A DIESEL engine manufacturer is celebrating its 40th anniversary by creating 30 jobs.

Cummins Engines Company, in Darlington, is taking on 30 staff in anticipation of orders for its latest product.

The jobs are a vote of confidence in the plant's future - in the past, managers have usually taken on extra workers on temporary contracts.

Steve Nendick, marketing manager, said: "We are confident enough about this upturn in the market to take on permanent staff, so it also gives the workforce more confidence in what they are doing."

The appointments come after a string of redundancies in 2001 and 2002, when the future of the plant was in doubt.

About 200 jobs were lost as part of a £7m cost-cutting programme ordered by its US parent company.

Mr Nendick said these were part of the cyclical nature of the industry and that the factory was never under threat of closure.

The company's B-series engine is designed to meet the latest European legislation for vehicle emissions.

It has the highest power-to-weight ratio in its class, with reduced operating costs and better performance than its predecessors.

Neil Pattison, head of Cummins Automotive Engine Business, said: "This gives vehicle manufacturers confidence in using a class-leading product with a design that is future-proof."

The company, which employs 800 staff in Darlington, is already in talks over major supply contracts.

It showed off its latest product at the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham earlier this month.

The Darlington plant, a major supplier to Leyland, produces 60,000 engines a year, but bosses expect that to rise on the back of new deals.

"We have the potential to move that up significantly," said Mr Nendick.

"At the moment, we only work on two shifts, so there is extra capacity, should we need it."

The US company invested $14m in Darlington in 2000, to pioneer the manufacture of cleaner diesel engines for buses and HGVs.

The B-series brand, which is also produced at other Cummins sites across the world, has sold more than three million units.

Cummins is the world's largest independent manufacturer of diesel engines.

It has more than 24,000 employees and last year produced more than 700,000 engines, with sales of $8.4bn.