A FAMILY-OWNED handling and storage equipment specialist is planning to expand nationally after working with some of the best-known firms in the North-East.

County Durham-based Clark Handling and Storage Equipment, which provides companies with everything from conveyer belts to warehouse racking and shelving, is working with bank note printer De La Rue (DLR) on updating loading systems at the firm's Gateshead factory.

It follows a recent contract for a refit at Siemens Energy Service, in Newcastle, and previous work for leading firms including Komatsu, in Birtley, and Consett-based Phileas Fogg.

The business is based in Meadowfield, near Durham City.

Managing director John Clark, who founded the company in 1997, said the company had reinvested profits from last year to improve its online offering and was also looking to take on a sales and marketing specialist.

The firm, which also works with warehouses, schools and hospitals, launched the revamped website at the end of July and has secured work from theMidlands and Exeter.

Mr Clark is considering opening a southern office to service what he hopes will be extra work from that part of the country.

He said: "It is an exciting time for the business. We have invested in website search engine optimisation and it is that that is going to be giving us the push on national coverage and has already brought one or two orders from the North-East "We already work with several UK-wide companies, but we are looking to further build our national coverage."

The firm's major competitors are companies selling equipment through catalogues. Mr Clark said: "The catalogue companies have been doing an online version of their services, so we decided to mirror our competitors rather than leave it too late.

"It is important to have a national presence because the paper catalogues do and we need to compete with that."

Mr Clark, who started in the industry working for his father's firm, also designs bespoke equipment and provides consultancy to customers on complete fit outs of premises.

He said: "It is a full turn key process, we get involved with the full fit out whether it be the ceilings or electricity to the IT and telephone systems as well."