Aycliffe Today Business Aycliffe Today Business issue 32 | Page 7

The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 7 /NEWS BUSINESS BRIEFS MACHINE STEAMS ON Landscaping firm sponsors football club after record year A landscaping and grounds maintenance firm is pulling up trees after smashing its sales forecast five months early. Scott Ellwood sowed the seeds for his new landscaping venture more than a decade ago – now he’s reaping the rewards after seeing his fledgling firm flourish into a blossoming business. After starting out as a sole trader in 2006, Shildon-based Ellwood created his limited company, SE Landscaping, in 2014. He now heads up a team of six, while turnover for his current financial year ending in April is already 10% above his projected sales figure of £200,000. Ellwood has celebrated his record year by sponsoring the town’s football club, Northern League side Newton Aycliffe, with a £4,000 donation to sponsor their away strips and tracksuits for the 2017-18 season, as well as perimeter board advertising boards. “It has been worth our while after a great year,” he said. “Our turnover has more than doubled in the last two-and-a-half years through natural growth. What pleases us most is the awards and recognition that our work is singled out for, which we’re very proud of.” SE Landscaping picked up several new contracts in 2017, many of which with local authorities, while it also works with petrochemicals giant Sabic, Portakabin on Portrack Lane in Stockton, Intelect UK at Riverside Park in Middlesbrough and Teesside property rental firm Parker Barras, which involves maintaining its portfolio of properties including flats and industrial units. Based in Shildon and with a site on Aycliffe Business Park, SE Landscaping currently has more than 70 active clients on its books involving both private and public sector contracts across the North-East region – working as far South as York and as North as Cramlington. For more details about SE Landscaping, go to selandscapingservices.co.uk, email [email protected] or call 01388 772704. Aycliffe businesses benefit from new Incubator Zone Exhibitors who participated in a new programme at the region’s biggest engineering and manufacturing expo have secured more than 10 new contracts worth over £200,000 between them. Twenty-one companies from across County Durham signed up to the very first Incubator Zone at the 2017 Durham Oktoberfest event. And now, a few months since they showcased themselves to an audience of almost 1,000 people, seven exhibitors have confirmed they’ve already converted leads into business. They include Shred Direct, whose owner Graeme Carter completed a project with a North East engineering company and has quoted for two more contracts; Peterlee security and storage company Steadfast Group, who are on the verge of converting two new sizeable contracts; Bishop Auckland-based bespoke box manufacturer JSB Enterprises, who have add three new companies to their portfolio; and supplier of safety products, Nusafe, who have won work with a large automotive manufacturer. Ian Outterson (left) of Aycliffe-based Quality Hydraulics and Lee White of Bespoke Electrical both benefited from the 2017 Oktoberfest event. Other Incubator Zone exhibitors who have either won work or are in the process of securing contracts are Aycliffe-based Quality Hydraulics and Bespoke Electrical. The Incubator Zone project is part of the Durham Business Opportunities Programme (DBOP), created to engage companies who had not been involved with Durham Oktoberfest previously. Oktoberfest 2018 returns to the Xcel Centre, Aycliffe Business Park, on Thursday October 18. For updates on the event, or to book as an exhibitor, visit durhamoktoberfest. org.uk. Steam Machine, a Newton Aycliffe- based brewing company, wants to open a bar in Durham city. It has applied for a license for premises at the rear of 85 New Elvet, next to the Half Moon Pub, where it says it wants to run a “quirky craft beer bar and bottleshop”. The company, run by husband-and-wife team Nick and Gulen Smith, started life on Aycliffe Business Park in 2015 and has since gone from producing 500 pints of beer a week to 7,885 – a growth of 1,477%. AZUMA’S HIGH NOTE Virgin’s state-of-the-art Azuma train made its inaugural visit to the Highlands as preparations to transform cross-border rail services gather pace. The iconic train, which takes its name from the Japanese word for “east”, is being built by Hitachi Rail Europe and will be rolled out on Virgin Trains’ east coast this year. NEW FORUM CHAIRMAN The Entrepreneurs’ Forum has announced it has appointed experienced Teesside business owner, mentor and investor James Robson MBE as its new chairman. Robson succeeds Nigel Mills CBE, who has held the position for six years and is a highly-active entrepreneur who has launched and invested in a number of growing businesses. Nigel will remain on the board. HOME COMFORTS Successful businesses who have established their brand nationally and internationally are being encouraged to look closer to home as they continue to grow. County Durham Engineering and Manufacturing Network (CDEMN) is working with companies in the area to look at their neighbours as potential customers. Many of the network’s members are established firms who export their products and services nationwide and overseas, however many aren’t exploiting the opportunities on their doorstep. CDEMN is planning to host a series of events in 2018 which will focus on doing business closer to home.