Tees Business Tees Business issue 12 | Page 69

Serving the Teesside Business Community | 69 / STOCKTON NEWS Cornerstone cornering the market for IT Cornerstone Business Solutions managing director Chris Petty (centre) with fellow directors Chris Clark (right) and John Storey. T eesside-based IT experts Cornerstone Business Solutions have hit the £2m turnover milestone for the first time after sealing significant contracts with Spanish giants Tecnicas Reunidas for the new Tees Renewable Energy Plant, Durham Tees Valley Airport and offshore structures giant OSB. The £650m biomass energy plant at Teesport, which is creating hundreds of new Teesside jobs, will provide electricity for 600,000 homes by burning imported wood chips and pellets. Recent winners of the Cloud Solution Provider category in the UK Corporate Excellence Awards for northern England, Cornerstone are providing IT support for the plant, the airport and Port Clarence-based OSB. Further contracts have been won to supply IT services to their Stockton neighbours, Icon Plastics, and Middlesbrough-headquartered Punch Robson Solicitors. Chris Petty, managing director of the Stockton firm, says the “significant” new contract wins will allow the firm to expand and create more jobs. He said: “Winning contracts with such prestigious names is a huge boon for us and all of the organisations fit well with our exis ting flagships such as Middlesbrough FC, TTE, MAP, Camerons Brewery and Endeavour Partnership. “I believe this could be the start of something massive for Cornerstone. The Teesside market is buoyant right now – better than I’ve ever known it – so there are plenty more opportunities for fast-growing firms like ours. “We launched Cornerstone during the credit crunch of 2008 but we’ve remained stable by focusing on outstanding service. “Now we’re ready for take-off and a big push forward over the next two years.” WYNYARD HOTEL AND PUB GETS NOD Up to 50 new jobs could be created following the granting of outline planning permission for a new 99-bed hotel and pub/restaurant at Wynyard Business Park. The new leisure developments, at the junction of the A19 with the A689, will serve more than 2,000 office workers at Wynyard Business Park, 1,500 households in the nearby Wynyard Park housing development, and 500,000 people who live within 20 minutes’ drive of the location. The joint venture, between Wynyard Park and Northumberland Estates which owns Wynyard Business Park, is seeking operators for the two development sites fronting the A689. Icon Plastics reveals £600k expansion plans NEW OFFSHORE WIND DEALS FOR FRANCIS BROWN Fabrication and engineering firm Francis Brown is making its mark in the global offshore wind sector following a series of prestigious contract wins. Based in Stockton, the company has successfully secured contracts with major fabrication specialist BiFab to deliver boat landing access equipment, subsea equipment and cable handling deck gear. Most recently Francis Brown was commissioned by Ecosse Subsea Systems to fabricate and install a 700Te carousel which will be used for the storage of spare cables for UK offshore windfarm projects. The company successfully delivered the project in only 11 weeks. Icon Plastics, a precision plastic injection moulding business, is acquiring a new site in a move that will reaffirm its position as a market leader after consistent growth of 20% year-on-year. The Stockton-based company has acquired an additional 10,000 sq ft factory that sits on a 2.5-acre site directly opposite its current 36,000 sq ft premises. The new site, which is next door to its current location on Durham Lane Industrial Park in Eaglescliffe, will be used to expand its manufacturing and technical assembly processes within the business. Icon has invested £450,000 in buying this new site and will spend another £150,000 in refurbishing and kitting out the factory. Waste services firm O’Brien wins Nifco deal Automotive firm Nifco UK has partnered with O’Brien to supply a range of waste and recycling services across its Stockton operation. The deal will see the creation of two new jobs in the form of O’Brien waste operatives who will based full time at the Nifco site. They will be tasked with segregating the recyclable waste into different streams which will then transported directly to recyclers to be made into new products. This move towards a facilities waste management service is becoming more popular regionally, as it improves the quality of waste segregation, saves valuable headcount and offers increased recycling rates. /TeesBusiness @Tees_Business