Aycliffe Today Business Aycliffe Today Business Issue 42 | Page 11

The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 11
/NEWS
Heather Mills stars at EMCON event in Aycliffe
H
eather Mills took to the stage to give
the keynote address at this year’s
EMCON event on Aycliffe Business
Park.
Ms Mills, whose vegan food empire is
the biggest producer of vegan-based food
in the world, took to the stage to share her
entrepreneurial journey and the growth of
her business.
She spoke to an audience of over 100
people, sharing with them more about her
plans for the North East, which include
the development of the former Walkers
Crisps plant in Peterlee, which she recently
purchased to accommodate the expansion
of the VBites brand, and the recent launch of
Plant-Based Valley in Seaton Delaval.
Following the keynote address, Ms Mills
then participated in the Industry Leaders’
Panel Debate, which was organised by the
Engineering and Manufacturing Network
(EMN) in partnership with Jackson Hogg
Recruitment.
Ms Mills said: “It’s a pleasure for me to be
back in the North East, attending EMCON
which is just down the road from my
hometown of Washington.
“I am so passionate about the region,
which is why when the opportunity to
expand VBites within the North East came
up, I took it.
“My best friend called me and told me
about the Walkers plant closing and that
people were losing their jobs, and said I had
to come and see it. I did and after much work
behind the scenes, VBites is now located
there.
“Around the same time, I was in the region
with a friend who told me about the closure
of the Procter and Gamble facility in Seaton
Delaval. And I just knew in my gut that one
day I would own it.”
The panel debate also featured Valda
Goodfellow from Goodfellow and Goodfellow,
Steven Parker from Digital Allies and Ryan
Maughan from AVID Technology, with Richard
Hogg acting as moderator.
EMN chairman David Land said: “The
feedback we’ve had from visitors and
exhibitors alike has been tremendously
positive.
“Heather was a real draw for a lot of
people, and we’re delighted that she gave up
her time to be part of our event.
“We’d also like to thank headline sponsor
Stadler Rail, our long-term partner Business
Durham, the event team and everyone else
who helped make EMCON 2019 such a
success.”
EMCON saw over 1,000 people flock
through the doors. Other EMCON sponsors
included GOM, Horizon Works, Kite
Packaging and Lumo Tax, which are all silver
sponsors, and LemonTop Creative, ACB
North and E-max Systems, which are bronze
sponsors.
CPI project gives SMEs access to £2.3m funding pot
C
PI has announced a new project
offering flexible access to
innovation facilities and expertise
in commercialising new products and
processes in the additive manufacturing and
coating industries.
The IMPACT project is funded by the
European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF) and gives North East SMEs access
to a £2.3m funding pot for the development
and proof of concept of new products and
processes utilising additive manufacturing
processes.
Additive manufacturing, often referred
to as 3D printing, is a technique by which
components or complete products are built
in layers directly from digital data.
It enables the precise control of active
components used in product manufacture
and is a highly flexible technique, with short
lead times and lower manufacturing costs
than traditional manufacturing.
The technique has applications in a wide
variety of markets, with final products
encompassing precision engineered parts,
corrosion resistant coatings, active surfaces
such as sensors, and multi-layered materials
such as composites.
The project will run until the end of March
2021, with the aim of supporting SMEs in
the North East Local Enterprise Partnership
(NELEP) region which covers County
Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North
Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside
and Sunderland.
CPI, which has a facility on Aycliffe
Business Park, is interested in supporting
SMEs to access facilities and expertise,
enabling them to manufacture products using
minimal processing to optimise the use of
scarce resources.
CPI’s aim is to facilitate the development
of long-term relationships with these
SMEs, accelerating their journey to
commercialisation.
SMEs will gain access to CPI’s business
services, product and process development
assets and expertise, as well as its state-
of-the-art printable electronics, formulation
preparation, precision deposition and
characterisation facilities.
If you would like to find out more
about the programme, contact CPI at
uk-cpi.com/contact/enquire