34 | Tees Business
Serving the Teesside Business Community | 35
The Gas Cracking Project at SABIC’s Olefins 6 plant at Wilton. The firm has won a series of awards.
CHEMICAL
CHAMPIONS!
Giraffe
Connected
Solutions
systems
administrator
Neil Sotheby
with network
administrator
Scott and
support
engineers Gary
and Michael.
How Wilton-based SABIC
is bringing industry
recognition to Teesside
W
Room with a view for
ambitious IT support firm
A
team of IT support and security
specialists with lofty ambitions
is looking to expand after
successfully relocating to stateof-the-art new offices.
Giraffe Connected Solutions is the latest
resident at Fusion Hive, a high-tech hub
on the banks of the River Tees along North
Shore Road in Stockton.
Giraffe and its four-man team of technical
experts switched from Middlesbrough to
the purpose-built development, which sits in
between the Millennium and Infinity bridges
along the Tees, earlier this year.
And as well as enjoying scenic views
from its plush new offices, Giraffe is also
benefiting from winning new business
following the move, including contracts with
a Newcastle-based manufacturing company
and a Thornaby supply firm.
The new work add s to Giraffe’s already
impressive portfolio of clients that includes
organisations and businesses in the charities,
legal, financial services, telecoms, public
relations, manufacturing and retail sectors.
“Our relocation to Fusion Hive has
definitely given us fresh momentum as a
company and we’re already reaping the
rewards,” says systems administrator Neil
Sotheby.
“We’re all technical people, and the fact
we don’t have a sales team is a strength,
because it shows everything has come
through word of mouth, which is a credit to
the team.
“We’re a tight team and we have very
close relationships with our customers. They
all have our mobile numbers and we want
them to contact us if there’s a problem,
whatever time of the day it is.
“But now we hope to expand in the near
future and the long-term aim is to take on
an apprentice and a business development
manager.”
Sotheby says one of Giraffe’s unique
strengths is the fact they specialise in the
Linux operating system.
He explained: “The core of what we do
is providing IT support for businesses of all
sizes, including contracts, one-off projects
and consultation.
“We also specialise in security server
work, including Linux servers such as
Ubuntu, as well as firewalls, routers and
general networking.
“The Linux operating system in particular
is a bit of a niche area for us. One of our new
customers was very limited in terms of the
external IT support available to them because
they use Linux.
“Linux tended to be used primarily
in servers for data centres, but it’s now
becoming much more common as a regular
desktop operating system. It’s gradually
becoming much more mainstream, in the
way Mac’s OS, which is very close to Linux
and based on the same technology, has
done.
“Two of us in the office specialise in Linux
and the other two specialise in Windows,
which means we have a good mix, enabling
us to offer extensive knowledge of both
systems to our clients.
“There are other benefits of using Linux,
as well. It’s free and there is no licensing and
it’s less prone to attacks, which means it’s
much less vulnerable to viruses.”
Fusion Hive, which is backed by Teesside
University, is set on three floors and is
equipped with state-of-the-art facilities
designed to attract technology business.
“It’s in an up and coming business area
with lots of development going on,” adds
Sotheby, who has been with Giraffe since
2012.
“Endeavour Partnership, Visualsoft and
Thirteen have recently moved to new
buildings close by and it feels like an exciting
place to be with a real buzz about it.
“When I came to look at the building I was
surprised at how nice and modern it is. It has
a feel of something Google might have built.
Lots of people try to achieve that and fail, but
they’ve really pulled it off here.
“The meeting room at Fusion Hive offers
unbelievable views over the bridge with
the backdrop of the Cleveland Hills and
Roseberry Topping and the river flowing
behind.
“For us it feels like starting again and we’re
all very excited about it.”
You can contact Giraffe Connected
Solutions by calling 01642 939730,
emailing [email protected] or
going to www.giraffesolutions.co.uk
hen SABIC was named Company
of the Year by the Chemical
Industries Association it completed
an incredible 12-month winning streak of
prestigious awards for the Teesside chemical
company.
Employing 600 staff at its UK base at
Wilton, near Redcar, SABIC is celebrating
nearly 10 years of operating on Teesside
as the firm nears completion of phase1 of
the game-changing Teesside Gas Cracking
Project.
The conversion of the firm’s iconic Olefins
6 plant to take US shale gas will safeguard
thousands of Teesside jobs whilst securing
the company’s long-term future in the region.
And the Saudi-owned company’s leading
role on Teesside and beyond is being
increasingly recognised with a series of
industry awards.
SABIC received the national Company
of the Year award in recognition of its
demonstrated business growth and
sustained contribution to the economy.
But SABIC’s recent roll of honour also
includes:
• Top Employer of the Year - For a third
consecutive year SABIC was rewarded for
its employee welfare including working
conditions, professional and career
development, and culture management.
• CIA Special Responsible Care Award
for Process Safety Leadership - for
demonstrating excellence in process
safety leadership and performance as well
as leadership by senior management and
engagement of staff at all levels.
• Cogent Gold Standard - awarded to
companies that ensure their operators
and business practices hit the mark
for technical competence, business
improvement, compliance, and functional
and behavioural practices.
• Better Health at Work Award – in
recognition of the efforts of SABIC staff
in addressing health issues within the
workplace.
• NEPIC Apprentice of the Year – SABIC
apprentice Asad Ali received the accolade
whilst studying for a HNC in Chemical
Engineering.
• Shortlisted for Royal Society of Chemistry
RIGHT: Receiving the CIA Company of
the Year and Process Safety Leadership
awards are SABIC staff, from left:
Kathryn Harper, Nicola Duffey, Lee
Allcock, John Harrison, Graeme Murtha,
John Bruijnooge, Louis Malan, Richard
Hodges, Katherine Franklin, Joanna
Bamlett, Amanda Garvey Kovac and Claire
Wordsworth.
BELOW: Representatives of the charities
with SABIC employees and contractors in
front of the new ethane tank at SABIC’s
North Tees Site.
Technician of the Year – Olefins 6 lab
technician Hallam Wheatley narrowly
missed out on this award through his
dedication to his work, degree and his role
as STEM ambassador.
Awarded to the most outstanding CIA
member demonstrating business growth
and a sustained contribution to the
national economy, the Company of the
Year award went to SABIC for the second
time in five years after judges praised the
company’s support of the wider industry
and demonstrated commitment to the UK in
recent years.
Along with its investment in Teesside
industry, SABIC was praised for its
comm itment to the Chemistry Growth
Partnership and the decarbonisation agenda.
John Bruijnooge, Site Director Teesside,
said: “All our employees have contributed to
this accolade and I am very proud of their
continued commitment.
“After a period of restructuring, we are
now strengthening our UK operations with
significant investment that will improve the
competitiveness of the site for the future.
“SABIC continues to demonstrate its
commitment to the UK and its workforce,
whilst working closely with our stakeholders
and the community in which we operate.”
And charity champions too!
Staff and contractors working on
SABIC’s Teesside Gas Cracking Project
have marked a celebration of working
TWO MILLION safe man hours by
donating £6,000 to three local charities.
The team of workers based across
SABIC’s Wilton and North Tees sites
were asked how they wanted to
recognise the remarkable achievement,
with an overriding majority electing to
make a charity donation.
The chosen beneficiaries were Daisy
Chain, Mesothelioma Charity Trust and
Hartlepool and District Hospice.
Gary Scorer, senior project manager
for SABIC’s Gas Cracking Project,
reflected: “It’s a great reflection on the
team and their values that they chose
to benefit local charities.”