A PRIVATELY-owned German company is investing £300,000 to set up a factory in Consett, County Durham.

The subsidiary company will produce silicon rubber fabric for a range of specialist hoses.

Matzen Schlauch-Technik (MST Germany), near Hamburg, develops and manufactures high specification hoses for customers in the automotive, aerospace and railway industries.

The Derwentside Industrial Development Agency (Dida) helped secure the inward investment by putting together a grant package in excess of £60,000 with backing from the Department of Trade and Industry, County Durham Development Company and Derwentside District Council.

Production at MST UK Limited, on Consett's Park Road Industrial Estate, is already under way and the company expects to have a workforce of about 30 in the longer term.

Managing director Bill Lyons said: "We looked at other potential localities in the UK and Europe, including Essex and Belgium, but Dida's support and input, along with the package they put together of suitable premises, financial backing and the quality of workforce available, made Derwentside our choice."

Steve Armstrong, Dida business advisor, said: "We are delighted to have been able to secure this inward investment for Derwentside. MST Germany is a highly innovative company and a leader in its field so it is no surprise that its new Consett-based UK subsidiary is making such a successful start to its operations."