Aycliffe Today Business PNE1578_AycliffeTodayBusiness_Issue28_WEBhighres | Page 3

The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 3 INCLUDED IN THE MAY-JUNE 2017 ISSUE OF AYCLIFFE TODAY BUSINESS… WELCOME / 04 MILLION UP Husqvarna celebrates production of one millionth robotic lawnmower at Aycliffe plant... GUEST FOREWORD: from Caraline Robinson Welcome to the 28th issue of Aycliffe Today Business – I’m delighted to write the guest foreword for this edition as we at Husqvarna recently celebrated production of the one millionth robotic lawnmower here on Aycliffe Business Park. The milestone was an extremely important one for a company which has been based here in Newton Aycliffe for 53 years. ranks to become manufacturing director, so I value the importance of training our young people. We’ve been manufacturing Flymo walk behind lawnmowers here since 1953 and robotic lawnmowers under the brands of Husqvarna – Gardena, McCulloch and Flymo – since 2006. When we started production of the robotic mowers 11 years ago, we were manufacturing 8,000 a year – we’re now producing more than that every week. We also welcome the North-East’s first University Technical College – UTC South Durham – which we’re working very closely with. Having a specialist engineering and advanced manufacturing UTC on our doorstep can only be to our advantage. We’ve seen a huge amount of investment in our facility which has helped to support our growth over the years as we’ve had to increase our capacity, which is fantastic for local jobs. Our location here in Aycliffe has enabled us to grow. We’re close to North Sea ports which are essential for exporting, but we’re also close to distribution networks which are equally important, as we produce more than 300,000 Flymo lawnmowers sold annually across the UK alone. / 10-11 NEW LIFE Mantis Media director Martin Walker launches new venture with business partner... I’ve worked on Aycliffe Business Park for nearly four decades, so I’ve seen companies come and go over the years, but I think the future of the park is hugely bright. We’ve seen a lot of major developments in the last two to three years – notably Hitachi and the UTC – and other flagship firms such as 3M and Gestamp Tallent continue to grow and perform well. The park is really buoyant right now, there seems to be lots of opportunities, and I think that’s reflected in these pages of Aycliffe Today Business. / 18-19 RAZOR SHARP Aycliffe is also a great place for skills. We’ve invested heavily in apprenticeships in recent years and continue to do so as we aim to fill an engineering skills gap. I hope you enjoy reading this issue – you can read more about the celebration of our one millionth robotic lawnmower on page 4. I trained as an apprentice 37 years ago at South West Durham Training and I’ve been with Husqvarna ever since, moving up through the Caraline Robinson A new cost-effective super-fast internet solution arrives on Aycliffe Business Park... Regards Manufacturing director, Husqvarna Business. Business. Aycliffe Today AYCLIFFE TODAY BUSINESS Aycliffe Today Business is Newton Aycliffe’s only business publication, which is mailed exclusively to every company on Aycliffe Business Park. Launched in November 2012, we provide firms with a unique platform to tell everyone about their services and success stories in our prestigious, high-quality publication. The magazine for Aycliffe COMPLIMENTARY Aycliffe Today The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park www.aycliffetoday.co.uk o.uk | ISSUE 26: JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2017 | [email protected] COMPLIMENTARY Business Park www.aycliffetoday.co.uk | [email protected] k | ISSUE 27: MARCH-APRIL 2017 / 22-23 MADE MARK TWO THE Peter High-profile businessmen are set Wilcock and Andy Preston Make to star at the third annual on Aycliffe Your Mark awards event Business Park... AMBASSADOR W hy councillor John Clare was handed special award during third annual Make Your Mark awards event... ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: BEAUMONT Grounds maintenance another record year... firm celebrates LEVY GUIDANCE Aycliffe training provider on apprenticeship levy... COFFEE BREAK to give free advice OneGym boss answers our 20 questions... BUSINESS DURHAM Opening doors to new opportunities for Aycliffe businesses... CERTAX Accountants grow again after continued expansion... SE LANDSCAPING Fledgling firm flourishes into blooming business... IN AYCLIFFE Finley Structures enjoys strong start to 2017 with string of major contract wins... We produce 2,500 copies every issue – with an estimated readership of more than 8,000. One copy is mailed direct to every company on our database, and the rest are distributed by hand across the park, in hotels and conference centres. Our next issue will be out in July 2017. The booking deadline is Friday June 23, so get in touch with us if you want to get involved. Our trained journalists can write your advertorials and we can take your pictures. Or if it’s a traditional advert you need, our professional graphic designer can do that for you. This is all part of the package – professional writing, photography and graphic design – which offers a truly unrivalled service in Newton Aycliffe and County Durham. Email [email protected] to ask for our rate card. Aycliffe Today Business | www.aycliffetoday.co.uk Enterprise House, The HUB Workspace, Welbury Way, Aycliffe Business Park, Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham DL5 6ZE Published & distributed by: Mantis Media Ltd, www.mantis-media.com Designed by KINSHIP: Call 07846186220 | Email [email protected] Editor: Martin Walker | Tel: [phone] | Mobile: [phone] Email: [email protected] Contributors to this issue: Martin Walker, Caraline Robinson, Jessica Main, Sarah Burns. Photography: Martin Walker. / 30-31 COFFEE BREAK UTC South Durham principal Tom Dower answers our 20 questions over a cuppa...