A TEAM of expert engineers will be joining some of the region's manufacturing firms in a bid to boost their performance.

The experts will train staff across 16 companies in best practice.

The project is part of a bid by the North-East Productivity Alliance (NEPA) to give a boost to manufacturing.

Armstrong Flooring, cushion vinyl flooring manufacturers on the Tees Valley Industrial Estate, in Thornaby, on Teesside, will be one of the first firms to benefit from their help.

Mark Tough, Thornaby plant manager, said: "This represents a fantastic opportunity for us and we are looking forward to NEPA's intervention making a real difference to our productivity.

"We are an American-owned company and our chief executive is very impressed by and supportive of this plan. I hope to invite other employees from plants across Europe to learn from the NEPA engineers, so best practice is not just disseminated here but across our European operations."

The nine engineers - selected from regional companies such as Magna Kansei, Black & Decker, Rolls Royce and Nissan - have been seconded to regional development agency One NorthEast to carry out their new roles.

NEPA's aim is to eventually create a network of 80 similar leaders in their field, in companies across the North-East. The specialists will look at changing company practices to introduce leaner manufacturing processes, therefore improving productivity and profits.

The 16 companies selected were chosen from a list of 3,000 regional manufacturers. The experts will arrive next year. The project plans to help another 32 firms in 2005.

NEPA will unveil the second phase of its £26m plan to an invited audience at the Atmel factory, North Tyneside, tomorrow.