A GLOBAL engineering equipment repair firm has officially opened a £4.5m factory it hopes will create more North-East jobs.

Sulzer, which provides services around the world, yesterday (Monday, March 23) welcomed The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, to its new service centre.

The plant, based on Middlesbrough’s Riverside Industrial Estate, is larger than its previous base and includes a metal spraying and testing area, which bosses say will help deliver more projects across the marine, offshore, renewable and power sectors.

The Swiss-headquartered company specialises in mechanical repairs to equipment, as well as servicing motors, pumps and generators, and work on drive and control systems, and has supported numerous projects, including a geothermal power plant, in the Philippines, where it built new coils for a generator.

It also provides pumps for systems on the Australian Ichthys liquefied natural gas project, and supports refineries in Brazil.

Peter Alexander, global president of Sulzer’s rotating equipment services division, said such familiarity with energy sectors made the North-East very important.

He also said it would look to expand in Middlesbrough, where it employs about 40 staff, an aim reported by The Northern Echo last week.

He said: “We want to grow; this is not a maintain and keep situation.

“This is a business that’s all about solving the problems of our customers, and we will continue doing that.

“We need to be in areas of high industrial density, and this area fits that.

“Our service centre will give us more capabilities to serve clients, and this is a tangible commitment to industry in Britain.”

The company was previously based in Middlesbrough’s Lower East Street, and Middlesbrough Council and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), partly funded its move.

To officially open its new site, Princess Anne was given a comprehensive tour, where she met and spoke to about 100 workers and guests.

Praising the firm’s growth, she added: “This is a really interesting part of the world with its industrial background.”

Founded in 1834, Sulzer began producing cast iron, as well as firefighting pumps and textile machinery.

It now has sites across the world, including bases in Brazil, China, Germany and Mexico.