journal 2020 aug 2012

isionw w w. n e b u s i n e s s. c o. u k / 2 0 2 0 v i s i o n August 2012V Aiming Higher to

plug skills gapPages 3&4

2020

GO GLOBAL

SUPPLY CHAIN

North Eastexports: Yourtoolkit of factsabout region’strade links

Pages 20&21

On track afterHitachi deal

Pages 28&29

M A N U FAC T U R I N G

Pa ge s30&31

Can youtop our

newleaguetable?OUR 2020 VISION GOLD PARTNERS

NELEPNorth East Local Enterprise Partnership

Vince Cable meetsthe businesses

leading river’s greenr e vo l u t i o n :Pages 8-11

Tyneteam

CMYK

Wednesday, August 15, 20122 THE JOURNALj o u r n a l l i v e . c o. u k2020 Vision

Sponsors of 2020 Vision giving support with advertising or editorial include: Business Durham, Dickinson Dees,Eversheds, Gentoo, Knight Frank, Newcastle Business School – Northumbria University, Newcastle College,Newcastle University, Nexus, North East Business & Innovation Centre, North East Local EnterprisePartnership, Soil Machine Dynamics, Square One Law, South Tyneside Council, South Tyneside Homes,Sunderland City Council

NELEPNorth East Local Enterprise Partnership

2020 VISION SPONSORSWELCOME

Andrew Hebden,Editor, 2020 Vision

Seize the momentGIVEN the fact that Britain has just playedhost to the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’, itseems appropriate that there is anunashamedly international feel to thisedition of 2020 Vision.

For those of you who missed theinaugural edition of the supplement backin June, our aim is to bring together manyof the business-led campaigns run by TheJournal over recent years as we set out avision of what the North East economymight look like come 2020.

And few campaigns have been moresuccessful – or more integral to thesuccess of the region during recentmonths – than Go Global, our initiativefocused on international trade and, inparticular, the drive to increase the levelof exports from the North East.

Each edition of 2020 Vision features acentre spread full of (hopefully)fascinating and useful facts about theNorth East economy, and this time wehave taken international trade as thetheme. Our hope is that these graphicscan be useful tools when you are talkingabout the North East economy,particularly with those based outside there g i o n .

It has been widely acknowledged as asource of concern that, since the demiseof the regional development agency, a lotof momentum has been lost in terms ofthe good work that was done ontransforming the image of the North East.And one easy way for firms to play theirpart in addressing this is to talk positivelyabout what it is like to do business in thisregion – acting as informal ambassadorsfor the North East.

Our first double-page spread of North

East facts and figures was well receivedand we’re keen to build on that with everyedition. If you have any fascinating factsabout the North East economy that youfeel would be worth featuring in a futureedition, then do get in touch.

The international trade statistics havebeen one of relatively few sources ofencouragement as the region hasstruggled to emerge from the recession inrecent years. It is now widely advertisedthat the North East is the only part of theUK that has a positive balance of trade –but it’s an impressive stat that’s worthre p e a t i n g .

I was fortunate to join BusinessSecretary Vince Cable and CBI directorgeneral John Cridland on a recent visit tothree businesses located on the banks ofthe Tyne – a trip designed to showcase theprogress that has taken place in therenewable energy sector. You can readmore about the trip inside but it’s fair tosay that both Vince and John werepositively brimming with enthusiasm forthe future of the North East economy bythe end of it.

The Olympic party might be over but theopportunities for global growth remainvery real indeed. It’s up to us to seizethem.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012 3THE JOURNAL j o u r n a l l i v e . c o. u k

Strong economies need highlevel of skills to meet demand

APPRENTICESHIPS

HIGHER Apprenticeshipswere introduced to helpemployers concernedabout looming skills short-

ages in their industries.Initially, the programme received

£25m in Government funding and19,000 Higher Apprenticeship placeswere created with 250 employers inthe first round.

Bids for the second round of thescheme closed in the spring and theGovernment is currently assessing theapplications to create more positions,which educate young people up todegree level while simultaneouslyequipping them with much-neededskills.

David Way, chief executive of theNational Apprenticeship Service (NAS),said: “An advanced economy needsadvanced skills, so we want to improveprogression routes through appren-ticeships into higher level skills.

“For a strong and growing economywe must have a high level of skills tomeet employer demand and appren-ticeships are vital way of achievingthis.

“The National Appren-ticeship Service is notonly committed toincreasing thenumber andrange of ap-prenticeships

on offer, but also to ensuring thequality of apprenticeships, which is sokey to this growth.”

Rolls-Royce was one of the first com-panies to look at Higher Apprentice-ships and began to introduce them toits apprentice programme in 2006 todevelop higher level technical skillsamong its employees.

Graham Schuhmacher, the firm’shead of development services, said:“Rolls-Royce is committed to appren-ticeships as they provide people withthe foundation required to excel in anengineering career.

“Our Higher Apprenticeshipprogramme ensures a crucial

supply of higher technicianlevel skills

intoRolls-Ro yce,

and par-

Described as a ‘win-win’ situation for employersand ambitious young people, the HigherApprenticeship scheme is being expanded toinclude more sectors. KAREN DENT reports onthis alternative to university and looks at itsvalue in plugging the skills gap

CASE STUDY: EMMA BENNISON

EMMA Bennison secured herposition as a Higher Apprentice atthe University of Newcastle’sInstitute of Aging after decidingthat A-levels were not for her.

The 19-year-old from Blyth is nowhalfway through her four-yearapprenticeship, from which she willemerge with a degree as well as theskills necessary for a career as a labtechnician.

She said: “I was halfway throughmy A-levels. I came across thisamazing opportunity, I was veryluck y.

“It entails going to college parttime one day a week and workingfull time the rest of the week. Iwork in different laboratories,learning different techniques.”

Thanks to the apprenticeship, shedid a ‘job swap’ with Newcastle

Central MP Chi Onwurah earlierthis year. The morning, set up byEmma’s training provider, theNorth East Chamber ofCommerce, involved the MPshadowing Emma’s tasks.

“It’s a better option [thangoing to university]. I’mbeing trained and I’mbeing paid, it’s earn andlearn.”

‘I work in differentlaboratories, learningdifferent techniques’

Continued

4

EARNING AND LEARNING Emma Bennison at Newcastle University's Institute for Aging

SCHEMES U P P O RTBobNicholson,te c h n i ca lmanager atthe Institutefor Aging andHealth atN ewca st leU n i ve rs i t y

2020 Vision

CMYK

Wednesday, August 15, 20124 THE JOURNALj o u r n a l l i v e . c o. u k

Solar still a good investment

LAST week, the Feed in Tariff(FIT) rates for solar PV sys-tems were cut for the secondtime this year, with the av-

erage domestic PV system installedafter 1 August now receiving 16p/kWhinstead of 21p/kWh.

