Growth – Orangebox Training ’ s Simon Corbett , pictured with UKSE area manager Sarah Thorpe , has taken on extra staff despite Covid-19 .
NEWS
RISING THROUGH LOCKDOWN
How Tees firms have thrived during pandemic with UKSE support
P raise for Tees-based companies that have not only weathered the coronavirus storm but also seen their businesses grow has come from UKSE . The Tata Steel subsidiary has been helping businesses with investment finance , support from the government ’ s CBILS scheme and at their two Teesside business centres .
“ UKSE ’ s criteria for investments have always included a strong management team ,” said area manager Sarah Thorpe .
“ And this crisis has demonstrated how vital that is . Companies in a variety of sectors have not only stayed afloat but also grown thanks to strong management .
“ They have been quick to adapt and often seize the opportunity to diversify to protect their business .
“ This resilience will continue to benefit companies like those supported by UKSE as we continue through challenging times .”
Simon Corbett set up Orangebox Training four years ago in UKSE ’ s Innovation Centre at Hartlepool . Faced with the coronavirus threat he took decisive action .
Orangebox had already trained more than 2,000 people , was operating globally and looking to a £ 1m annual turnover when lockdown closed down classroom courses and work experience opportunities .
“ We decided to close down three of our four key training areas and concentrate on warehousing which was growing strongly through contracts with Tesco , Teesport , Hermes , Amazon and others ,” said Simon .
“ We moved the training online , managing to launch two new platforms to deliver training and register learners within five days .”
Now , with training rooms reopening , the team has grown to 16 and added another six to its bank of 30-plus trainers .
The growth in home deliveries , online shopping , first aid and risk assessment training has brought expansion .
Recently , at Amazon in Darlington , Orangebox placed 84 per cent of the learners who attended interviews into employment . It also has another three major contracts involving thousands of jobs .
Phavour , an innovative mobile platform connecting university students with local job opportunities , was growing successfully at UKSE ’ s Innovation Centre in Hartlepool when coronavirus hit .
“ Initial response had been really good , with jobs in areas from hospitality , engineering , social media and languages to gardening and childminding ,” said Lliam Casey .
“ Businesses , universities and students had welcomed the easy matching process , secure ratings and payment systems , then everything changed .
“ We had to adapt quickly and concentrated on home-working in areas such as design , marketing or IT and we continued to grow .
“ We now have a team of eight and expect to number 12 soon . UKSE
Favour for a friend – Joan Cook of UKSE ( centre ) with members of the fast-growing team at Phavour ( left to right ) Jo Elliott , Charlie Eve , Ryan Tuck , Lliam Casey , Adam Gray and Emelia Powell .
Ashley Robinson with one of the council ’ s masks .
supported us with extra office space and even helped with furniture .”
Sealpump Engineering , a leading designer of industrial spray systems , moved quickly to develop new products for the battle against coronavirus .
A fogging disinfection system was immediately in demand to sanitise areas from offices , hospitals , care homes and industrial units to trains , airports and ambulances .
Now the company , based in UKSE ’ s Innovation Centre at Redcar , has launched a walk-through sanitising tunnel for public buildings from airports to offices and entertainment venues .
It includes a facial recognition feature , takes temperatures and can store all information for track and trace purposes .
Director Stephen Larkin said : “ Businesses are faced with implementing these extra special measures to protect people and our aim is to provide the effective systems they need .
“ We anticipate a big demand for the new sanitising tunnels in particular .”
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