IT’S not too much of a cliché to say the North-East’s once proud clothes-making industry was left hanging by a thread.

Companies, for years the trusted employers of thousands of people, disappeared from the landscape.

From the 1980s onwards, renowned names, such as Astraka, Sara Lee, Courtaulds, Dewhirst and Ramar all suffered, throwing workers’ futures into turmoil.

It was true many people found jobs elsewhere, but the vast majority always yearned for a return to their past.

Those wishes were re-ignited last year, when The AMA Group opened a factory in Peterlee, east Durham, with real ambitions to put the North-East’s clothing heritage back on the map and create 150 jobs.

Interest was immediately high, with The Northern Echo revealing how nearly 70 people had enquired about an initial 20 roles.

It is now up to 55 jobs, and for those workers, it’s just like going home.

But AMA’s hierarchy, which includes former Claremont Garments' directors Paul Watts and David and Julie Price, are not taking it easy.

The firm previously secured an agreement to make thousands of ladies top for Tesco’s F&F range, and has supplied Sports Direct with more than 1,000 girls’ leggings in the style of Disney’s Frozen story.

However, more stellar projects are due to follow, and plans have been mooted to open more factories in the region.

It is in extended negotiations to make polo shirts for Fred Perry.

Mrs Price, who ran lingerie business Essensual Lingerie after Claremont Garments closed its manufacturing sites, said its first year had been a real success.

She said: “The reaction has been absolutely phenomenal.

“We have got the start of a great workforce and a building for the future here; there are foundations to create something big.

“We are creating jobs for the lost generation; we have quite an ageing workforce, but we came here because we wanted that experience.

“Our plans, for 2015 and beyond, are ambitious and we do believe the 150 people we will employ by the end of the year will rise significantly in 2016.

“But our plans aren’t just focused on Peterlee.

“We believe this model could be recreated elsewhere in the region.”

Such fervour was highlighted last year, when The Northern Echo spoke to staff at the factory, based on Whitehouse Business Park.

Annmarie Dawson, from Easington, east Durham, previously worked at Claremont Garments, progressing from trainee machinist to senior production and quality supervisor.

She stayed with the firm until its demise in the early 2000s, latterly at cleaning products company Reckitt Benckiser.

She said: “This is like a family coming back together.

“I’m using the same pair of scissors I did all years ago; they were put away in a drawer at home, so it's so pleasing to use them again.”

Cath Pattison, from Seaham, east Durham, left school at 15 and also worked at Claremont Garments, before spending time at an electrics firm.

She added: “Being behind the machine again brings back so many memories.

“I feel on top of the world and when I found out I was one of the first 20 staff, it felt like I'd been given £1m.”

PANEL

Who were County Durham's clothing-makers?

Textile firm Sara Lee Courtaulds, which had factories in Peterlee and Bishop Auckland, revealed in 2003 that 350 staff would be affected in factory closure plans. It blamed the move on the loss of a Marks and Spencer contract.

Waxed jacket maker J Barbour and Sons closed its plant in Crook, in 2003, where 87 people were employed.

In 2002, 400 jobs were lost when Dewhirst closed its Sunderland factory. The firm had already axed 700 jobs when it shut its three operations in Peterlee in 2000.

Zip factory Coats Optilon cut 300 jobs in Peterlee and more than 100 posts at Coats Paint, in Darlington, in 2000.

Claremont Garments, in Stanley, closed with the loss of 190 jobs in 1998.

In 1991, more than 450 jobs were lost when Ramar, in Crook, went into receivership.

Shildon-based Astraka, whose faux fur was available in Harrods and Selfridges, closed in May 1988 after overseas competition hit the textile industry.