The period during which the tariff ispaid for new systems has also beenreduced from 25 years to 20 Years.However, the export tariff for systemsinstalled from 1 August has increasedfrom 3.2p to 4.5p/kWh.

According to the Solar Trade As-sociation, the average domestic in-stallation will still provide over a 9%return on investment.

This is better than the 6.3% returntargeted by the Government and con-siderably higher than the interestrates on most bank and buildingsociety savings accounts. Therefore,despite the cut in the tariffs, solar stilllooks like a good investment forhomeowners and businesses alike.

For property owners and developersinstalling PV on more than 25 sites, themulti-installation tariff for new PV sys-tems has also been reduced from 1Au g u s t .

However, the multi- installation tar-iff will now be only 10% lower than thestandard FIT tariff, rather than the 20%used to set the tariff in April. Formultiple domestic installations thismeans a FIT rate of 14.4p/kWh and forcommercial installations up to 50kWp,a rate of 12.15p against the standard FITrate of 13.5p.

As a result, the FIT scheme has be-come a bit more complicated as the FITrates will be reviewed and could con-

tinue to be cut for new PV installationsevery three months, starting fromNovember 1. The level of the cut willdepend on how much PV has beeninstalled in the previous three months.The more that the PV installed exceedsGovernment projections, the more theFIT rates will be cut. If the rate of PVdeployment is less than projected,however, FIT rates may stay the same.This means some careful planning willbe required.

To help with this, Ofgem, the reg-ulator of electricity and gas markets inGreat Britain, is now publishingmonthly figures showing the amountof PV installed. This will helphomeowners and businesses to see ifGovernment projections are likely tobe exceeded.

The Government will also publishany revised FIT rates at least twomonths before they take effect. If thereis to be a reduction in rates fromNovember, the revised rates will there-fore be published by the end of Au-gust.

Over the past year, many homeown-ers and businesses were put off in-vesting in solar due to the seeminglyendless Government reviews of the FITscheme, changing deadlines and legalchallenges. Following the Govern-ment’s response to the last of the FITconsultations in July, certainty hasnow been restored.

Although there may be further cutsto the FIT rates, these will be plannedcuts and should reflect the reductionin the underlying costs of solar.

A system of preliminary accredit-ation will also be introduced in Decem-ber which will provide FIT rate guar-antees in advance for solar schemesover 50kW and for smaller non-do-

mestic community energy schemes.As the cost of solar PV continues to

fall and energy bills continue to rise,home owners and businesses with

GOOD RETURN The Solar Trade Association says the average domestic installation will provide over a 9% return

high day time energy use shouldnow be able to look to solar PV as apotential solution with far greater con-fidence.

Jackie Gray is a director in the energyteam at Dickinson Dees law firm,

tel: 08449 841 500,w w w. d i c k i n s o n - d e e s . co m

DICKINSON DEES

2020 Vision

ticipants have the oppor-tunity to gain degree-levelqualifications while beingpaid to learn alongside

some of the best engineers in theworld.”

It is a scheme that Newcastle Uni-versity is also keen to support andpromote.

Bob Nicholson is the technical man-ager at the Institute for Aging andHealth at the university’s Faculty ofMedicine. He says the scheme benefitsboth the institute and the youngpeople, who become fully qualifiedwhile they are earning.

He said: “The young people come inwith GCSEs or A-levels, aged 16 to 18.They do a three-year apprenticeship/trainee scheme and a supernumeraryyear. They do a foundation degree andday release for two years and then twoyears top-up to an honours degree.

“They have a university laboratory,research and training at the end of thefour years, a degree and are a fullytrained research technician, plus theyget paid for it.

“At the end, they go into the job-market with a degree and importantlythe experience – it’s nice to havesomeone who can hit the groundrunning.”

The institute has one trainee andthere are around half a dozen acrossthe faculty. Securing a place as a HigherApprentice can be very competitive.

“We got 90 applications for twoplaces, all from people who were reallygood,” said Mr Nicholson.

“We whittled them down to about20 to see them in a hands-onenvironment, then down to 10 fori n t e r v i e w. ”

The successful appointment was

Emma Bennison from Blyth.“She’s really good. She’s just finished

her foundation degree and is startingday release to top it up to an honoursdegree,” said Mr Nicholson.

The age profile of the technicians atthe faculty is going up and people willbe retiring shortly, so the skills factor isan issue for the university.

But it also faces the problem ofpublic sector funding cuts, which ul-

Fro m

3JOURNAL CAMPAIGN

THE North East is leading thecharge in boosting apprenticeshipnumbers, helped by the hugelysuccessful 100 Days: theApprenticeship Challenge, run byThe Journal and NationalApprenticeship Service (NAS).

Just shy of 28,000apprenticeships have been createdin the region in the last two years,a rise of more than 90%. Itoutstrips the increase of 71% to383,187 in England over the sameperiod.

Around 15,000 places will beavailable to students in Englandreceiving their exam results thiss u m m e r.

At the end of the 100 Days: theApprenticeship Challenge,companies in the region hadhelped to create an additional2,526 apprenticeship places -making the North East the mostsuccessful region where thecampaign ran.

Alan Wallace, head of employeraccounts for the NAS, said: “For astrong and growing economy wemust have a high level of skills to

meet employer demand andapprenticeships are a vital way ofachieving this.

“The National ApprenticeshipService is not only committed toincreasing the number and rangeof apprenticeships on offer, butalso to ensuring the quality ofapprenticeships, which is so key tothis growth.

“We were once againoverwhelmed by the level ofsupport for the campaign by NorthEast businesses.

“Apprenticeships are anextremely cost-effective way ofdeveloping staff and offer asignificant return on investment.”

And NAS says applications forplaces have jumped since theintroduction of more HigherApprenticeships, helped by plansto ensure every apprenticeshipmeets rigorous new standards, thelaunch of a new financial incentivefor small firms who hireapprentices and the introductionof a high-profile national annualskills and careers event, TheSkills Show.

THE remit of Higher Apprenticeshipsis likely to be widened when theGovernment announces which bidshave been successful for the secondround of the scheme. Currently,Higher Apprenticeships are availablein the following areas:

A cco u n t i n gBusiness and administrationContact centre operations

Engineering technologyFood and drinkIT, software, web & telecoms

p ro fe ss i o n a l sProviding financial adviceManagementLife sciencesConstruction operations

managementExpress logistics

timately dictates whether it is able toretain the apprentices it has investedso much time and effort in training.

“Wherever possible we want to keepthem if there’s the funding,” saidMr Nicholson.

“We can get home-grown trainedpeople and we would do our utmost tokeep them, but it’s not guaranteed.

“I would love to keep Emma – shewill be a fantastic technician.”


