SPECIALIST plastering and flooring company Tabner Plastering Contractors has announced a key management appointment.

Eric Atkins, 62, has joined Tabner as contracts manager after he ran his own plastering company in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. He will oversee all site operations.

Tabner, based in Skippers Lane, Middlesbrough, carries out contract work on behalf of many of the region's housebuilders and construction companies. It employs more than 30 plasterers and flooring specialists.

Founder and managing director Dave Tabner said: "We have been after a first-rate contracts manager for a long time - looking in vain it seemed.

We had just giving up advertising the post when Eric became available."

A second-generation plasterer, Mr Atkins has passed on the running of his business to his sons.

He said: "The management team and workforce at Tabner are some of the best I have come across in my 45 years in the industry. I hope that the knowledge and experience I have gained, integrated with the forward-thinking of the company, will help to promote further the quality standing and growth of the company."