County Durham is now a major UK manufacturing and technology centre.

The steel-making plants and coal mines of the past have gone, but the pioneering spirit remains. Over the past decades the County has adapted to the changing face of industry and commerce.

High-technology factories, advanced communications, leading-edge research, strong local supplier networks and a flexible, highly-respected workforce are all now features of County Durham.

Today's successful industries centre on the presence of world leaders in precision manufacturing, such as advanced electronics, automotive components, consumer electrical products, information and communications technologies, pharmaceuticals and bio-tech.

This diversity is mirrored beyond the County's borders, in other parts of the North East of England.

Just to the North is Nissan's European car manufacturing centre which has acted as a catalyst in creating a strong and dynamic automotive components industry, and which now re-exports part of its output to Japan.