Port of Sunderland set fairfor offshore investment

SUNDERLAND’S flourishing mu-nicipal port, its immediate ac-cess to the open sea and threekilometres of river and dock

berths make the city a superbly loc-ated gateway to offshore renewableenergy and subsea engineering com-panies.

As part of Sunderland City Council itis at the heart of a strong supply chainwhich provides technical services, theavailability of 264 acres of waterfrontland, and traditional port services.

The 300-year-old port reported aboost in business in 2012 following ayear of growth which has broughtmany more ships to visit the Port ofSunderland, including HMS Ocean, theNavy’s largest ship, which visited thecity for the seventh time this year.

Port of Sunderland director Mat-thew Hunt said: “We welcome all vis-iting vessel types. There are not manyports from which you can berth andeasily walk to the city centre, but inSunderland you can. It means you can

SUPERB LOCATION From left, Port of Sunderland director Matthew Hunt, Coun Paul Watson, leader of SunderlandCity Council and Captain Rob Haines of the MV CS Sovereign

There are not many portsfrom which you can berth andeasily walk to the city centre,but in Sunderland you can

PORT OFSUNDERLAND

CHOICE LOCATION

THE PORT THAT NEVER CLOSES

COUN Paul Watson, leader ofSunderland City Council said: “Wehave worked hard to get the keyingredients in place at Sunderlandto be a choice location for theoffshore wind industry. The port’sassets, location and positive attitudemean that offshore businesses willbe supported superbly.”

The Port of Sunderland is set fairfor a bright future in coming years.

Companies such as Odin Shippingand LV Shipping know that thechanges underway at the port aredue to the active support andcommitment from the city council,with the realisation that the port canplay a significant long-term role inthe economic prosperity of the city.

Matthew Hunt recognises thehuge opportunities that lie ahead.He said: “We benefit from highly

experienced staff, excellent locationand facilities.

“The port is well positioned as apotential key location for theemerging offshore renewable energysupply chain.

“We have already identifiedmarket opportunities for renewableenergy at the port and we arepursuing these vigorously. These areexciting, productive times.”

LV Shipping Ltd, a global companyspecialising in transport andlogistics, set up operations inSunderland when its North Eastbase in Teesside began to fill up.

The search for suitable facilitiesended at Port of Sunderland whichwas identified as an ideal locationfor a number of reasons, not leastbecause the ingenious design of theport means it never closes in badweather. It has round the clockaccess, is close to rail and air links

and a short journey into the citycentre – all important factors whencrew changes are central to youro p e ra t i o n .

Richard Willis, businessdevelopment manager of LVShipping said: “In 20 years I’venever seen the Port of Sunderlandclosed because of bad weather,unlike other North East ports.”

LV Shipping is particularly keenon the Port’s offshore industryfocus as LV’s expertise has

developed through high profileprojects for the oil, gas and windfarm construction industries.

It is already using Sunderland forexporting sub-sea cables, andrecognises that the inner dock inparticular is good for smaller shipswhich service wind farms.

The prospect of servicingdevelopments like Dogger Bank isan attractive one for LV Shippingand an ideal opportunity forSunderland.

cater for the welfare needs of the crewvery easily, as well as the operationalrequirements of marine projects.”

Ownership strengthOne of the Port of Sunderland’s

greatest strengths is its ownershipstructure. The port is part of Sun-derland City Council and, like many

European ports, the municipal part-nership allows it to take a long-termview. Its focus is not all aboutshort-term commercial gain: rather itis part of a wider Sunderland Eco-nomic Masterplan, an intrinsic ele-ment in the economic well-being ofthe entire city.

Odin Shipping has always worked

closely with the Port of Sunderlandand recognises the potential of thevibrant new management structure.Together with the Port of Sunderlandthey have renewed contracts with oneof the world’s leading producers ofwood pulp, the Swedish companySödra to facilitate their UK imports.The municipal ownership of the Port is

an attractive factor for Södra becauseof the breadth and depth of resourcesand the long-term approach to de-velopment it brings.

Vibrant and commercially mindedOdin Shipping’s managing director

Peter Dickson said: “I know the porthas the right people in place and thefinancial backing behind it to drive itforward.

“There is a vibrant atmospheredown here now, we’re moving in apositive direction.”

Odin recognises that the port iswell-placed to service new develop-ments like Dogger Bank and that the24 hour deep water berths are anattractive proposition for the offshoreindustr y.

Peter Dickson added: “You have tohave the right people in place to makethings happen. The Board at the Port ofSunderland is made up of the rightpeople, it is commercially minded andmakes decisions quickly – that’simperative in the logistics industry.”

If you would like to find out moreabout the Port of Sunderland pleaseget in touch with Matthew Hunt, portdirector, via email at [email protected], call 0191 553 2131, orvisit www.makeitsunderland.com

2020 Vision


SQUARE ONE LAW

Able’s visionin energysectorwill bringnew jobs

TEESSIDE entrepreneur andexecutive chairman of AbleGroup, Peter Stephenson,has invested over £100m in a

wide range of energy assets in recentyears and the company is now reap-ing the benefits of the far-sightedinvestments which looks set to fa-cilitate the creation of thousandsmore new skilled jobs.

With over £200bn of investmentneeded in the UK energy infrastruc-ture over the next decade, Billingham-based Able Group, is now strategicallyplaced to capitalise on the businessopportunities this presents.

Able Group is a multi-role and ver-satile organisation built on total re-liability and respect for the environ-ment, which has developed into amajor specialist in the rehabilitationand development of disused sites andfacilities. Dock facilities and the de-commissioning of offshore structuresare just two of the key areas of thebusiness.

Within the next few weeks, PeterStephenson expects to receive finalapproval for the Able Logistics Park onthe South Humber Bank, with twocompanies already committed to thesite.

This forms part of the 2,400-plusacre Able Humber Port development.With a development cost of around£400m and a river frontage of morethan two and a half miles, this makes itthe biggest site available for port re-lated developments in the UK. Thecornerstone of this ambitious devel-opment is the Able Marine Energy Park(AMEP), which is being developed forthe manufacturing, commissioningand installation of offshore wind tur-bines. It is also envisaged that in thefuture, as other sustainable energyproduction methods are developed –such as new “wave technology” – thefacility will be well-placed to providethe infrastructure required to deliverthese types of project.

This 912-acre development is sched-uled to be the first of its kind anywherein the world, and has the potential tofacilitate the creation of over 10,000jobs over the next ten years, as well asa further 40,000 in the supply chainduring that time.

Peter Stephenson is not one to putall of his eggs in one basket and almost20 years ago, while owning and run-ning a successful business group, hebecame aware of some new businessopportunities.

He said: “Whilst speaking to clients

in the 1990’s he became aware of afuture need for more land adjacent toports.

