A FAMILY-RUN transport firm is continuing to expand after spending more than £1m to increase warehouse space.

Stiller Warehousing and Distribution, in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, is building a 40,000sq ft base to increase its storage by nearly half.

The company, founded 60 years ago when a former German prisoner of war sold a herd of pigs and bought a truck, says the site will be ready in the summer.

The warehouse is being built by Darlington-based building firm J and RM Richardson and Aycliffe company Finley Structures, and will take Stiller’s storage base to 200,000sq ft.

The project comes just weeks after Stiller revealed a £15m three-year deal with food packaging firm Coveris Rigid, which it expects will lift annual turnover from £10m up to £13m this year.

Matthew Stiller, commercial manager, said the store would allow the company, which has 140 staff, to take on more work by holding an extra 5,000 pallets.

He said: “We were struggling to accommodate our current workload and order book in the space that existed between our own site and another property we lease on Aycliffe Business Park.

“This is a long-term investment and part of our ten-year business plan to sustain employment and create new jobs.

“We have a full pipeline of work, but this expansion will enable us to take on more business.

“The distribution side of the business has grown significantly over the last 18 months, and this is another indication of how well it is doing.

“It's as a direct result of an increase in sales, which, in turn, is a result of the great job our sales customer services and operations teams are doing.”

Work began on the warehouse earlier this year, with Finley fabricating and erecting 140 tonnes of steel and cladding.

The project has also created work for J and RM Richardson, with the building designed by ADG Architects, also of Darlington, and BDN Engineers, in Durham City, and Mr Stiller said he was delighted to use North-East firms.

He added: “We’re very proud we have used local companies and have supported local jobs.

“Aycliffe Business Park is on the up, and we’re feeling the benefit of the upturn in our industry.”