STOCKTON NEWS
NEW TENDERING SITE LAUNCHED FOR TEES BUSINESS
Leader - OPPORTUNI head Tim Ward .
An award-winning tech firm has launched a new website that enables Tees businesses to search for highvalue local authority contracts .
Stockton-based OPPORTUNI has launched its localised contract opportunity website , called Teesside Tenders .
The site gives companies complete freedom to search access to all local contract opportunities – covering local councils , the NHS , housing associations and Teesside University – in one simple-to-use website .
The site provides a free service that aims to simplify the world of applications and contracts for local businesses , directing them straight to all the available public sector work across Teesside , which for the first time has been gathered together in one place .
This location-specific site is ideal for those businesses looking to secure long-term highvalue contracts .
Local authorities across the country are targeted with spending at least a third of their budget with small and medium-sized businesses .
With thousands of great local businesses across Teesside having huge growth potential , this free resource will help more of those local businesses find and secure high-value contracts that can offer long-term stability as a platform for further business growth .
After a hugely successful launch last year , OPPORTUNI has helped businesses across the UK win more than £ 400m worth of public sector contracts , and this number is rising by the day .
This news comes ahead of the new Procurement Bill , due to be introduced into parliament next summer , which will make contract opportunities even more accessible to small- and medium-sized businesses .
Turnover figure reflects automotive industry ’ s ‘ challenging ’ year
Car parts manufacturer Nifco UK has posted a £ 47.5m turnover in the face of challenging trading conditions .
The Eaglescliffe-based company , which produces parts for some of the world ’ s largest car makers , saw sales drop for the 12 months ending December 31 2020 , down from £ 65.9m in 2019 .
The firm says the reduction is largely down to lockdowns during the year .
It follows a gloomy year for the UK automotive industry , with new car sales plummeting to their lowest levels since 1946 , which has had a significant knock-on effect on the automotive supply chain , with most manufacturers experiencing unprecedented reductions in output .
Surge in demand for HGV recruitment app
25 years of loving carpets
Avail ’ s Steven Rogers .
A recruitment platform for HGV drivers has seen a surge in demand amid government efforts to encourage trained drivers to get back behind the wheel .
Stockton-based Avail Technologies is on target to double the number of registered users on its platform to over 20,000 by the end of 2021 .
Numbers signing up have risen sharply since a letter from the Department of Transport to the UK ’ s one million licensed HGV drivers , asking those who had stopped driving to reconsider .
The letter included a link to industry body Logistics UK , which lists Avail as one of only five official recruitment providers .
A Tees-based flooring store is celebrating 25 years in business .
Family-run , independent flooring retailer , Frank ’ s The Flooring Store , marks its 25th birthday this month .
Locally recognised by the infectious catchphrase “ I love carpets , me !”, Frank ’ s opened its first store on Portrack Lane , Stockton , in 1996 .
Three out of five family generations are still actively involved in the company , and many of the team have been there from the beginning .
Frank ’ s has also invested over £ 500,000 in the latest technology and , in recent months , has opened more new stores , bringing the total number across the region to 30 .
Billingham station access upgrade signed off
Ben Houchen has signed off a £ 1m investment to significantly improve disability access at Billingham railway station .
Billingham is the only regularly served station in the North-East with no access for passengers with mobility problems to any of its platforms .
Currently , from the car park and drop off point , access onto platforms one and two is only available via a stepped footbridge .
The scheme will see the existing pedestrian footbridge , which is approaching the end of its life , replaced by a new one served by lifts , making it step-free and suitable for wheelchair users .
The voice of business in the Tees region | 151