SUCCESS
How Tees Valley Combined Authority schemes are supercharging local businesses
WE ’ VE GOT YOUR BACK
SMEs are the lifeblood of our local economy and – thanks to a raft of wideranging grants , support and schemes – the Tees Valley mayor , Combined Authority and Business Board are driving forward innovative schemes so they can start up , scale up and grow .
And while these are undoubtedly boosting the local economy , they are also helping people into new roles and progress in well-paid , good-quality careers .
Discover how companies and individuals have benefited from these programmes here .
Flying high - Steve Southern ( right ) and Dave Taylor of Southern Asset Management , whose TVCA support has helped win contracts with both Teesside and Stansted airports .
Career opening - TVCA backing allowed Elliott Johnson and Kia Huntington , pictured with Navigator Terminals assistant HR and training manager Jimmy Smith , to become the first operational apprentices at the Tees firm .
Eco-Trailer ’ s Made Smarter success Businesses have benefited from getting involved in Made Smarter – a governmentled programme being delivered locally alongside Teesside University to improve the development and adoption of new , innovative technologies to encourage business growth .
Middlesbrough-based Eco-Trailer secured a £ 10,000 grant from Made Smarter to invest in a collaborative robot – known as a cobot – and incorporate it into its manufacturing processes .
The firm produces more than 240 highquality trailers each year for Europe , the UAE , USA and even New Zealand . The cobot has helped Eco-Trailer streamline its manufacturing process and tackle challenges including increased costs and performance analysis .
Southern Asset Management Steve Southern founded Southern Asset Management with colleagues in July 2022 to carry out structural testing and asset management of lighting columns and other structures .
With TVCA support , Steve ’ s Stocktonbased company has gone from strength to strength , winning work with North & Mid Wales Trunk Road Agent , London Stansted Airport , Teesside Airport and many more prestigious companies .
Matched funding from the TVCA , TWI and support from Teesside University helped Steve ’ s firm buy specialist equipment , IT software and find new employees .
The firm is now working with the digital transformation and supply chain programmes at the combined authority . Digital transformation supports firms in adopting digital technology within their businesses , with up to £ 3,000 grant funding , while Tees Valley Supply Chain can link businesses with the diverse range of activity in regional , national and global supply chains .
Elliott Johnson and Kia Huntington Navigator Terminals has taken on its first operational apprentices with the help of TVCA support .
Elliott Johnson and Kia Huntington have taken on roles with the gas storage firm . The longstanding Seal Sands company took on
24 | Tees Business