ENGINEERS at a Tees Valley firm have started working on Australian time to meet the needs of its clients Down Under.

Pearson-Harper, based in Billingham, has confirmed the appointment of 22 new staff in the North-East who have been brought in to help manage a flurry of orders from Australia, which includes a massive £6.25m order from energy giant Chevron on a gas field project off the coast of Western Australia.

Pearson-Harpers engineering know-how is in such high demand on the other side of the world that shift patterns have been adjusted so that more of the workers on Teesside are available around the clock for their Aussie customers.

The Australian economy has been booming over the last 18 months fuelled by a voracious demand from China and other parts of the Far East for its natural resources.

Securing the Chevron order at the end of last year alerted a host of Australian businesses to approach Pearson-Harper which expects to tie up another major deal in the upcoming months that will generate more jobs in the North-East.

Alex Hayward, Commercial Director at Pearson-Harper explained that the high quality of staff in this region was underpinning the companys rapid growth.

"When we are looking for new staff we dont have to cast the net too far and wide. One of the benefits of being on Teesside is the legacy of a pool of highly-skilled staff from the process industries. We take their traditional skills and give them a 21st century edge, so we get the best of both worlds.

"The temptation for some companies may be to take their operations abroad where labour costs may be lower. That is not our strategy, we have made a commitment to stay in the North-East because it gives us the quality control that our customers value." The firm can count organisations including BP, ConocoPhillips and Sabic as clients and it delivers strategic engineering information services in sites across the world, from Azerbaijan to Angola.

Pearson-Harper is also close to securing orders closer to home. Ms Hayward explained: "Exports are important but it is also vital that British firms work to ensure the home market remains strong too."

Martyn Pellew, President of the North East Chamber of Commerce and non-executive Director of Pearson-Harper, added: "These are important and exciting times for Pearson-Harper which is recognised internationally as a leader in engineering information management. These appointments represent significant growth for the company and a great boost to the North-East."