“So for the next few years we spent agreat deal of time considering variouslocations of land with deep water portfrontage.

“I knew it was the right thing to do atthe time, but I was not sure back thenwhat it would be used for, whether itwould be logistics, power generationor something else?

“The Humber was the ideal placeand over the last 15 years we’ve beeninvolved in assembling around 3,000acres adjacent to the River Humber.This location was chosen due to itsideal location, central UK and centralNorth Sea and it is in the aptly named‘The Golden Triangle’.

“Initially the site was used for carstorage and Able Humber Port con-tinues to be used for import and stor-age by GBA, BMW, General Motors andKia storing over 60,000 vehicles atpeaks.

“But then we became aware of thedemand for the renewable energy sec-tor – and in particular the excitingdevelopments in the emerging UK off-shore wind sector. The sites at DoggerBank, Hornsea and East Anglia alonewill require a total of 5,000 turbinesand Able’s Marine Energy Park – thelargest part of the Humber Enterprise –is ideally placed for access to thesewind farm sites.”

In the first quarter of 2012 the con-tribution of renewables to the UK en-ergy mix amounted to 11% which is thehighest ever, and sets the UK on targetto hit its target of 15% by 2015.

The growth of onshore wind hashelped with this, but for the 2020target of 20% renewable energy to beachieved, much will have to be de-livered by offshore wind.

Able Group is attracting major play-ers in the renewable sector to facilitatethe development of a ‘world-scale’manufacturing cluster on one hugesite, allowing for increased special-isation and significant reductions inlogistics costs and project lead-time.

The vision is to create a cluster ofcompanies involved in manufacturingoffshore wind turbines on AMEP. Thiswill mean those making the towerswill be alongside those making thejackets, the blades, the foundations,the generators and nacelles. AbleGroup are also talking to two collegesto create training facilities on site toprovide the specialist welding and in-specting skills needed for this sector.

AMEP will provide around 1,500metres of new deep-water quays and,

in characteristically pioneering mode,is one of the first and largest ‘na-tionally significant’ projects to exper-ience the new planning processspawned by the 2008 Planning Act toprovide an effective ‘fast-track’ for ma-jor infrastructure projects.

Peter said: “The benefit of the Hum-ber is that it’s a great location beingcentral to the UK and North Sea with a

wide (3000m) deep water river front-age.

“There are a lot of environmental aswell as economic benefits to the Ap-plication including steel plate avail-ability from TATA local works at Scun-thorpe and, with a critical mass oflike-minded companies on the samesite, it will also speed up the researchand development process.

TEAMWORK IMPORTANT Peter Stephenson, executive chairman, Able Group, centre, with Barney Frith, left,

The vision is to create acluster of companies involvedin manufacturing offshorewind turbines on AMEP

Wednesday, August 15, 2012 7THE JOURNAL j o u r n a l l i v e . c o. u k 2020 Vision

“Offshore wind in the UK has thepotential to be even bigger than the oiland gas industry which currently em-ploys 450,000 people.

“This is a different type of industry -a serial production version of Oil andGas if you like and much more like acar plant than a one-off fabricationya r d . ”

Attached to AMEP is the 1,229-acre

Able Logistics and Business Park. It hasalready signed up two clients bothattracted by the site’s close proximityto the Hornsea Wind farm, adjacent tothe mouth of the Humber Estuary.

Able Group is also currently un-dergoing a major refurbishment pro-gramme, to further enhance its pres-ence in the oil and gas sector, at itsNorth East base – Able Seaton Port – on

the north bank of the River Tees, whichwas acquired in 1995.

The company is spending another£20m on upgrading the dry dock withthe installation of a new 20,000t dockgate. This is set to revitalise what is oneof the world’s largest dry docks andprovide a wholly flexible facility thatwill attract much-needed new eco-nomic activity to the area. In 2009 a

new 300m deep water heavy duty quaywas completed which provides – at 38tand 65t per square metre – one of, ifnot Europe’s heaviest load out capa-city. Able sees increasing potential insecuring contracts for the upgrade andmaintenance of oil and gas drillingrigs and floating production facilitiesas well as new construction, in par-ticular gravity base structures forfoundations for the offshore windfarms.

It is currently in discussions forcontracts value over £400m.

Peter said: “We are seeing a lot ofgrowth and keep enhancing our ef-forts in the oil and gas sector.

“Following the recent favourablechanges to the UK tax regime, ex-ploration activity in the North Sea isreaching levels not seen for someyears, in fact, there was more explor-ation for oil and gas last year than inany previous years. This is being drivenby the relatively high price of oil andimproving recovery techniques.

“For at least the next five years weexpect this sector to continue to bebuo yant.”

At the company’s headquarters -– theformer power station site at Billing-ham Reach – GAIA Power Tees Valley hasplanning permission for a 50mw bio-mass power station and also on theNorth Bank of the River Tees, on thesite of a former oil refinery, Able Clar-ence Port, also has planning permis-sion for a 50Mw biomass power sta-tion. Completing the energy mix, atAble Thorpe Marsh, just north of Don-caster, a planning permission is now inplace for a 1,500MW gas power station.Demolition works are under way toremove the six cooling towers using anew method that does not use ex-plosives and the new construction isdue to start next year.

Able Middlesbrough Port – next toMiddlesbrough FC’s Riverside Stadium– is also attracting interest from com-panies across a number of sectors. AbleGroup is currently in talks with com-panies in the wind industry includingcable-laying companies and offshoreoil and gas firms interested in movingonto the 40-acre fully serviced facility.

Peter added: “With the major ex-pansion in North Sea oil and gas ex-ploration coupled with the opportun-ities in the renewable sector, makethese very exciting times for AbleG r o u p. ”

Ian Gilthorpe of Square One Lawsaid: “I first met Peter at a businessdinner in Newcastle 20 years ago. Itwas very clear even from that firstmeeting that he had an amazing visionof how he was going to develop hiscompany and I have been delighted towork with him on many of Able’sprojects. In fact their secret has alwaysbeen to take a long-term strategic view– something that is very welcome (andproductive) at a time when many busi-nesses are only concerned with quickfixes.”

Able Group was one of Square OneLaw’s first clients and Peter Steph-enson was attracted to the firm on thebasis of his previous experience ofworking with Ian and Ian’s attitude toservice combined with the quality ofthe Square One Law team.

Peter Stephenson added: “In ourbusiness it’s people that make thedifference. When we find a good per-son – a person like Ian, who knows hisstuff and provides a good professionalknowledgeable service, then we wantto employ them to support us de-veloping our business.

“Business is about the quality andskills of the people you are workingwith, and I have been in business longenough to know how important it is tohave a strong and trusted team ofprofessional advisers and employeesaround you.”

