A SPORTS equipment manufacturer is hoping to strike a hole in one by breaking into the lucrative European market.

The Sporting Stand Company, on the Forest Road Industrial Estate in South Shields, designs and manufactures a range of sports goods.

Since launching 18 months ago its golf bag stand has been selling by the crate load with the company now producing more than 1,000 stands per week. It now plans to move to bigger premises to increase its production capacity.

Company director Kevin Hansen said: "I am a huge golf enthusiast, but every year from October to April when the rain sets in, most clubs ban trolleys as they leave marks on the fairways.

"This can become a real problem as the majority of bags do not have an attached stand, so players have to lay them on the grass, which makes it difficult to see your clubs as well as allowing the bag to become very wet and dirty.

"Currently, we are the only golf stand manufacturer in Europe and our main competitor is in the Far East.

"By being aware and identifying a gap in the market for our products, we have managed to quickly expand the business."

The company has recently won a contract to supply some of the biggest sports outlets in Germany and is confident there is a lot more business to be won elsewhere in Europe.

The company has been helped in its expansion by a £5,000 machinery grant from South Tyneside Economic Development Team, which has allowed it to buy essential equipment to put it in a more comfortable position to move forward in the future