Durata ’ s ambitions for Thornaby FC
We have come in with fresh eyes from a business owner perspective .”
COMMUNITY
Passion – Durata quality director Alison McGee and her husband John have taken over the reins at Thornaby Football Club .
SAFE IN OUR HANDS
Durata ’ s ambitions for Thornaby FC
PICTURES : TOM BANKS WORDS : PAUL FRASER
It was impossible to avoid the news that the women ’ s section of Thornaby FC was seriously under threat at the start of the summer . Lionesses Beth Mead and Jill Scott were among the household names to have their say , as well as high-profile figures such as legendary Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson . The news also shocked the very heart of Durata ’ s Middlesbrough ’ s headquarters , where managing director John McGee and his wife Alison , the firm ’ s quality director , had been watching men and women compete together in this year ’ s Soccer Aid at Stamford Bridge .
Durata had been the Thornaby Women ’ s team shirt sponsor for two seasons and planned once again to head to Teesdale Park for another campaign .
“ We loved going down there to watch the women and getting to know everyone at the club . It ’ s a special place , with a lot of heart and a lot of potential . We wanted to help ,” said Alison .
Daily discussions and meetings led to Alison becoming CEO and John joining the board too . Since then , there has been incredible progress behind-the-scenes .
A long list of new sponsors are on board , which includes some support in various ways , financial and non-financial , from Wander Films , the Plastic Processing Company , Steel Benders , HR Alchemy , BMAC Builders , Rephrase PR and
Media Services and Tees Business .
Thornaby ’ s situation attracted interest from Nike , who now have a partnership with the club that will see all the club ’ s teams , male and female , wear the famous Swoosh logo on their strips this season .
John said : “ Durata has been proud to sponsor Thornaby in recent years and as a company that is extremely proud of our Teesside roots we now have great ambition to drive Thornaby FC into an exciting new era .
“ We operate our business from our Teesside headquarters and even operate out of Frankfurt and London too , building modular data centres to deliver around the world . Yet we will never forget that we are from Teesside and want to support this community .”
Durata can design and pre-fabricate all types and sizes of modular buildings to support Edge data centres , fibre exchange , battery storage and other similar applications .
Fully designed to meet security and building regulations , Durata installs , tests and commissions the full mechanical and electrical infrastructure , as well as taking into consideration network infrastructure requirements .
When there was an arson attack on Thornaby FC last year , volunteers and the local business community joined forces to put the club back on track .
We have come in with fresh eyes from a business owner perspective .”
40 | Tees Business