Aker SolutionsappointsSquare OneLaw on largestUK lettingthis yearSQUARE One Law has recentlyacted for international oil servicesgiant, Aker Solutions, on thecompletion of one of the largestprelets in London since 2007. AkerSolutions provides oilfieldproducts, systems and servicesfor customers in the oil and gasindustry worldwide. The companyemploys 3,100 people in the UKand has a workforce of 25,000across 30 countries.

Aker Solutions aims to build upa 1,700-strong Londonengineering hub, creating 1,300new jobs by 2015, as growth inglobal oil and gas markets drivesdemand for the company'stechnologies and services. Thecompany recently signed anagreement to lease the entire220,000 square feet of Building 6at Chiswick Park, London.Landlord, Blackstone, commentedthat it is the largest UK letting in

almost a year and one of thelargest prelets in five years atChiswick Park.

Simon Priestley, head ofproperty at Square One Law said:"When we pitched for the work inFebruary, Aker Solutions werevery interested in our new legalmodel. We have the skills andknowledge to provide the qualityservice it requires and by workingwith our construction consultant,Anna Rabin, we can keep ouroverheads low and create valuewhilst still offering a seamlessservice. Anna will be doing theconstruction work and has alreadystarted on a £10m fit out contractfor the building.”

Aker Solutions' operationsdirector, Mike Smith said: “ Theservice that Simon and his teamhave given us, and continue togive us has been outstanding,both in terms of quality andpersonal response and at a costthat no London firm could possiblym a tc h . "

Simon commented: "The newexpanded London office of AkerSolutions will provide a globalengineering hub to support fielddevelopment projects for theNorth Sea and worldwide. Thecompany has stated that it expectsto grow its turnover by 9-15% perannum from 2011-2015.

“It's a great win for Square OneLaw and demonstrates thatregional firms can deliver thequality of service and providemore cost effective solutions."

and Ian Gilthorpe, right, of Square One Law

NEWLEGALMODELSimonP r i e st ley ,head ofp ro p e r t y ,Square OneLaw


AT Westminster, sharp-suitedformer Barclays chief exec-utive Bob Diamond is givingevidence to MPs about the

Libor fixing scandal that has just costhim his job.

Meanwhile, beneath grey skies onthe drizzly banks of the River Tyne,Business Secretary Vince Cable,dressed in a hard hat and electric bluelatex gloves, is standing atop a hugeanaerobic digestion facility which isturning millions of tonnes of sewageinto energy.

If this is what the Governmentmeans by re-balancing the economy, itcertainly isn’t glamorous. But the factthat Cable is missing the much-an-ticipated appearance by the newposter boy of the financial crisis for adate in the North East suggests he, forone, is committed to the agenda.

Cable has been brought here by theCBI to coincide with the publication ofa new report, The Colour of Growth:Maximising the Potential of GreenBusiness, and its director general JohnCridland is leading the whistle-stoptour of the Tyne. The theme is therebirth of the river and, in particular,the role that green industries are play-ing in its renewal as a centre of in-dustr y.

As far as engine rooms of the eco-nomy are concerned, they don’t comemuch more impressive than SMD. Along-established name on the banks ofthe Tyne, the company has enjoyedremarkable growth in recent yearssince a private-equity backed £70mbuy-out of the business in 2008.

Why river is thenatural place tostart our rebirth

GREAT NORTH REVOLUTION

If the Great North Revolution is to happen, theRiver Tyne will stand at the centre of it.ANDREW HEBDEN joined Business SecretaryVince Cable and CBI director general JohnCridland last month on a mission to find outwhat it might look like

On the day of Cable and Cridland’svisit to the firm’s impressive Wallsendheadquarters, representatives from In-flexion, SMD’s private equity ownerswho also own the youth fashion re-tailer Jack Wills, were also being shownaround the site. The Wallsend facilitymight not be decked out in images ofteenage models like Jack Wills shops,but there’s plenty of large machineryto feast your eyes on.

SMD chief executive Andrew Hodg-son, meanwhile, is fast emerging assomething of a poster boy of the in-dustrial renewal of the North East,speaking with a passion about whatneeds to be done if the region is toachieve its potential.

“We have the drive, the technologyand the sustainable businesses,” heenthuses on the shop floor as VinceCable chats to two of his latest ap-prentices who enthusiastically explainwhy they chose a career in manu-facturing.

“Modern manufacturing is about in-tellect and intelligence,” says Hodg-son, who points to the fact that half ofhis staff have degrees – all at least atgrade 2:1 and the majority from New-castle and Cambridge universities.“I’m not just interested in low-techunsustainable jobs because I think wehave fallen into the trap before as aregion and we’ve suffered the con-sequences of that.”

SMD might seem an unlikely firststop on a tour highlighting the re-newable energy sector – the firm hasbeen around since the 1970s when itpioneered the design and manufac-

Perceptions of the North Eastare much more positive thanin the past. The opportunitieshere are considerable

OPPORTUNITIES Vince Cableand CBI director general JohnCridland visit the North East

AT THE FOREFRONT Andrew Hodgson of SMD in Wallsend

2020 Vision


ture of seabed ploughs for the emer-ging North Sea oil and gas industry.These days, however, as well as itstraditional markets, SMD is gearing upfor the growth of offshore wind whichalready accounts for 30% of its exportorders.

The firm is looking to adapt tech-nologies such as its Remotely OperatedVehicles to work across a range ofopportunities in the sector, includingdesign, manufacture, installation andmaintenance.

But Hodgson’s primary concern ishow he is going to find the workforceto fill his expanding facilities on thebanks of the Tyne – employee numbershave grown threefold to 490 in justthree years. He believes part of theanswer is in opening the eyes of localyoungsters to what goes on behind thesheds’ huge corrugated metal walls.

“In Wallsend, how many kids reallyknow what a company like SMD ac-tually does,” he ponders. “That’s whywe put our staff into the local academyand why we have built a classroomfacility here where theycan do their science andtechnology lessons.”

It sounds like “rebalan- WHISTLESTOP TOUR Vince Cable chats to CEO Andrew Hodgson, right, by an ROV at Soil Machine Dynamics (SMD) production facility in Wallsend

Continued

10

2020 Vision


cing the economy” meets“the Big Society”, so nowonder Vince Cable is en-thused by what he’s hear-

ing about. The message delivered atthe scene of his next visit is less en-couraging for the Business Secretary,h o w e v e r.

Offshore Group Newcastle (OGN) is arelatively new name to Tyneside’s busi-ness community but it has wastedlittle time in making a splash. Thecompany deals in the fabrication sec-tor – the less glamorous side of theoffshore business – but one that isnevertheless crucial to the North Eastin terms of the number of jobs it cansupport.

