INSPIRATEES

( 1st )

Frans Caljé OBE

PD Ports , Middlesbrough

( 2nd )

Dr Bill Scott OBE DL

Wilton Universal Group , Port Clarence

The winner in 2017 , Bill ’ s consistent inspiration to others is reflected in the fact that he has never finished outside of the top four in the eight years of our poll .

A well-recognised face and popular voice when it comes to talking up Teesside , his commitment to the region is reflected in the fact that he insists on Wilton subcontracting the vast majority of work to other Tees firms .

Born in a terraced house in central Middlesbrough , he began his career as an apprentice plater , was in charge of a team of men by the age of 19 and founded Wilton Engineering with business partner Steve Glenn nearly 30 years ago .

The hugely respected CEO of Wilton Universal , situated alongside the Transporter in Port Clarence , Bill has proved to be a master of reinvention , bouncing back from several business slumps . Now Wilton is thriving again , employing 350 staff on its 110-acre site where they design , project-manage , fabricate , construct , shot blast , paint and load out huge and complicated steel structures for the subsea , oil and gas , marine , offshore wind and defence industries .

Speaking at the InspiraTees event , Bill told the audience of businesspeople : “ Everything I do is about inspiring young people who need a leg-up – teaching them the culture of business and to be the best they can be .”

Giving the annual InspiraTees a big thumbs-up , he commented : “ The whole idea of having an inspirational award makes people sit up and look at what they can do to inspire the next generation , inspire their workforce and work closely with businesses within Teesside .

“ The winner , Catherine , is somebody really special , an amazing person . Inspirational . She says she ’ s not a businesswoman but she ’ s created a business in terms of the charity , which is making massive headway .

“ But it ’ s not about the position you finish in , it ’ s not a competition . InspiraTees raises the profile that people need to be inspirational . It sends a strong message that by being inspirational , you ’ re naturally collaborating .

“ I think businesses have to seriously start thinking about inspiring youngsters to come into their industries . Everybody says to me they ’ re not there but they are - we get lots of undertakings for apprentices to join us .”

Inspiring - Bill Scott ( left ) chats with host Dave Allan .

MY TOP 3

Last year Dutchman Frans becomes the first adopted Teessider and first non-Brit to top our annual poll in the same week he was recognised with an OBE in the Queen ’ s Birthday Honours .

Charismatic , amiable and self-effacing , Frans has for the past six years been CEO of Middlesbrough-headquartered PD Ports , the statutory harbour authority for the River Tees and the Maritime UK Business of the Year .

After starting his career in Rotterdam and gaining experience in Europe and the USA before moving to Teesside , Frans has been instrumental in establishing Teesport as the UK ’ s fifth-largest maritime complex , with a focus on investments to make it the UK ’ s premier seaport and port logistics operator . He was also a leading champion in the successful campaign to bring a freeport to the region .

Asked at the InspiraTees event what makes a good business leader , Frans reflected : “ If you want to make life easy for yourself in the organisation you work in , get yourself surrounded by people who are far better than you are .

“ When you surround yourself with people who really know what they ’ re doing , just let go . Two things are going to happen . Firstly , the organisation is going to accelerate . The other is you get home in time to have tea with the kids , which is absolutely wonderful .”

He continued : “ You ’ ve got to trust your people . You ’ ve got to trust your commanders in the field to make the right decisions on your behalf . And the only way you do that is to give them the confidence and trust they deserve to do the job as best they can . If you think you want to own all the problems because you know best , you ’ re doing the wrong job .”

MY TOP 3

Champs - Frans Caljé with boxer Savannah Marshall .

The voice of business in the Tees region | 35