Gordon Brown yesterday paid a visit to Saltaire-based Pace Micro Technology's manufacturing plant in China.

The Chancellor visited the Solectron factory in Shenzhen as part of his three-day visit to the Far East to investigate the impact and benefits of outsourcing and globalisation for UK companies.

Pace has been producing a significant proportion of its annual output of 2.1 million set-top boxes at the plant since 2003.

During the visit, the Chancellor met Pace's regional director for Asia Pacific, Sandy Barblett. "Pace has outsourced all of its manufacturing functions since 2001 to centres of excellence around the world," said Mr Barblett.

"As a result of this move, Pace has been able to compete with the increasingly crowded market on price as well as quality.

"And as a direct result of this Pace has been able to continue to develop its UK headquarters into a centre of high technology engineering and innovation, enabling the company to continue to lead the way in set-top box development and technology as well as growing its business."

Pace, the world's leading producer of digital television set-top boxes, has completed a string of deals to provide its technology across the world. Sets from Shenzhen are supplied to locations such as Australia where Pace supplies boxes to TV operator Foxtel.

Pace's head of marketing and communications, Helen Kettleborough, said the visit had been planned for some time.

"We've outsourced some of our manufacturing in China since 2003," she said. "Now we can focus on the research and development products in the Bradford area. This is our worldwide engineering headquarters.

"One of the great things about having a factory in Shenzhen is that it's closer to customers we are developing in the Asia Pacific region."

The firm, which employs 450 of its 600 employees at its Salts Mill base, also manufactures in the Czech Republic.

Last month Pace began to turn round its financial fortunes, reporting a £3.1 million pre-tax profit for the six months to the end of December compared to £800,000 for the same period in 2003.

Pace also hinted that it was contemplating diversification into healthcare products such as heart or insulin monitors and security products for homes and businesses.