and this world class research and design centre is a prime example of how it can and should be done."

Managing Director of the County Durham Development Company, Stewart Watkins, said: "Companies like this epitomise the innovation and design for which County Durham is rapidly gathering a strong reputation.

"I am confident that by working closely with the company we can support its continued growth here in Spennymoor."