Tees Business Tees Business issue 17 | Page 3

HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS ISSUE OF TEES BUSINESS: WELCOME 19 GUEST FOREWORD from Dan Kitchen Welcome to the spring 2019 issue of Tees Business – the Tees region’s quarterly business magazine. W ith Brexit on the horizon, there’s been some uncertainty in the air, but it’s fantastic to see some huge investment in major projects including the Durham Tees Valley Airport 2020 masterplan, the South Tees Development Corporation site, MGT Power and Sirius Minerals site. It’s great to see businesses prosper in our area, and investment in services which will benefit the people of the Tees region. It was an especially proud moment for me when razorblue expanded again earlier this year. With our offices in Wynyard, Catterick, Leeds and London, we have now opened an office in Manchester, welcoming 10 new team members. This is part of our long-term strategy to build a business that is headquartered in the North-East, but serves the whole country. I always say to people that working in the technology industry is somewhat of a thankless task. Most of the time our clients contact us because something isn’t working. But I’m glad to say that there is a real sense of achievement in the business at the moment, with some huge projects being successfully delivered and clients very grateful for our efforts. It’s a great achievement for the razorblue team to still be growing by over 30% year on year. We, like you, want to bring business back to the Tees Valley. We really want to highlight the fact that businesses from our region can do it better than anywhere else in the UK, including London. The effects of Brexit will become apparent over the coming months, but with businesses in the Tees region sticking together and highlighting it as a hub for international trade, we can prosper together. The positive vibe you feel when visiting other businesses around our region is certainly reflected in the pages of Tees Business. We’re delighted to support this publication and share our success stories along with many others. Dan Kitchen Managing director, razorblue TALKING UP YOUR BUSINESS A s the voice of the Tees business community, Tees Business is the perfect way to promote your successes, products and services to your fellow local businesses. Published every quarter, no fewer than 6,000 copies of Tees Business are delivered FREE to the Tees region’s business communities of Stockton, Middlesbrough, Darlington, Redcar & Cleveland, Hartlepool, Wynyard and Stokesley. See our website www.teesbusiness.co.uk for our Media Pack with full details of our packages, starting from just £295. We also offer flash banner advertising on the Tees region’s only weekly enews for just £195 for four weeks! Our skilled team can write your editorial, take photographs and design your adverts – at no additional charge. Call 01642 450255 or email [email protected] for more details. Tees Business | www.teesbusiness.co.uk Boho Four Gibson House, Cleveland Street, Middlesbrough, TS2 1AY Tel: 01642 450255 | Email: [email protected] Published & distributed by: Resolution Media & Publishing Ltd www.resolutionpublishing.co.uk Co-editors: Martin Walker and Dave Allan Designed by: KINSHIP, [email protected] Our writers: Joanne Barrett, Michael McGeary, Lou Murray, Harry Pearson, Adam Steel, Jacky Stevely. Our photographers: Chris Booth (including front cover), Doug Moody, Martin Walker. Contact our sales manager Carole Sanderson T: 01642 450255 E: [email protected] /TeesBusiness @Tees_Business PRIVACY POLICY We have made some updates to our Privacy Policy to make it easier for you to understand what information we collect, why we collect it, and how we use it. You can view our policy online at teesbusiness.co.uk/privacy. If you do not want to receive hard copies of Tees Business, or our weekly e-news, please email [email protected]. *All rights reserved. Reproduction, in whole or part without written permission, is strictly prohibited. Tees Business accepts adverts and advertorials in good faith and takes no responsibility for errors and/or omissions. We cannot be held responsible for advertisers offering goods or services. All information is correct, to the best of our knowledge, at the time of publishing. MEET MR POSITIVE He’s the man who’s never had a bad day in his working life. 26 A NEW TIDE Tees charity’s newcomers starting a wave. 32 A FORCE FOR GOOD SABIC’s Communities Award for environmental leadership. 39 RAISING OUR IT BRAND ACROSS TEESSIDE IS OUR GOAL Football is helping IT firm to ‘Corner’ the market. 44 EMBRACING CHANGE Active on the ever-evolving landscape of financial planning. 77 WE NEED TO TALK The wife of the late Russ Devereux with an important message we all should read.