OGN acquired the Hadrian’s Yardsite two years ago and, having secureda £150m contract from Apache Cor-poration to build a 10,000-tonnebridge-linked platform for the US op-erator’s Forties field in the North Sea.What had been a vast car park forNissan vehicles awaiting export wasquickly transformed into a bustlingconstruction site which, on the day ofour visit, was dominated by the hugeplatform which was nearing comple-tion.

Cable’s visit provided an opportun-ity to show off OGN’s potential tocapitalise on the opportunities in therenewable energy sector. Its ambitiousplans include developing a 36,000sqmetre offshore wind fabrication fa-cility where it can build up to 150 windturbine foundation jackets every year.

But chairman Dennis Clark wasn’tgoing to miss the opportunity to quizthe Business Secretary about what hebelieves have been missed opportun-ities for the oil and gas supply chain inthe past. He told Cable that the firmwas in the process of shedding 350

jobs which could have been saved ifcompanies such as BP and Shell hadhanded lucrative contracts to UK firmsinstead of placing them overseas.

Clark said afterwards: “We told theSecretary of State for Climate Change,Ed Davey, about this and he has lob-bied on our behalf. The UK Govern-ment awards these licences and, yes, Ithink these firms do have a moralresponsibility to award contracts to UKfirms.

“If we were in Norway it would notbe a problem, they do not allow workto go out of Norway for their offshore,unless they are full. That is what hap-pens. The Shell inquiry came too latefor these jobs, but it is exactly what iswrong with the industry right now.”

Cable, himself a former Shell em-ployee, admitted he had been sur-

Fro m

9

BUSINESS TALK John Cridland, Sarah Green and Heidi Mottram

agrees that such delays in decisionmaking could scupper the North East’sambitions to become a world leader inthe green energy sector.

Chamber policy adviser Mark Steph-enson recently wrote a letter to min-isters, such has been the level of con-cern amongst its members about theissue.

“At present a woeful cocktail ofindecision, procrastination, andmisunderstanding about whatinvestors need is hampering thecreation of much-needed jobsand wealth for UK Plc, and at a time ofhuge economic uncertainty,” hewrote.

Andrew Hodgson agreed that itwasn’t so much the level of subsidiesgovernment was willing to offer thesector, but more the importance oflong-term policy making and consist-e n c y.

“Varying the system like this createsuncertainty for the industry and thatdelays investment,” he said.

“I think the investment will happenbut the Government effectively has todecide how fast it wants to see thatgrowth, and if it gives a clear signal ofclarity and certainty then the jobs andgrowth will come faster.”

Addressing an audience of CBI mem-bers at the offices of law firm WardHadaway on the Quayside in New-castle, John Cridland said of the greenenergy sector: “I don’t think we’ve gotour heads round what an opportunitythis is.”

He admitted that the concept of anindustrial policy came with “historicalbaggage” but said there needed to bean acknowledgement that, as a na-tional economy, “we can’t be good atever ything”.

“We need to identify those clusters

Yes, I think these firms dohave a moral responsibility toaward contracts to UK firms

2020 Vision

prised by the news and promised to dowhat he could to address the issue.

“One of the things that came acrossvery strikingly certainly from the oilplatforms business was that the supplychains in the UK haven’t been de-veloped in the past as they should havebeen,” he told The Journal.

“Big contracts have slipped throughand gone abroad and if the industryhad been operating in a completelyintegrated way, like the car industry,then that might not have happened.

“We are trying to plug that gap andmaking sure that we think about

suppliers in an integrated way.”Cable was less forthcoming on how

he intended to address the other ma-jor gripes raised by Clark – such as theissue of the capacity of the nationalgrid which, as it stands, will be unableto bring ashore the energy created bythe vast new offshore windfarmsplanned for the North Sea. The pace ofdecision-making relating to the re-newables sector – epitomised by thedelays surrounding the new Renew-able Obligation Certificates (ROCs) re-gime – was also a source of frustration.The North East Chamber of Commerce


POWER FROM POO FUELS ADVANCE IN NORTHUMBRIAN WATER’S GREEN REVOLUTION

ONLINERead more about the Great NorthRevolution campaign atwww.nebus iness.co.uk/2020vision

“POWER from poo,” is how HeidiMottram describes it. ThankfullyVince Cable has just finished hissandwiches.

The Business Secretary wasenjoying a spot of lunch before histour around the new £35manaerobic digestion facility atNorthumbrian Water’s treatmentcentre in Howdon, and the firm’schief executive took the opportunityto explain what he was about tow i t n e ss .

This may be the less photogenicside of the North East’s renewableenergy revolution (although criticsof wind turbines would arguethey’re an incomparable blot on thelandscape), but this is nonethelessan example of where the GreatNorth Revolution is happening righthere, right now.

Northumbrian Water is rightlyproud of its reputation as Britain’sgreenest water company, andCable soon learned that this isn’t acase of window-dressing for thesake of boosting theHong-Kong-owned firm’ssustainability criteria. The heavyinvestment in Howdon follows thesuccess of a similar AD facility onTeesside in 2009. By the end of thissummer, the firm will have thecapacity to process all of theeffluent it produces into energy.

The new AD facilities areexpected to play a major part inmeeting Northumbrian Water’sgoal of cutting its greenhouse gasemissions by 35%against 2008levels by 2020.SAMPLES Heidi Mottram, chief executive of Northumbrian Water, explains how the new plant operates

PANORAMIC VIEWS On topof a tank at Northumbria Water'sWaste Treatment Plant inHowdon. From left, HeidiMottram of NWL, Vince Cable andJohn Cridland

of competence that give us theopportunity to be world class,” hesaid.

The CBI’s Colour of Growth reportwarns that the Government’s currentapproach risks the UK missing out onreaching its potential, claiming agreen business slowdown could costthe UK £400m in net exports in2014/15.

“With something like a third of allour growth accounted for by greenbusiness last year, the UK could be aglobal front-runner in the shift tolow-carbon. In the search for growth,we’re digging for goldmines – and oneof them is green,” said Cridland. “Getour energy and climate changepolicies right, and we can add £20bnextra to our economy and knock£0.8bn off the trade gap, all within thelifetime of this Parliament.”

And for the North East in particular,Cridland added, this presents a hugeopportunity – hence the decision tolaunch the report with a visit to theregion.

“The North East is a designatedlow-carbon area and the only part ofthe UK that has a positive trade bal-ance,” he said. “Perceptions of theNorth East are much more positivethan in the past. There is a feeling thatthe opportunities here are genuineand considerable.

“The businesses here are good towork with and invest in. After a gen-eration of challenges, much of what ishere now is potentially world class,robust and solid.”

2020 Vision

CMYK


Warming up the regionahead of the Green Deal

EARLIER this year the NorthEast lost out to Edinburgh inthe race to host the newlyincorporated Green Invest-

ment Bank (GIB), despite four dif-ferent bids from around the region.

