An engineering firm's exporting success has been boosted by a pounds 500,000 order from Russia.

Tong Peal has won the order for vegetable handling machinery from a customer in the south-west of the country.

Golden Niva at Stavropol, which is continuing to diversify from pig production into vegetables, has ordered machinery for cleaning, grading and packing vegetables including onions, potatoes and carrots.

The equipment will be in use from September and the Spilsby firm's customer is splashing out on having the machinery delivered by road.

Up to nine trucks have started leaving the county for the two-week haul and due to the size of the crop reception hoppers involved, two special trucks will also be used.

Tong Peal is also having to get special dispensations as its staff pass through each country en route to its client's premises.

Managing director Charles Tong said the business had been invited to tender because its customer happened to have another piece of Tong Peal kit which managers were impressed with.

Although the firm faced tough competition, the value of sterling was in its favour.

"Golden Niva will be using the machinery in temporary housing this autumn while it forges ahead with a much larger investment," said Mr Tong.

"But the Niva is planning to become a major vegetable producer for this part of Russia sometime over the next few years."

The county business, which designs, builds and installs its equipment, is supplying everything from vibrating soil extractors to roller graders, onion toppers, weighers and packaging machinery.

The firm's engineers will be going out to Russia next month to install the equipment, ahead of the country's harvesting period.

Another export market is Chile, where HAAC CHILE SA is using the company's machinery for handling onions and garlic.

Its associate business, Sapei SA, based in Valencia, Spain, grows and packs onions south of Santiago in Chile.

It is a major exporter of the vegetable to UK supermarket packers between March and June.

Tong Peal export sales manager Barry Ledger said a key factor in clinching the deal was the firm's ability to provide a 'turnkey' solution.

That involved managing the project from the design stage right through to after-sales service.

"The ability to incorporate four suppliers of machinery from the UK and the US into one project via our Spanish agent on the other side of the globe required exceptional co-ordination," he said.

The latest deal marks Tong Peal's fifth installation in Chile in 10 years.