Aycliffe Today Business Aycliffe Today Business issue 32 | Page 27

The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 27
Aycliffe Today editor Martin Walker takes a look
back at some of the stories making the headlines
on aycliffetoday.co.uk during another eventful 12
months for Aycliffe Business Park...
J U LY
• Gestamp Tallent and Hitachi Rail Europe
celebrate UTC South Durham’s first
academic year. Company bosses joined
UTC staff for the official opening of the
Hitachi Rail engineering hall and the
Gestamp robot cell during the celebration
event.
• Students from Ferryhill Business and
Enterprise College were crowned
champions of the Future Business
Magnates (FBM) competition – run by
Business Durham – at an annual awards
event held at the Xcel Centre
• Newton Aycliffe-based offshore specialists
Tekmar Energy lands a new contract with
Scottish Power to supply its TekLink cable
protection systems (CPS) to the ONE
Offshore Windfarm in the North Sea.
• The Pioneering Care Partnership’s Better
Health at Work Award (BHAWA) team and
Wellbeing for Life deliver a Mental Health
Conference to over 100 attendees from 37
different County Durham businesses at the
Xcel Centre.
• Durham Council reveals it’s due to start on
the next phase of the 52-hectare Forrest
Park development, which is claimed could
bring more than 3,000 new jobs to the
region.
• Finley Structures completes a 1,100-tonne
project on a retail and entertainment
complex as part of the multi-million pound
redevelopment of Durham city.
SEPTEMB E R
companies – including Gestamp Tallent,
Hitachi Rail, Roman, Ebac, Stiller
Warehousing and Distribution, Palram
and Tekmar Energy – gathered for the
event at Redworth Hall Hotel, organised
by Aycliffe Business Park Community.
• Husqvarna sees turnover climb by a
huge £43m to £196,4m, but figures
show how profits drop 22% from £8.4m
to £6.5.
• Former motor trade apprentice Scott
Martin joins Aycliffe-based Fleet
Recruitment, which provides recruitment
and training services spanning a wide
range of sectors.
• Hitachi Rail Europe is shortlisted to the
final five bidders for the £2.75 billion
HS2 contract, along with rivals Alstom
Transport, Bombardier, Patentes Talgo
and Siemens.
N OV EM BER
• The relaunch of Aycliffe Business Park’s
exciting new website is celebrated at a
high-profile event. Around 100 people
attended the event, with keynote speeches
from Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson, Ebac
chairman John Elliott, Crafter’s Companion
founder Sara Davies and training expert
Lee Childs.
• Newton Aycliffe-based business Durham
Precision Engineering (DPE) says it expects
turnover to top £3m after investing in new
machinery.
• Jason Howe is revealed as South West
Durham Training’s new general manager.
AU G U ST OCTOBER
• Local hotel Redworth Hall reveals a
£100,000 investment in its popular Great
Hall, which hosts more than 100 events
a year including wedding receptions,
birthday parties, anniversaries and
corporate functions.
• Lee Childs leaves his role as chief
executive of South West Durham Training
(SWDT) to take up a new challenge with
SORA Training Group.
• Ebac shows its support to the local
community by supporting the town’s
football club in a record-breaking shirt
sponsorship deal.
• The former Compound Photonics facility
is sold again in an $80m d