Although some may argue that ajoint approach from bidding citieswould have strengthened an overallregional bid for the bank, Newcastle,Durham, Sunderland and Tees Valleyall submitted extremely competitivebids.

Despite missing out on the GIB toScotland, the region boasts one of themost extensive low-carbon economiesin the UK and is still well-placed tobenefit from the sector as it aims tobenefit from major investments inoffshore wind, biotechnology, low-car-bon vehicle manufacturing and theGreen Deal.

The Green Deal – the Government’sflagship scheme that will improve theenergy efficiency of both homes andcommercial properties – is set to boostthe North East economy significantlyover the next few years with the help ofWarm Up North.

Led by a group of local authoritiesfrom around the region, Warm UpNorth is designed to help homes andbusinesses save money on their energy

AHEAD OF THE GAME Gentoo were named as one of the first aspiring Green Deal Providers by energy and climate change minister Greg Barker

The findings from our pilotscheme demonstrate there isa strong demand for theGreen Deal in the North East

bills, to reduce energy consumption,to help the environment and to createhundreds of employment opportun-ities across the low-carbon industry.

One organisation that has alreadyidentified the Green Deal as an op-portunity for the region is NorthEast-based people, property and planetbusiness Gentoo.

Named by the Department of Energyand Climate Change (DECC) as one ofthe businesses that will work towardsbecoming one of the first accreditedGreen Deal Providers, Gentoo is in anexcellent position to help the regioncapitalise on the opportunity presen-ted by the Green Deal.

With the cost of fuel continuing torise and the detrimental effect this hason household energy bills, the sig-nificance of energy-saving measuresthat are able to be retro-fitted to prop-erties is bigger than it may have everbeen before.

DEMAND:79% ofG e n to o ’sc u sto m e rschose toparticipate intheir GreenDeal pilotscheme,whichincluded thei n sta l l a t i o nof solar PVto homes

Around 20% of the region’s homesare deemed to be fuel poor – wherebythey are spending more than 10% oftheir annual household income ontheir energy bill – but with the help ofthe Green Deal and the associatedEnergy Company Obligation, thou-sands of homes can be lifted out of fuelpoverty across the region.

Gentoo has already delivered a large-scale Green Deal pilot scheme across1200 of its own homes in Sunderland

and the consumer response to thescheme has been very positive – with79% of households showing a desireto participate. Graham Smith, greenoperations director at Gentoosaid: “We’ve been actively workingwith DECC to shape the policy aroundthe Green Deal for a couple of yearsnow and are really excited to see it rollout across the North East.

“We believe it is a great way to takeforward the carbon and fuel poverty

challenges facing the region, whilesimultaneously stimulating the NorthEast economy through the creation ofhundreds of jobs and upskilling of ourexisting construction and customerservice workforce.

“The findings from our own GreenDeal pilot scheme are extremely op-timistic and in fact demonstrate thatthere is a strong demand for the GreenDeal in the North East.”

Jonathan Coxon

2020 Vision

G E N TO O


It is generally accepted that inorder to sustain innovative de-velopments it is vital to re-search the market; this area

itself is not often associated withinnovation.

One organisation determined toprove otherwise is market researchcompany Explain which has been atthe forefront of market research in-novation for 20 years and workingwith digital partner Better has recentlylaunched a completely new way ofengaging and researching differentmarket sectors with customers.

Looking to invest in new approachesto market research using online plat-forms and Smartphone apps, Explainhas joined the Innovation Pro-gramme.

The product, marked as Better Com-munities, capitalists on the growinguse of social media and harnessesdigital technology to provide a plat-form by which organisations can en-gage with their customers.

Unlike Twitter or Facebook, the cus-tomer is invited by an organisation tojoin a private community so that theycan exchange ideas and commentswithout competitors keeping tabs onthe latest thinking and pool of ideas.

Market research companies haveused panels of customers for insightand feedback over many years but thebenefit of Better Communities is that itallows complete transparency so thatthe customer can start the process anddebate, not just the sponsor, that is ahuge step in innovation.

David Shiel, managing director ofExplain, said: “By tapping into innov-ation we can develop digital focusgroups which make it so much easierto engage with our customers andstakeholders without the usual con-straints of time and location plan-ning.

“Our experience has been that retail,utility and social housing companiesall quickly seized the opportunity totake a giant step forward in theirknowledge about the customer.

“Having access to a massive databaseof customers reduces the cost of re-search and provides better, faster in-formation.”

Chris Hylton, innovation manager(interim)at the North East Businessand Innovation Centre, said: “It is anexciting time on the programme, wel-coming companies like Explain onboard.

“Explain are a great example of aninnovative company, the business con-stantly evolves into new ways of mar-ket research and this is illustrated bythe longevity of the company.

“I look forward to seeing how thecompany can evolve over the nextthree years using the programme.”

2020 Vision

Engagement and insight– the next 10 years

INNOVATORS David Shiel, MD of Explain, and Mark Easby, MD of Better. Explain and Better have created market research tool Better Communities

The business constantlyevolves into new ways ofmarket research and this isillustrated by its longevity

NORTH EAST BIC

The North East Business andInnovation Centre (BIC), aregional enterprise agencyand business complex

is continuing to grow with the ap-pointment of three new membersof staff to the Innovation Pro-gramme.

Lilla Preston is welcomed as innov-ation project officer. Lilla will be help-ing to increase the understanding ofthe innovation process to enable busi-nesses to turn their ideas into realbenefits. In her new role, Lilla will bedrawing from her experience as a busi-ness adviser as well as internationaltrade adviser for the Business andEnterprise Group.

Lilla said: “I am excited to work withsuch a welcoming team and thechance to work with North East busi-nesses who want to improve throughinnovation. I truly believe that innov-ation will lift the economy out of therecession and I am looking forward to

working with these businesses.”Chris Hylton joins Lilla as he steps

into Elizabeth Shaw’s role as innov-ation manager (interim) whilst Eliza-beth enjoys maternity leave. Chris hasa background in Industrial Engineer-ing and first worked freelance for theBIC in 2003 on product developmentand other projects, including helpingto establish the BIC’s Big IdeasCentre.

Chris commented: “It is fantastic tobe back at the BIC, it has grown phe-nomenally since I was last here but thesame commitment to helping busi-nesses prosper is evident everywhere.It is embedded in the culture and isreflected in the professionalism of allthe staff.

“I am keen to get started in helpingexisting businesses develop their in-novation potential.”

Christopher Neil Bland also comeson board as digital marketing assist-ant. Christopher will be supporting

the Innovation Programme by helpingto develop and maintain the websiteworking alongside the marketingteam. Christopher was previously selfemployed as a freelance web designerwhich included creating, managingand hosting websites for clients.

