FEEDING customer aspirations is the key to survival, according to a leading businessman.

James Ramsbotham, vice-chairman of the Esh Group, stressed the importance of innovation as the key to staying ahead of the competition.

The former Army major told the North East Chamber of Commerce's County Durham committee annual meeting that fierce trading conditions required lateral thinking from company bosses to ensure they survived.

He said: "It is everybody's responsibility now in business, whichever business and whichever sector, to constantly reinvent ourselves and constantly keep one step ahead.

"Businesses need to deliver what the customer aspires to rather than what they want, otherwise you will be overtaken."

Mr Ramsbotham pointed to the devastating closure of LG Phillips's Durham plant as an example of a rapidly changing industry where an established and successful product was overtaken by a rival's innovation.

He added that the Durham plant's management had explored every avenue to stay in operation but without success.

The Esh Group has undergone radical change in recent years, having outgrown its original base in the County Durham village of Esh Winning.

It needed to move to Bowburn, Durham City, but was concerned about the economic impact this would have on the village.

Phil Young, director of technical and customers services at the Esh Group, told the meeting that 230 of the 500 employees lived within three miles of the Esh Winning office.

The group decided leaving a financial legacy would not fill the void and so created the Fit for Employment scheme in conjunction with Deerness Valley Comprehensive School.

The project gives 120 schoolchildren an insight into the construction industry and offers 20 jobs each year to youngsters with a wide range of abilities.