TEESSIDE crane company RS Industrial Services is investing more than £500,000 in the business as part of a major expansion programme.

The firm, which began life as RS Cranes in 2002, has progressed quickly over the past five years, and is now looking to build on both its services and its 22-strong workforce.

It has recently moved to a four-acre site in Haverton Hill, Billingham, Teesside, which is more than 20 times the size of its previous premises in Middlesbrough.

It has also expanded its services from offering crane repair and maintenance, to branching out into tool and equipment hire, training - which is carried out in a specialist 5,000sq ft centre - and an engineering supply shop.

RS Industrial Services has also secured an investment of £140,000 from UK Steel Enterprise, a subsidiary of steelmaker Corus, that supports new and growing businesses in steel areas.

The business, run by Mike Riley and Neil Sanderson, has recently taken on three new members of staff as it expands, and said it is constantly looking to recruit more.

Mr Riley said: "We have always serviced and repaired overhead cranes and lifting equipment, but now we have been able to invest in a large hire fleet supplying equipment to engineering and construction sites as well.

"We see this is a major area of growth for us with a lot of demand coming from construction companies."