4 | Aycliffe Today Business
BUSINESS BRIEFS
AYCLIFFE FIRM BOOSTS CHARITY
Staff, volunteers and patients at Butterwick Hospice in Bishop Auckland turned out to cheer on their very own DIY SOS team of professionals after the charity won a Newton Aycliffe company’ s 2016 Community Challenge.
A 20-strong workforce from JDP Contracting Services, the largest specialist roofline contractor in the North, rolled up their sleeves to carry out vital roof repairs at the Hospice, replacing rotting guttering and fascias as well as helping to decorate and garden.
Entries come from a wide range of community groups and have included village halls, a nature trail, petting zoo, church groups and a rugby club.
OPTIMISM ON EXPORT FIGURES
The North East increased its export figures from Quarter 2( April – June), up from the previous quarter, figures in line with the majority of other regions.
Further good news was the North East also retained its consistently strong trade surplus, currently standing at £ 1.26bn for the year so far, the only region to consistently produce one.
As part of these figures EU exports saw a substantial 10.5 % increase from the same period last year.
Chamber
Ben Powick, policy adviser at the North East England Chamber of Commerce, said:“ Looking at the results overall, I think the region can be cautiously optimistic.”
£ 11.5M DEAL FOR GESTAMP SITE
One of Gestamp Tallent’ s sites on Aycliffe Business Park is under new ownership following a deal worth £ 11.5m.
Gestamp, which supplies products to most of the major automotive giants, including Nissan and Honda, employs more than 1,300 people.
Now Plant 5 – 178,617 sq ft of high quality industrial space – has been sold by private equity real estate investor Henley to a private international investor for the multi-million pound sum.
Developed in 2012, Plant 5 also has an integral two-storey office block in the south western corner as well as the huge industrial space.
The unit was purchased by Henley in 2013 and is let to Gestamp for a term of 25 years, expiring in 2039.
More jobs at Hitachi as workforce set to top 850
Hitachi Rail Europe is set to take on an additional 150 staff at its Newton Aycliffe facility.
The Japanese firm says it’ s creating a further 150 jobs, on top of the estimated 730 it expected to have in place when its stateof-the-art train assembling factory is fully operational later this year.
The company already employs about 500 people at the site, which was opened by then Prime Minister David Cameron a year ago.
The company said 30 % of the new posts would be apprenticeships.
A spokeswoman said:“ This is great news for jobs and manufacturing in the North East and the UK.
“ These new fixed-term roles will provide us with the flexibility we need to deliver the new contracts that we’ ve won since the Newton Aycliffe site was opened last September.
“ We hope around a third of these new positions will be apprenticeships, giving young people a tremendous opportunity to start a career in engineering and gain valuable skills.” Some 500 carriages are being built for the
Newton Aycliffe-based craft supplies company Crafter’ s Companion has teamed up with a local health initiative to help County Durham residents improve their wellbeing.
As part of a new collaboration with the Wellbeing for Life service, Crafter’ s Companion will be running a free fiveweek course designed to help participants improve their mental wellbeing through adult colouring and other mindfulness practices.
The Wellbeing for Life service, commissioned by Durham County Council, offers support and advice to people in the
East Coast Main Line and a further 360 for the Great Western.
The company also has a contract to supply hundreds of carriages for the ScotRail franchise and work is expected to start once the factory’ s summer shutdown ends later this month.
The 100mph commuter trains will be made up of three-car and four-car trains, known as Class 385s, and are expected to run from late 2017 on electrified lines between Edinburgh and Glasgow, as well as routes covering Stirling, Alloa and Dunblane.
An example of the ScotRail 385 is now being shipped to the region from Japan, to help with the fleet’ s development in the UK.
Work on the Scottish fleet will be carried out alongside existing deals to make stock for the East Coast and Great Western routes under the Government’ s Intercity Express Programme( IEP).
The first 100mph commuter trains for ScotRail are due to come in to service between Edinburgh and Glasgow in 2017.
Crafter’ s Companion aiming to help residents’ wellbeing
area to help them make healthy lifestyle changes, such as improving their mental health, stopping smoking and being more active.
The‘ Colour me Calm’ course, which runs until Wednesday October 12, will be held at Crafter’ s Companion’ s flagship store on Aycliffe Business Park.
For more information about the Wellbeing for Life service or to book a place on the‘ Colour Me Calm course’, visit www. wellbeingforlife. net or contact the service on 0800 876 6887.