A COMPANY which supplies engineering industrial products says it is going from strength to strength due to an association with Middlesbrough Football Club.

Stockton Bearings and Transmissions, based in Stockton, signed up to the club’s business plus scheme, which is its sponsorship department.

The Stockton firm, which was set up in 1990 by Pat Hodgers and Martyn Semark, says it has grown to become the largest stockist, distributor and supplier of bearings, power transmission, industrial and work place products, in the region.

But in an effort to further boost the company's profile, Stockton Bearings and Transmissions’ logo will be promoted across Middlesbrough FC’s Riverside Stadium pitch-side displays and concourse.

Dan Thurwell of Stockton Bearings and Transmissions, said: “People get an impression that the business just works within Stockton, whereas we’re more of a full engineering industrial supplies stockist supplying the North-East and beyond.

“It was a case of letting a wider audience know, as well as being linked with the club that many of us support.

“We know a lot of our customers and potential customers will be at the games.

“Most of us are season ticket holders and we get to see the branding at every game.

“We get to see the company logo pitch-side and on the concourse, so you’re associated with the club and there’s pride in working for a company that’s linked to the club you support.”

Mr Thurwell said the partnership with the football club had led to increased interest from potential customers, due to the ability to use the Middlesbrough FC Business Club Plus logo on its paperwork.

He said: “We’ve had people speak to us that have seen the logo, either pitch-side, on the concourses, or through us using the Business Club Plus logo on our invoices, delivery notes and literature.

"We were approached by a potential client, who wouldn’t necessarily have considered us a big-name player within our industry, on the basis that they saw us at the football.”

He added that the partnership validated claims that the firm is the largest of its kind in the region, and said employees did not have to explain its nature.