Washington news
MAXINE AIMS TO MAXIMISE
REGION’S HUMAN RESOURCES
World-class manufacturing
park continues to take shape
Despite the challenges of lockdown,
the exciting creation of the
innovative North East International
Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP) is
steadily moving ahead.
Over the summer, three bespoke
manufacturing buildings totalling 623,261
sq ft were completed on land between
Washington and Sunderland.
But that’s just the start for a site which,
once it is completed, might shift the
gravity in the North-East, (and, potentially
nationally), when it comes to the region’s
contribution to the manufacturing output of
the UK.
The giant Nissan car plant on the edge of
Sunderland remains the biggest of its kind in
Europe and the footprint of the IAMP, which
borders it, is on the same colossal scale.
Once developed, it will bring together
manufacturing specialists, not just in the
car industry, but in a diverse range of
fields including offshore development and
renewables, which will create a melting pot
of technological excellence.
And the expectation is that the sharing
of expertise across different fields in such a
close proximity will help drive innovation
and invention.
The IAMP is one of the largest
construction schemes in the country,
spanning 370-acres and expected to create
more than 7,000 new jobs over the next 10-
15 years.
The joint venture between Sunderland
City Council and South Tyneside Council
seeks to provide a bespoke, world-class
environment for advanced manufacturing
and engineering businesses across a range of
industries.
A Washington-based human resources
expert has set up her own company in the
hope of helping North-East businesses
bounce back as the country struggles with
recession.
Senior HR leader Maxine Henry, who
has 18 years' industry experience, has
taken the leap into self-employment
with the launch of her own consultancy,
offering HR support to business owners
who want to get the best from their staff.
She gained experience working in
various industries such as engineering,
manufacturing, technology and the
education sector and sees a chance in
the current economic climate to create
a business that is needed at a time when
so many companies face restructuring or
reimagining the way they work.
New marketing and
business development
company launches
BY GEORGE! HOTEL
COMES OUT TOP IN
‘ALLSAFE’ TESTS
A Washington hotel has topped
an independent audit of the most
Covid-19 safe accommodations in
the country to earn an ‘ALLSAFE’
award.
The George Washington Hotel
at Unsworth in Washington was
one of dozens of hotels across the
UK recently to undergo testing
to analyse compliance with best
practice relating to Covid-19.
The testing, carried out by Bureau
Veritas, was requested to ensure
that hotels in the worldwide Accor
Group had as high safety standards
as possible to combat the pandemic
and keep guests safe.
And with a 98.67 pass rate, the
George Washington Hotel, Golf
Club and Spa came out with the
highest mark of any of the 73 hotels
across the UK that were tested.
Washington firm slashes delivery
times from weeks into days
An engineering firm has trimmed weeks from
delivery times, thanks to support from an elite team
of manufacturing experts.
RDS Engineering is turning weeks into days and
days into minutes, thanks to state-of-the-art scanning
equipment, purchased with the assistance of the
Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing (SAM) Project.
SAM also supported the Washington firm via a
production planning and workflow management
workshop, to help iron out any kinks in RDS
Engineering’s internal processes.
RDS managing director Rob Bone, said: “Projects
like SAM are essential to help firms, like ours, take
that next step and begin operating on another level.”
Washington-based Nicola Halse
has fulfilled her dream of becoming
self-employed with a view to helping
businesses develop their long-term
goals.
Newly-created Riverside Marketing
Solutions is a marketing and business
development company aimed at
supporting small businesses.
Nicola told Wear Business
magazine: “I have more than 20 years
of industry experience and have often
dreamed of using that experience to
help businesses.
“At this difficult time, if you stop
your marketing and communications,
people will forget about you and many
will struggle when everything returns
to normal.
“Now is not the time to relax but a
perfect time to evaluate your business
and maintain your presence.”
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