The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 27
• Durham County Council proposes a £ 20m scheme – Finance Durham, a standalone investment fund – to grow local businesses and help to create thousands of jobs for County Durham.
• Crafter’ s Companion founder Sara Davies is appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire( MBE) in Her Majesty’ s Birthday 2016 Honours List.
• County Durham is named one of the top five areas in the country for business startups to excel.
• Hitachi’ s HR team celebrates after being crowned the HR & D team of the year at the North East of England CIPD awards.
JULY
• The North-East’ s first University Technical College( UTC) is officially opened on Aycliffe Business Park by Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson.
• Hitachi announces plans to take on an additional 150 staff at its Aycliffe facility – on top of the initial 730 it planned to employ – taking total numbers to the 900- mark. The Japanese firm says 30 % of the new posts would be apprenticeships.
SEPTEMBER
• The construction division of Aycliffe-based Raisco completes a £ 250,000 expansion and refurbishment of a 7,700 square metre lorry park at Suttons Tankers in Stockton, on land owned by Aycliffe-based Stiller Warehousing and Distribution.
• Gestamp reports an increase in turnover, up to £ 468.5m, across its five UK sites, with pre-tax profits also up, by 32 % to £ 18m.
NOVEMBER
• One of Gestamp Tallent’ s sites, Plant 5, is sold by owners Henley to a private equity real estate investor in a £ 11.5m deal. The plant is let to Gestamp until at least 2039.
• Commercial Expert is named as the first financial firm to become an official intermediary for the Business Banking team at the UK’ s only digital bank, Durhambased Atom Bank.
• Stiller Warehousing and Distribution reveals plans to expand again with two external storage facilities totalling 32,000 sq ft.
• Steel company SCH Site Services announces a recruitment drive after enjoying a record £ 4.8m year in sales – with three new appointments and at least eight more in the offing.
• Construction firm Raisco invests a sixfigure sum in a new 24-metre, CNC saw and drill line which it says will increase efficiency and output at its Aycliffe Business Park premises.
• National property investment company MCR Property says Whinbank Park, at the heart of the business park which it acquired in August 2015, enjoys a surge in occupancy rates after major investment by its new owners.
AUGUST
• Aycliffe Today agrees a new shirt sponsorship deal with the town’ s football club for the 2016-17 season, sponsoring the club’ s home strips.
• Hitachi secures another major order from Great Western Railway( GWR) – to manufacture seven bi-mode Intercity Express Trains as part of a new multimillion pound deal.
• The Durham franchise of national network Certax Accounting takes on eight new members of staff, boosting its team to 17, after investing a six-figure sum in its own premises and doubling turnover for a second year.
• Finley Structures wins a contract to build a second university building for leading major contractor BAM Construction – a 400-tonne project at the University of Lincoln.
• South West Durham Training( SWDT) invests £ 150,000 in new infrastructure after enjoying a surge in extra student numbers.
• The first British made washing machines for decades roll off the production lines at Ebac’ s Newton Aycliffe factory.
• Steel firm SCH Site Services completes a 350-tonne project working on intu Metrocentre’ s new Qube II extension – a contract awarded by Sir Robert McAlpine.
OCTOBER
• Beaumont Grounds Maintenance wins three major contracts which results in the creation of new jobs. Beaumont clinched a three-year deal with leading Teesside independent commercial property surveying practice Dodds Brown as well as new school maintenance contracts with Thornaby Academy and Our Lady and St Bede’ s Catholic School in Stockton.
• Eldon Financial Planning reveals another record year of sales after relocating from Bishop Auckland to Aycliffe.
• Durham County Council starts on vital infrastructure works just off the A1 which will pave the way for the 52-hectare Forrest Park site.
• Crafter’ s Companion founder Sara Davies receives her MBE from His Royal Highness, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
• South West Durham Training( SWDT) appoints experienced engineering lecturer Brian Corker to help deliver new Higher National Certificate( HNC) courses in the mechanical, manufacturing, mechatronics and electrical elements of engineering.
• Growing marketing agency Thrive relocates from the HUB Workspace to larger, open plan offices at the Xcel Centre – previously by Hitachi Rail Europe.
• SCH Site Services helps Stiller to expand again with the development of a 20-metre tall, 40,000 sq ft warehouse at its 20-acre site on Aycliffe Business Park – a £ 750,000 investment by the warehousing and distribution firm.
• Finley Structures wins three major schools contracts – a 560-tonne project for Sir Robert McAlpine at Ryde Academy on the Isle of Wight, a 500-tonne project for Bowmer & Kirkland at Abbotsfield Schoo in West London and a 260-tonne project for Interserve Construction at Roundhay School in Leeds.
• Tekmar Energy wins its first project with Tideway BV( member of the DEME Group) for Cable Protection Systems on the Merkur Offshore Wind Farm.
DECEMBER
• The Labour Party’ s Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Kier Starmer listens to the concerns of local businesses and trade organisations during a round table discussion at the Xcel Centre in Newton Aycliffe.
• Hitachi Rail Europe sees the first Intercity Express( IEP) train to be built in the UK at its manufacturing facility as Transport Secretary Chris Grayling visits the Aycliffe facility.
• Ebac says it’ s taking its range of dehumidifiers international, with distribution in Belgium, Holland, Greece and Portugal secured.
• Crafter’ s Companion says it’ s on track for a record year, with staff numbers topping the 100-mark across its UK and US operations.