Tees Business | Page 19

Serving the Teesside Business Community | 19 HoT move to the Wilton Centre A combination of excellent facilities, high quality office space and ease of access convinced one of the north east’s most established creative agencies to relocate its business to the Wilton Centre. Marketing and design specialist House of Type (HoT) previously operated out of premises in Middlesbrough but opted to move its whole team to the centre earlier this year. Founder and MD of the agency, Dave Marshall, said that the professional setting provided by the Wilton Centre was also a key factor in the decision to move the agency’s operations. “The quality of the surroundings and the range of facilities available here are very impressive and make it an attractive location for us to be based in as a business and also, importantly, to be able to invite clients to. “The benefits of the new gym, the restaurant and the ample free parking make it a very attractive location for our staff to work in too.” House of Type employs nine staff and offers a range of marketing, advertising, communication and digital services including branding, web and app design and development, social media and public relations. Dave Marshall, founder and MD of House of Type, pictured front, with the HoT team It works with a range of businesses and organisations on Teesside and across the UK including national and international brands in retail, public and private sectors, manufacturing and heavy industries: including SABIC, Johnson Matthey, Charles Clinkard, Barker and Stonehouse, Wilton Centre, Stockton Borough Council and Medina Group. With over 25 years’ experience of providing marketing and design expertise, House of Type is now also focusing on developing its growing client list of companies based in and around the Wilton Centre. Wilton Centre helps to fuel success of innovative testing company GMT’s operations have prospered at the Wilton Centre F inding the right location is an essential part of any business success story and an award-winning marine fuel testing company has seen its business go from strength to strength since it set up at the Wilton Centre in 2007. Guardian Marine Testing (GMT) provides laboratory analysis and commentary on the quality of marine fuels used by all seagoing vessels. The fuel used by ships is a bi-product of the crude oil refining process and its quality can vary. GMT’s rigorous testing process verifies the properties of fuel provided to a vessel to help avoid the extreme dangers poor quality fuel can result in for the ships, crew and even the environment. When GMT set up its head office operation at the Wilton Centre it started with three staff, the founding directors. After eight years the company has more than 50 staff in its workforce which now includes staff in Greece and Singapore and has become the world’s leading provider of testing services to the shipping industry combined with services offerings from Lloyds Register Andrew Shaw, MD of GMT, said that the well-equipped facilities and fully inclusive office accommodation packages offered by the centre enabled the company to move straight in and start operations from day one. “We were able to focus on getting on with business thanks to the range of services already in place such as telephone and internet access, a professional reception service and reliable security.” He added: “The high quality and range of choice and flexibility of space on offer at the Wilton Centre meant that initially we were able to opt for accommodation to suit our start-up status and, as we have expanded, we have been able to grow into space with minimal disruption to the business.” “Now the company is established with a worldwide customer base, being located in an internationally recognised location is also hugely important to our ongoing success.”