Sponsored by Elite Consult
Job Creation VelociTees
LARGE BUSINESS ( MORE THAN 250 STAFF )
FINALIST
DOUBLE ELEVEN ( Middlesbrough )
Having recently topped the 300-employees mark , and with offices in Middlesbrough and Kuala Lumpur , Double Eleven tripled its team in 18 months and is now one of the top three UK-based independent games publishers and developers .
Trusted with some of the world ’ s biggest IPs , it is currently collaborating on projects to excite the gaming world , including Minecraft Dungeons with Mojang Studios , Prison Architect with Paradox Interactive and Fallout 76 with Bethesda Game Studios , as well as working on unannounced projects for Switch , Xbox Series S / X and PlayStation 5 .
Jobs – Managing director Emma Cranie , of category sponsor Elite Consult , presented the award to Wilton Engineering CEO Bill Scott OBE .
WINNER
WILTON ENGINEERING SERVICES ( Port Clarence )
The boss of a leading local engineering firm paid tribute to his workforce “ heroes ” after another “ at the double ” increase in staff prompted more awards success .
Last year , Wilton Engineering Services , based on the banks of the River Tees in Port Clarence , won the VelociTees awards Job Creation prize for Large businesses after more than doubling its workforce from 58 to 125 .
Fast forward to 2024 and the same firm has done it again – this time going from 125 to 251 – allowing it to win the Job Creation – Large Business title again . It ’ s a direct result of the firm building a strong order book of defence sector projects which has been converted into increased turnover and profit growth . This is forecast to continue into the next financial year and beyond as the firm negotiates long-term commitments on those defence projects , presenting continued workflow for the future .
But to do all that work requires trained and committed staff – and CEO Bill Scott is enthused by what ’ s going on at Wilton Engineering .
He said : “ We ’ ve been fortunate in terms of having a good , solid base to grow on – in fact , it would be nice to be back ( at the awards ) again next year because we ’ ve got such an amazing amount of work on .
“ We ’ ve diversified across from oil and gas into offshore wind and more latterly into defence . That is creating the vehicle for us to win this sort of award .
“ Our workforce are our heroes . And the apprentices we ’ ve got are buzzing – they are the next generation , the lifeblood of the company . Then there ’ s my management team as well . I just applaud them for doing it all .”
SPONSOR MESSAGE
Emma Cranie , managing director of category sponsor Elite Consult , said : “ As a business operating in the recruitment sphere , it was an honour to support the celebration of the region ’ s fastest-growing businesses . People are the fabric of every business , so it was particularly exciting for us to support the category that rewarded the largest amount of jobs created within a large business . “ Many congratulations to Wilton Engineering Services . All finalists showed tremendous levels of job creation , so we also send our congratulations to Double Eleven , Paralloy and Northern Skills Group Business Services .”
FINALIST
PARALLOY ( Billingham )
Since its Billingham site opened in 1967 , Paralloy has specialised in transforming raw elements into world-class products that power the petrochemical , ethylene and syngas industries .
From initial concepting to dispatch and delivery , it provides a comprehensive , end-toend service , primarily serving the synthetic natural gas and ethylene cracker petrochemical markets . And by combining multiple foundries on one site , it has a high degree of control over the manufacturing process , leading to better results and quicker turnarounds for clients .
FINALIST
NORTHERN SKILLS GROUP BUSINESS SERVICES ( Middlesbrough )
The apprenticeship and training arm of Middlesbrough College Group , Northern Skills Group supports more than 2,000 businesses across the North-East thanks to training courses and programmes selected to reflect business requirements .
Those courses ensure firms can recruit new team members or enhance the skills of current ones , helping ignite productivity and creating a loyal , knowledgeable and motivated workforce . With more than 100 apprenticeships offered , 2,200 apprentices have been trained so far , with a 99 per cent overall pass rate .
142 | Tees Business