26 | Aycliffe Today Business
2017 REVIEW
JANUARY
• Newton Aycliffe-based craft supplies company, Crafter’ s Companion, tops off an impressive year by reaching 100 employees across its UK and US operations.
• Ebac celebrates year-on-year UK sales of its dehumidifiers, with figures almost doubling in 2016.
• Fabrication firm SCH Site Services boosts staff numbers to 45 with 10 new employees after winning a raft of new contracts.
• Family-run Aycliffe firm Beaumont Grounds Maintenance announces a record year, with sales growing 20 % to £ 625,000.
• Tekmar Energy announces a contract win with Prysmian PowerLink to supply 84 of its patented Teklink cable protection system( CPS) on the prestigious Rentel offshore wind farm project in Belgium.
FEBRUARY
• County Durham-headquartered fitness business OneGym, which has a gym on Aycliffe Business Park, continues its expansion with the £ 250,000 opening of a new gym in Thornaby.
• Leading manufacturer Ebac says it’ s to embark on a recruitment drive that will support the development of its washing machine division.
• A total of 65 nominations involving 37 different companies on Aycliffe Business Park are submitted for annual Make Your Mark awards event.
MARCH
• Stiller Warehousing and Distribution completes a new 40,000 sq ft warehouse at its 22-acre site on Aycliffe Business Park, costing £ 750,000. The new development, standing at 10 metres tall, creates space for another 5,500 pallets.
• County Durham’ s economy has continued to grow despite a challenging economic environment, according to a report, which claimed there’ d been a 4.7 % increase of jobs in the region to 200,000.
• Fourth-generation family firm PWS is named Aycliffe Business Park’ s Company of the Year award at the Make Your Mark event.
• Maven Capital Partners is revealed as Durham County Council’ s funding partner for its new £ 20m Finance Durham investment programme which will help businesses in the region grow.
• Hitachi’ s first Intercity Express trains complete their first test journeys in the South-West.
• Aycliffe-based accountants Certax Durham reveals it has taken on more new members of staff after creating its own traineeship programme which has produced four new apprentices.
• Finley Structures says it will fabricate and erect 1,000 tonnes of steel after sealing a double deal – a 465-tonne distribution centre in Lancashire for GMI Construction and a 640-tonne contract for BAM Construction at Doncaster Sixth Form College.
APRIL
• Aycliffe manufacturer Roman is among an impressive list of Europe’ s top 1,000 fastest-growing companies named by an FT1000 list, compiled by the Financial Times. The shower designer and manufacturer is later recognised with the Queens Award for Enterprise for International Trade.
• Fifty businesses gather for the County Durham Better Health at Work Awards ceremony, held at Ramside Hall Hotel near Durham, organised by Newton Aycliffebased the Pioneering Care Partnership( PCP), which manages the County Durham sub-region of the North East Better Health at Work Award.
• Husqvarna celebrates a landmark occasion for British manufacturing as it marks the production of its one millionth robotic lawnmower at its UK headquarters on Aycliffe Business Park – said to be a first for the industry.
• Mantis Media director Martin Walker, editor and publisher of Aycliffe Today Business, launches new lifestyle magazine with a newly-created Middlesbrough-based publishing company. Resolution Media and Publishing launches Tees Life, off the back of its successful Tees Business, the region’ s first business publication.
MAY
• Around 100 jobs are secured as US firm Kaiam Corporation completes the purchase of the Compound Photonics factory in Newton Aycliffe.
• Simon Goon reveals his decision to step down as managing director of Business Durham later in 2017 to take up a job as chief operating office at Synoptica, an early-stage Artificial Intelligence company.
• Finley Structures is awarded a contract to help build a new £ 36m entertainment venue in Hull with the 960-tonne project, on behalf of main contractor Bam Construction.
• North East IT firm Razorblue rolls out exciting new wireless technology in Aycliffe, providing cost-effective super-fast internet access with speeds of up to 1,000 MB.
• Stiller Warehousing and Distribution invests £ 280,000 on four new 18-tonne, Iveco vehicles, costing £ 70,000 each, which include a number of state-of-the-art safety features.
JUNE
• Technology firm Excelpoint is hailed as one of the region’ s undiscovered gems after moving to the Aycliffe Business Park. The firm celebrated its expansion with an event opened by Mike Matthews, then president of the North East England Chamber of Commerce.
• Teesside-based engineering company Durham Lifting says it enjoyed a 30 % increase in turnover after expanding to Aycliffe and after investing more than £ 40,000 in new machinery.