The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 9
The “ Get Into Rail ” regional workshop takes place 30th June at Durham County Cricket Club .
then having the right support to scale up those products and services globally .”
NEAA £ 1.4m SME Programme
Business support will be taken out on the road in March with a County Durham SME Roadshow at the NETPark Incubator in Sedgefield .
Firms were also invited to join the North East Automotive Alliance ( NEAA ) and Business Durham at the roadshow on Thursday March 16 .
The event was pitched at small and medium-sized ( SMEs ) companies looking to supply into the automotive sector or those firms already doing so but looking to improve their capability .
The NEAA will outline information on the £ 1.4m ERDF funded SME Programme , advancing the competitiveness of North East automotive SMEs , along with the £ 6bn tier 1 and tier 2 UK supply chain opportunities in the sector .
The roadshow focuses on improving the competitiveness of SMEs , expanding business capability through business excellence , increased trade and innovation , attracting new SMEs into the sector and supporting entrepreneurship .
“ The BEEP project offers constructive assistance to companies through free energy auditing services and its ability to contribute to the cost of measures undertaken as a result of these audits .” – energy officer Malcolm Potter
Business Energy Efficiency Project ( BEEP ) Local firms are also receiving expert support from the thriving Aycliffe Business Park Group which held the first of a planned series of seminars .
Staged at the premises of ROF59 in Newton Aycliffe , Malcolm Potter , energy officer in Durham County Council ’ s Low Carbon Energy Team , led a presentation and discussion on energy efficiency .
The seminar covered how the management of energy should be a key driver for business improvement and how the council ’ s new European-funded Business Energy Efficiency Project ( BEEP ) can offer assistance to local companies in the form of free energy advice and auditing – and even some grant funding .
“ The majority of companies , to a greater or lesser degree , make savings by managing and controlling their energy consumption , sometimes at little or no up front cost ,” said Malcolm .
“ But only a minority consider how improvement in energy usage can positively influence operational and financial performance and , therefore , competitiveness .
“ The BEEP project offers constructive assistance to companies through free energy auditing services and its ability to contribute to the cost of measures undertaken as a result of these audits .”
To find out more about the ‘ Get Into Rail ’ event please email caroline . taukulis @ durham . gov . uk or contact Business Durham to learn more about the package of support available to help your company http :// www . businessdurham . co . uk /