Aycliffe Today Business Aycliffe Today Business issue 33 | Page 13

The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 13
/NEWS
Second
Incubator Zone
for County
Durham
businesses
opens
C
ounty Durham businesses that are
keen to showcase their products and
services to potential new customers
are being recruited for the second phase of a
support programme.
Last year saw the launch of the inaugural
Incubator Zone programme at Durham
Oktoberfest.
And this year, as the event prepares for
major changes to reflect its growth over the
last decade, micro and small companies
who could be eligible to take part are being
sought.
Organisers of Durham Oktoberfest, County
Durham Engineering and Manufacturing
Network (CDEMN), have once again teamed
up with Business Durham’s Durham
Business Opportunities Programme (DBOP),
with European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF) funding, to offer companies a mini
exhibitor package which they hope will open
the expo up to those companies who don’t
have big marketing budgets or the resources
to exhibit at an event like this.
The package means they can have a
presence within the show with the added
bonus of support provided to help prepare
them for the exhibition and marketing
materials such as banner stands and flyers
Aycliffe –based The Emotional Intelligence Company
has already signed up as a fully-fledged exhibitor at
this year’s Incubator Zone programme.
designed and printed if they need them.
The criteria to participate is:
• Your business must be based within
County Durham
• It must have links to the engineering
and manufacturing sectors
• Ideally employ less than 15 people
• Have never exhibited at Durham
Oktoberfest
Lisa Wall, business engagement officer
with DBOP, said: “This is the perfect
opportunity for companies to take part
in Oktoberfest without the pressure of
significant costs which are often attached to
exhibiting at big events.
“And, as we know from those companies
who exhibited last year, it also gives
participants the chance to forge real business
links which can and do lead to sizeable
contracts.”
One business which took part in the 2017
Incubator Zone programme was Newton
Aycliffe-based The Emotional Intelligence
Company, who had such a positive
experience that they’ve already signed up as
a fully-fledged exhibitor this year.
Founder and owner Gary Hosey said: “Our
team at The Emotional Intellig ence Company
was over the moon with the 100 plus new
contacts we got from Oktoberfest 2017.
“This, coupled with reconnecting with
companies we’d had previous contact with,
has meant we’ve had several meetings and
resulted in a number of proposals to deliver
work to new clients.
“This is a great outcome for us and
we have already confirmed that we’ll be
exhibiting at the 2018 event.”
The Incubator Zone programme is being
delivered by the DBOP team working in
partnership with LEC Communications and
Design.
The Oktoberfest event returns to the Xcel
Centre this year on Thursday October 18.
New Volvo gets the red carpet treatment
H
ousehold stars including Phillip
Schofield, Julia Roberts and Robert De
Niro lined up to celebrate Volvo’s latest
new model during a special launch event in
Stockton.
But it was only cardboard cut-outs of the
stars that lined the red carpet during the
evening celebration at Mill Volvo’s showroom
on Preston Farm, attended by 150 people.
Guests got a first glimpse of Volvo’s
impressive new family SUV model, the
XC40, which has already been named Car
of the Year 2018 by Whatcar? magazine,
dubbed Britain’s biggest and best car
buyer’s guide.
Mill Volvo’s North East operations
director Jeff Tabb, who’s based at the firm’s
Stockton dealership, says he expects the
new XC40 to help Mill sell 3,000 new units
across its range in the region this year.
Sitting beneath Volvo’s XC60 and XC90,
the arrival of the new XC40 compact SUV
– an all-new segment for Volvo – sees the
company line up with three SUV offerings
for the first time in its history.
The XC40 is available from Mill Volvo
Stockton starting at £27920 on the road,
and from only £297 per month (personal
contract hire) or £247 +VAT (business
contract hire) – call 01642 673251 to book
a test drive.