DUTCH GIANT REVEALS £ 7.2M TEES SITE
/ STOCKTON NEWS
Serving the Teesside Business Community | 67
New Volvo gets the red carpet treatment
Household stars including Phillip Schofield , Julia Roberts and Robert De Niro lined up to celebrate Volvo ’ s latest new model during a special launch event in Stockton .
But it was only cardboard cut-outs of the stars that lined the red carpet during the evening celebration at Mill Volvo ’ s showroom on Preston Farm , attended by 150 Teessiders .
Guests got a first glimpse of Volvo ’ s impressive new family SUV model , the XC40 , which has already been named Car of the Year 2018 by What Car ? magazine , dubbed Britain ’ s biggest and best car buyer ’ s guide .
Mill Volvo ’ s North East operations director Jeff Tabb , who ’ s based at the firm ’ s Stockton dealership , says he expects the new XC40 to help Mill sell 3,000 new units across its range in the region this year .
“ It has already been an excellent start to the year ,” he said . “ The franchise has ambitions to do 48,000 units nationwide this year , and we expect to represent 3,000 of those across the whole range in the North- East alone .”
The XC40 was unveiled by all Volvo dealerships nationwide during a simultaneous launch night .
Sitting beneath Volvo ’ s XC60 and XC90 , the arrival of the new XC40 compact SUV – an all-new segment for Volvo – sees the company line up with three SUV offerings for the first time in its history .
“ We went for the big launch due to the significance of the opportunity for this car – which is a premium , compact SUV , a type of car we haven ’ t offered before ,” added Tabb .
“ The XC60 and XC90 are leaders in their segments and we ’ d expect this to follow suit .”
The XC40 is available from Mill Volvo Stockton starting at £ 27,920 on the road , and from only £ 297 per month ( personal contract hire ) or £ 247 + VAT ( business contract hire ) – call 01642 673251 to book a test drive .
Mill Volvo operations director Jeff Tabb with some of the team at the launch of the new
XC40 in Stockton .
£ 250k investment funds growth plans
An ambitious online travel agency is choosing Teesside as its destination for growth after securing a six-figure investment from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund ( NPIF ).
VCH Travel uses a bespoke ‘ destinationless ’ search system developed in-house which processes millions of pieces of data in just a few seconds to offer customers holiday options that are tailored precisely to their specifications .
The eight year-old firm is set to open its new digital headquarters in Stockton as part of the next stage of its development , and will also shortly be launching a new version of its search software designed specifically for use on mobile devices .
DUTCH GIANT REVEALS £ 7.2M TEES SITE
Heavy lifting and transportation specialist Mammoet has provided a major shot in the arm for the Teesside economy after revealing its ambitious expansion plans . Mammoet has announced plans to invest £ 7.2m into a new state-of-the-art base on the Teesside Industrial Estate in Thornaby .
The six-acre site will house 180 of its UK employees , including the 36 that work in Leeds and 140 employees who work in Billingham .
Teesside is home to CPI , the UK ’ s national technology and innovation centre for the process manufacturing industries . At the National Biologics Manufacturing Centre , CPI combines state-of-the-art facilities and technical expertise to support the growth and development of the UK biologics industry .
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MOBILE MINI SALES UP TO £ 66.6M
Stockton-based Mobile Mini has reported record results for its UK business .
The leading hirer of portable site accommodation and secure storage containers has reported sales of £ 66.6m during the 12 months to December 2017 , an 11.3 % increase on the previous year .
This record revenue has been driven in part by a significant investment by the company in growing its fleet of steel storage containers and portable offices , canteens and welfare facilities , which now stands at almost 40,000 units .
Training firm finalists in world welding awards
A Teesside engineering training centre has been named as a finalist in the Welding World Awards after a highly successful first year in business .
Nordic Engineering Training and Testing Centre in Stockton has gone from strength to strength since being launched in December 2016 .
In recent months , it has managed to place 30 local unemployed people into engineering positions after giving them the right skills to meet employers ’ requirements .
Nordic has since reached the final of the Welding World Awards in the Best Welding Industry Training Provider category .