A MANUFACTURING firm that suffered a downturn in orders three years ago is marking its resurgence by collecting a Queen's Award.

Davy Roll faced an uncertain future in 2004 after orders dried up at its Gateshead factory.

But through tapping into new international markets and adopting lean manufacturing techniques, the company is to be presented with its Queen's Award for Enterprise next week.

Davy Roll, which has seen sales figures increase from £16m in 2003 to £48m this year, benefited from help given by the North East Productivity Alliance (Nepa).

One NorthEast's Nepa team helped implement lean manufacturing techniques at the plant, saving the company thousands of pounds and ensuring maximum output from its production lines.

Davy Roll managing director, Steve Bell said: "The company was facing some real tough times when we first contacted the Nepa team. Our customers were downsizing, we weren't cost effective and we needed to improve our productivity quickly."

Nepa trained two employees as "change agents", who implemented workforce training, management development and helped change working practices.

The Davy Roll Company, which employs 288 staff, manufactures cast rolls for hot and cold strip mills, medium and heavy section mills and plate mills, in a variety of iron and steel qualities.