24 | www.aycliffetoday.co.uk
AycliffeToday
BUSINESS NEWS
BUSINESS BRIEFS
‘WE’RE STRONGER
TOGETHER’
One of Aycliffe Business Park’s
biggest companies admits the park will
be “stronger together”, and hopes to see
more big firms getting involved with the
business community.
Paul Stiller, the managing director of
Stiller Warehousing and Distribution,
is impressed by the steering group of
the Aycliffe Business Park Community
(ABPC).
Speaking at the ABPC’s recent
birthday event, Mr Stiller told Aycliffe
Today: “There’s a definite feeling of
‘we’re stronger together’. There’s
absolutely no doubt that if we form
ourselves into real active, can-do
groups, I think we can all benefit from
that.”
Read more on this is at
www.aycliffetoday.co.uk
MANTIS WORK ON 2ND
BORO BOOK
Newton Aycliffe media company
Mantis Media, publishers of Aycliffe
Today, have won a contract to work on
a sequel football book after the success
of the first one.
Lifelong Boro fan and former
employee Martin Walker, managing
director of Mantis Media, is teaming up
again with Dave Allan Communications
to work on a follow-up to One Giant
Leap, a book to celebrate the 10th
anniversary of Middlesbrough FC’s
Carling Cup victory in 2004.
A Small Town In Europe, another 200page hardback, will be out later in the
year from MFC shops.
WOOD EXPERTS PREDICT
TURNOVER JUMP
A Newton Aycliffe company that
supplies a variety of wood products to
a string of household retailers is set to
report a 10% increase in turnover.
Katell specialise is manufacturing
fireplaces and surrounds, producing
around 500 every week for the likes of
ASDA, Homebase and Tesco, and also
make wardrobes, occasional furniture
and products for the care home market.
They’re expecting turnover to top
£6m by the end of March, a rise of 10%,
while they’re also planning to invest in
new machinery in the coming months.
More on this is at
www.aycliffetoday.co.uk
Merchant Place
Developments boss
Geoff Hunton is
largely credited for
bringing Hitachi
Rail Europe
HITACHI DEVELOPERS: ‘THERE’S MORE TO COME’
The company which brought
Hitachi to Newton Aycliffe says the
train-building factory is just the
beginning of an exciting new era for
the town.
Newcastle-based Merchant Place
Developments are largely credited
for persuading Hitachi Rail Europe to
choose Aycliffe Business Park for their
new £82m facility.
At a crucial stage, director Geoff
Hunton (pictured) even hired a
helicopter to give Japanese delegates
from the firm a bird’s eye view of
Aycliffe and its close proximity to the
A1, airports and sea ports.
Mr Hunton penned the foreword for
the January-February issue of Aycliffe
Today Business, which has been
ramped up with an extra 12 pages to
36 and contains a special feature with
Aycliffe steel fabrication firm Finley
Structures, who’ve won a 2,000-tonne
contract to construct Hitachi’s factory.
Mr Hunton writes: “For many years
now, there has been a lot of talk, a
tremendous amount of planning and
millions of pounds of money spent
just to bring the Hitachi Rail Project to
fruition.
“Too many people have played
their part for me to be able to list
here, unfortunately, but we can all be
extremely proud that the rebirth of
North-East train-building is happening
right here in Newton Aycliffe.”
Hitachi’s factory will only make up
a third of Merchant Park – the land
owned by Merchant Place – and Mr
Hunton says planning permission
is already in place fur further
developments.
He writes: “There are 35 acres (14
hectares) of development plots still
remaining on Merchant Park, with
outline permission already in place to
provide up to 900,000 sq. ft. (83,000
sq m) of new buildings.
“Merchant Place Developments has
an excellent track record for delivery
of industrial and commercial property
for occupiers in the North-East and
throughout the UK.
“So, clearly, the Hitachi development
will hopefully be just the beginning of a
very exciting era for Aycliffe Business
Park.”
The eighth issue of Aycliffe
Today Business is out across the
business park, and can also be
viewed in the business section of
www.aycliffetoday.co.uk