How ‘ the Teesworks effect ’ is boosting local businesses
FEATURE
Royal approval – King Charles pictured on his visit to the SeAH Wind factory at Teesworks .
LOCAL IMPACT
How ‘ the Teesworks effect ’ is boosting local businesses
King Charles became the latest person to see for himself the huge progress being made at the giant Teesworks development on the south bank of the River Tees when he visited the £ 950m SeAH Wind factory in February .
While the Royal Visit to the half-milelong SeAH Wind factory naturally hit the headlines , away from the media spotlight , Teesworks is already having a profound effect on ordinary people ’ s lives right across the region .
In myriad ways , the 2,500-acre site is transforming prospects which had looked very different the last time the then Prince Charles visited the area in 2016 .
One of the key features of development at Teesworks is how much of it involves local companies employing local people .
According to independent research , investment in the site already secured or in legal process will create more than 3,470 operational jobs , a further 10,000- plus supply chain jobs and another 6,900 construction jobs .
This sounds great on paper , but how does it work in practice ?
Well , for example , let ’ s take the SeAH Wind factory .
In addition to up to 750 operational jobs based at the factory itself , the development is creating a further 1,500 indirect jobs in the supply chain during the construction phase .
One of the companies benefiting from this is K2 Construction Management . It is leading the team working on the development as project manager , construction manager and cost consultant .
As a result of the job , K2CM opened its first office on Teesside – in Middlesbrough – in 2023 and has already gone on to directly employ more than 45 people to support the Teesside office , with a further 400 currently working through their local supply chain . The firm is currently managing more than 1,400 people on the SeAH site - all employed through the local supply chain - 74 % of whom live within 40 miles of the project .
When he opened the new Middlesbrough office , K2CM director Steve Porter said : “ The Tees Valley is a hotbed of activity , so it naturally made sense to strengthen our position here by investing in our teams . We ’ re excited by the relationships we ’ ve already built across the supply chain , and we look forward to strengthening those in years to come creating even more local job opportunities .”
One of the local companies to benefit from this has been construction company Meldrum Group , which itself opened an office in Stockton in 2021 .
Last year Meldrum Group announced record profits after winning a string of contracts on Teesside , including at the SeAH factory on Teesworks where it
52 | Tees Business