14 | Aycliffe Today Business
Bringing Aycliffe Business Park Together | 15
AS Training director Steve
Foster with Bonds sales
executive Josh Kershaw
and HR manager Pauline
Gordon.
Stiller Warehousing and
Distribution commercial
manager Matthew Stiller
inside the firm’s new
£1.1m warehouse on
Aycliffe Business Park.
150-YEAR-OLD BONDS UP-SKILL STAFF
THANKS TO AYCLIFFE-BASED AS TRAINING
A 150-year-old steel castings company is upskilling staff
with the help of a Newton Aycliffe training firm.
County Durham-based Bonds, which
was first established in 1868, enlisted 15
employees on Btec level 2 and ILM (Institute
of Leadership and Management) training
programmes through Aycliffe-based AS
Training.
Six members of the sales department
gained qualifications in Principles of Sales,
accredited through Edexcel, while nine
team leaders completed their Certificate in
team leading, accredited by the Institute of
Leadership and Management ( ILM)
Bonds, which incorporate three sites
including Bonds Foundry at Tow Law, Bonds
CastTech at Crook and Bonds Precision
Castings in Cumbria, now plan to progress
their staff to further education while also
encouraging others to gain new training and
qualifications.
Director Melissa Duncan said “We’ve
been looking at skills and succession plans,
because we want this company to continue
for another 150 years, and although we have
invested in individual training before, this is
the first time we’ve put a group of employees
onto a long-term training programme .
“So this was a cautious first step for
us, and I’m delighted to say the staff has
completely exceeded our expectations.
“AS Training have been a great support
to the business and have allowed us to
experiment with this different approach.”
As part of their training, Bonds’ sales team
completed seven modules over four months,
while nine team leaders completed 12
modules over six months.
The firm’s HR manager Pauline Gordon
added: “All employees have put in a great
deal of time and effort.
“They have all embraced and engaged
with the training, making it successful and
enjoyable and it will benefit both them and
the company in the long run.
“Without AS Training this wouldn’t be
possible. They delivered two very excellent
programmes and the staff gained the
knowledge required to get them the
qualification.”
AS Training director Steve Foster says other
firms, including those situated on Aycliffe
Business Park, can now benefit from the
Level 2 training programmes, which are
government-funded.
He said: “Bonds have found this exercise
to be of huge benefit to the company.
“Their staff showed complete dedication
to completing this training and not only have
they come out of it with a well-recognised
qualification it will also improve their
confidence levels and performance at work
which ultimately improves the business.”
AS Training, based at Bede House on
St Cuthbert’s Way for more than three
years, can access funded training for
businesses in a variety of areas, including
leadership and management, coaching and
mentoring, psychological profiling for all staff,
Customer Service, Business Administration,
Accounting, IT, Lean manufacturing and
engineering.
Stiller’s new state-of-the-art £1.1m
warehouse now open for business
Newton Aycliffe company Stiller Warehousing and Distribution is looking to expand
into new markets after opening a state-of-the-art warehouse.
The courses are funded by the European
Social Fund’s Skills Funding Agency and
range from 10 to 40 hours of learning over a
set number of weeks.
They also offer customised training
programmes to satisfy customer
requirements.
AS Training (International), headed up
by Steve, specialise in leadership and
management performance and performance
coaching, Level 2-7 and are accredited to the
ILM, City and Guilds, NCFE and EDEXCEL
(Pearsons).
Steve, an engineer by profession, worked
in manufacturing management for more
than 20 years and has 15 years’ experience
in further education. He has also carried
out work for Sunderland and Bradford
universities.
All AS Training staff are qualified trainers in
their own field with experience in both the
public and private sectors, and bring a wealth
of training knowledge to Aycliffe Business
Park,
To contact AS Training, give them a call on
01325 788141, email them at enquiries@astraining.co.uk. Or for more info about them,
go to www.as-training.co.uk
Stiller provides cost-effective warehousing
and distribution services to businesses in
the North East region as well as commercial
property lettings.
The 40,000 square feet, 5,000-pallet
warehouse will increase by nearly 50% the
family firm’s warehousing capacity at its
premises in the heart of Aycliffe Business
Park.
Stiller, which employs 140 people, has
ploughed £1.1m into the new unit, which
will include a new 21st Century racking
system and VNA (Very Narrow Aisle) handling
equipment.
The multi-user warehousing facility, which
has been constructed by local steel firm
Finley Structures, increases Stiller’s storage
footprint to 200,000 sq ft and has the
capacity to hold 5,000 pallets.
And now the Aycliffe firm wants to
explore new “clean” markets with what it
calls “an investment in efficiency as well as
expansion” in a bid to build on a number of
recent contract wins.
Commercial manager Matthew Stiller said:
“This is another exciting development for the
company and one which demonstrates the
strength of our position in our market place.
“The new warehouse offers a clean
environment and state-of-the-art flooring, and
our new racking equipment means we will be
targeting different types of business.
“We have aspirations of taking on foodbased clients and pharmaceutical companies
because the new facility is a