THE head of steelmaking on Teesside yesterday paid tribute to the dedicated workforce that helped save the plant from closure.

Colin Muncie, managing director of Teesside Cast Products (TCP), the subsidiary of Corus, said enormous efforts had been made by staff, management, customers and suppliers to protect thousands of jobs in the region.

He said that everything was going well with a new consortium that had agreed to purchase TCP's steel following the announcement by Corus that it would no longer need all 3.4 million tonnes of steel produced in the region.

He also said that workers at TCP had already broken four productivity records this year.

Mr Muncie told the North East Chamber of Commerce's (NECC) Tees Valley annual meeting: "It is a new beginning. We know where we are going and know we have to work together to get there.

"So far, it is going very well with the consortium. We are working closely with them.

"We have a good workforce that is highly committed, very experienced and very successful."

George Cowcher, NECC chief executive, said: "It is a real boost to see what has been achieved at one of our leading businesses in the region."