The voice of business in the Tees region | 115
/ STOCKTON NEWS
Billingham-based Lucite International
is a global leader in the design,
development and manufacture of
acrylic-based products.
#TalkingUpTeesside #TalkingUpTeesValley
GROWING px GROUP RANKED
AMONG UK’S BEST
A
n expanding energy, engineering and
industrial infrastructure business has
jumped up a league table of the UK’s
top-performing firms.
Stockton-based px is placed 106th in the
list of 250 British, private mid-market growth
companies with the most impressive sales.
Last year it was 235th.
The listing, in the Sunday Times Grant
Thornton Top Track 250, comes after
turnover increased by 70 per cent to
£230.7m and profits rose by one third to
£6.6m in the last financial year reported.
Chief executive officer Geoff Holmes said:
“This is further evidence of our successful
growth strategy, which is driven by the
leadership, commitment and skill of our
people across the business.
“It is tremendous to have received this
national recognition for the work we have
been doing to expand and diversify our
Aircon Group grows
with acquisition
Aircon Group has acquired North
Yorkshire-based refrigeration specialist
Allied Refrigeration.
Aircon expanded into 8,000 sq ft
premises on Teesside Industrial Estate
in Thornaby earlier this year after a
five-year spell at Riverside Park in
Middlesbrough.
The company, which also has a branch
in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, aims to
grow annual sales from just over £5m to
£8-9m over the next two-to-three years.
Founded in 1984, Allied Refrigeration
provides commercial refrigeration and
air conditioning services across North
Yorkshire and Teesside, with a specialist
focus on the agricultural and hospitality
industries.
business, all of which provides us with
firm foundations on which to build further
growth.”
The company operates major gas
processing plants near Aberdeen and on
Teesside, gas pipeline operations in the
North Sea and power generating operations
on Teesside, in Cumbria, Lincolnshire and
Wales.
It also owns and provides support
services to partners at Saltend Chemical
Park in Hull, while an energy trading division
– E24 – manages energy buying and selling
on behalf of clients, as well as services
relating to industry ICT and administrative
activities.
The Sunday Times Grant Thornton Top
Track 250 is sponsored by Grant Thornton
and Lloyds Banking Group and compiled by
Fast Track, the Oxford-based research and
networking events firm.
Odyssey is key to
Lemon growth
Call management specialist Lemon says
it has grown its business thanks to the
extra reassurance provided by telephony
provider, Odyssey Systems.
The success of the pioneering
Stockton-based firm – which last year
handled 2.5m calls on behalf of 110
clients – is dependent upon the complete
reliability of its communications network.
Lemon, which has taken up additional
office space to accommodate growing
staff and clients, is well placed to
take advantage of Odyssey’s technical
support.
The company, which employs 80
people and last year generated turnover
of £2.4m, is based in the Odyssey-owned
building on Preston Farm Business Park.
NEW SUBSIDIARY
BRINGS SEVEN JOBS
Everflow Group, based at Wynyard Business
Park, has launched a subsidiary company
to sit alongside its water retailer, Everflow
Water, creating seven new jobs in the
process.
The new venture, Everflow Tech, was
created after the company realised the
technology available to water retailers
was hindering sales and customer service
potential. It is predicted to create more than
100 new jobs within the next three years.
Everflow Tech, which has already invested
in seven employees, will provide technology
and software solutions for the water industry
and is launching with a pioneering retail
management and billing platform, Eclipse.
Council apprentices off
to flying start
Electricians, adult care assistants
and civil engineers are among the
enthusiastic apprentices who have taken
up posts at Stockton Council.
The council has employed the
40 apprentices after a successful
recruitment programme saw 599 people
apply to start their careers with the
authority.
As one of the largest employers in the
borough, the council set out to recruit
dozens of apprentices to develop its
skilled workforce and attract motivated
and talented people.
All the apprentices are being paid at
or above the National Minimum Wage,
which is higher than the standard rate of
pay for apprenticeships.