Sponsored by Moonrise 24Hr Recruitment
JOB CREATION
SMALL BUSINESSES ( 10-50 STAFF )
FINALIST
ALT LABS
MIDDLESBROUGH
An award-winning innovation consultancy , Alt Labs uses emerging technologies to transform traditional business services , create new products and services and enhance the enduser experience .
It acknowledges traditional approaches but also champions outside-the-box thinking to future-proof innovation and tackle challenges across such diverse sectors as transport , technology , policing and digital .
It has also established Flok , Teesside ' s largest co-working space , as a hub for innovation , networking , flexibility and business support .
Jessica Gwaringa of category sponsor Moonrise 24hr Recruitment presented the prize to David Brennan , MD of Eastgate Engineering Services .
WINNER
EASTGATE ENGINEERING SERVICES
Billingham An engineering firm bagged two trophies for its new home after a double success at the VelociTees awards .
Electrical instrumentation services contractor Eastgate Engineering Services works predominantly in the power renewables and offshore wind industries sectors .
It employs just short of 50 people on Teesside , making it eligible for the VelociTees Job Creation - Small Businesses category , although on a wider base , it has around 220 people in total , including sub-contractors and staff at its Ireland office – but that ’ s set to rise to 350 in 2025 .
But after picking up the Small Business and Overall trophies for job creation at the Wynyard Hall ceremony , MD David Brennan revealed Eastgate ’ s growing workforce has forced it to find a new Teesside home .
He said : “ We ’ ve just secured a new site to build a brand new office at Cowpen Industrial Park . The moneys are paid over and the site is ours , so hopefully we ’ ll have a spade in the ground in the next six months or so .
“ We ’ d been at the Business Hub since 2015 and it ’ s served us well , but we needed somewhere new and we ’ re not moving very far , just a mile up the road . “ It shows we ’ re confident in the region and the investment in it . There are many more engineering projects coming up that we ’ ll be playing a big part in , so we ’ ll be continuing our growth in employment and turnover over the next five , 10 , 15 years .”
To win the small business category , Eastgate , with 80 % workforce growth , finished ahead of Alt Labs ( 75 %), PlanHappy Investment Services ( 68 %) and Wolviston Management Services ( 56 %).
A privately owned electrical and instrumentation company , Eastgate ’ s engineering , construction , commissioning and maintenance services cover a broad range of sectors such as oil and gas , power and infrastructure , industrial and commercial .
And with the race to net zero well underway , Mr Brennan – who feels Teesside is the perfect place for Eastgate ’ s UK base – said the firm is ready to more than play its part .
SPONSOR MESSAGE
Jessica Gwaringa said : “ Everyone at Moonrise was thrilled to celebrate the VelociTees alongside many of our fellow fast-growers in the Teesside region . It ’ s fantastic to see ambitious and innovative businesses creating new jobs right here in a region we are proud to serve . Many congratulations to all of the finalists in the Job Creation – Small Business category , who have each overcome the odds to grow in challenging times .”
FINALIST
PLANHAPPY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
STOCKTON
The UK ’ s first and only all-in-one technology solution specifically designed by financial planners for financial planners and advisers , PlanHappy ’ s web-based system is the brainchild of experienced financial planner Neil Parker of Joslin Rhodes and has been developed over many years and by working with thousands of clients .
Featuring software , training , one-on-one coaching and business support services , it contains everything needed to build a financial planning business .
FINALIST
WOLVISTON MANAGEMENT SERVICES
STOCKTON
Part of the Wolviston Group of project management , engineering and recruitment services , Wolviston Management Services offers a complete recruitment service specialising in delivering long-term supplier agreements to the chemical , petrochemical , power generation , biofuel , life sciences and allied industries .
One of the UK ’ s leading privately-owned recruitment businesses , it ’ s driven by looking after its clients rather than the short-term financial targets a plc might strive for .
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