Christopher said: “I enjoy the varietythat every day brings. I love meetingnew people and after working manypart-time jobs it is refreshing to wake upevery morning and like what I do.”

Innovation manager Elizabeth Shawsaid: “I am delighted to welcome ournew recruits to the BIC and the In-novation Programme, their know-ledge, experience and enthusiasm willhelp the programme to grow andmaintain the excellent reputation inhelping businesses unlock their fullpotential.”

For more information about theInnovation Programme contact theteam on 0191 516 6021 or visitw w w. n e - b i c / i n n o v a t i o n

Innovation welcomestrio to its dynamic team

NEW ROLES Chris Hylton, LillaPreston and Christopher Neil Bland


NELEP

What is the most important factor inexpanding a medium-sized company?

Managing talent and capabilitywithin the business, and encouragingpeople to do the right things. SMD hasgrown from a £40m to a £140m busi-ness in three years because we have theright people.

What is your view on the role of ap-p re n t i ce s h i p s ?

I think apprenticeships are some-times regarded as a second-class op-portunity. We need to recognise thatpeople can gain valuable skillsthrough vocational training schemes,as well as through higher education. At

SMD we have a defined route for ap-prentices. Somebody can start with usat 16 or 18 and, if they have the abilityand desire, can go all the way throughto a Master’s degree.

You lead on skills and employment forthe NELEP; do you have any advice foryoung people today?

The greater the level of skills youhave, the richer your life will be. Youngpeople need to think carefully aboutwhat it is that they want to do andwhat they want to experience duringtheir careers.

Many are dissuaded from studyingengineering because they think it’s toodifficult. The way I look at it, the worldis a big place. There are a lot of peoplein poverty.

To achieve a better standard of liv-ing, people need energy, resources andaccess to minerals. The people who canassist them with this are engineers. So,if you want to change the world, be ane n g i n e e r.

What motivates you?I strive to do something every day

that makes things a little bit betterthan they were the day before.

Who was the greatest teacher in yourlife and why?

Mrs Courtier. I was about eight yearsold and she had a way of teachingmaths that made me see things in acompletely different way.

I am always learning a lot fromcolleagues. I have been very fortunateto have had the opportunity to workwith some remarkable people, for ex-ample, Sir Philip Hampton (chairmanof RBS), who I worked for during mymid-20s. I still rely on the concepts andprinciples he shared with me.

Who or what would you take to a desertisland?

My wife. She is the only person whounderstands what motivates anddrives me. She keeps me sane.

What makes you laugh?My children make me laugh more

than anything.

What do you like most about the NorthE a st ?

There are a lot of great things aboutthe North East: brilliant beaches, vi-brant cities and wonderful coun-tryside. Ultimately, if I had to chooseone thing, it would be the people. Ifyou took a group of people from theNorth East and put them anywhere inthe world, they would make it a betterplace.

I N S P I R AT I O N SAndrew Hodgson

Skills championGROWING BUSINESS Work class remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) made by Andrew Hodgson's company SMD at its i19 ROV production facility in North Shields

Andrew Hodgson, chiefexecutive of Soil MachineDynamics (SMD) and ViceChair of the North EastLocal EnterprisePartnership (NELEP),discusses the importanceof investing in people andwhat has inspired him


NELEP

2020 Vision

NELEP was delighted to bechosen earlier this yearby Defra to deliver one ofonly five national pilot

Rural Growth Network pro-grammes.

The NELEP bid, submitted via theNorth East Farming and Rural Ad-visory Network, proposes a numberof new approaches to support thegrowth of small business with aparticular focus on more remote,upland communities across theNorth East.

The Rural Growth Network pilotencompasses the rural areas ofCounty Durham, Gateshead andNorthumberland and is being ad-ministered by NorthumberlandCounty Council.

A major new grant scheme willenable the development and trial of

new forms of workspace for microbusinesses in identified enterprisehubs. In Middleton-in-Teesdale, forexample, plans are being preparedto create new space at the AuctionMart and in Wooler a ‘smart workcentre’ will create shared accom-modation for micro enterprises,self-employed and also allow em-ployees to work from remote loc-

ations, reducing the need to travelproviding cost and environmentalbenefits.

Funds will also be utilised to cre-ate a programme of enterprise sup-port, including specific activityaimed at the development andgrowth of women led enterprises,across the rural growth networkarea.

Paul Woolston, chair of North EastLEP, said: “NELEP welcomes the form-ation of NEFRAN as a strong, busi-ness led voice for rural areas. Webelieve that NEFRAN’s successfulwork to attract Rural Growth Net-work pilot funding to the North Eastarea represents a significant oppor-tunity for businesses to develop andgrow within designated EnterpriseHubs.

This activity will complement andcontribute to NELEP’s goals ofachieving economic growth across

Northumberland, Tyne and Wearand County Durham. We look for-ward to working closely with NE-FRAN partners on developing in-novative approaches to promotingenterprise and job creation oppor-tunities in the future”

Anthony Braithwaite, chair of NE-FRAN, has been instrumental inbringing rural and agricultural busi-nesses together with the three localauthorities in preparing the bid.

He said: “This novel programme ofsupport brings together a mix ofpublic-private sector-led interven-tions that will help to re-balance theeconomy of our more remote ruralcommunities and target investmentin growth sectors.

“Small and particularly microbusiness are the lifeblood of ourrural communities and in these dif-ficult times it is important thatthose with high growth potential

can access the support they need torealise their ambitions and to helpcreate local employment opportun-ities.”

In addition, a complementary bidhas been submitted to Defra seeking£1m from the RDPE Rural EconomyGrant programme to provide grantsupport to micro businesses withgrowth prospects.

Paul Woolston said: “Access to fin-ance can often be a significant bar-rier for many micro businesses andwe want to target this fund to spe-cific sectors and to those businesseswho are committed to growing andinvesting in our rural communities”.

Further information on the pro-gramme will appear in the autumnon the NELEP website.

In the meantime contact RayBrowning, Rural Growth Networkmanager email: ray.browning@n o r t h u m b e r l a n d . g o v. u k

Testing new approaches toeconomic growth in ourrural communities

S PAC E Gibsideworkshops – one ofseveral rural hubsto be promoted bythe North East RGNP ro g ra m m e

Small and particularlymicro business are thelifeblood of our ruralcommunities

Wednesday, August 16 j o u r n a l l i v e . c o. u k2020 Vision

15, 2012 THE JOURNAL 17j o u r n a l l i v e . c o. u k 2020 Vision

CMYK


THE past months have beenfull of recognition for SMD; aworld leading Wallsend-based company. In June SMD

was formally presented with asecond consecutive Queen’s Awardfor Enterprise by the Lord Lieutenantof Tyne and Wear.

The Lord Lieutenant, Nigel Sherlock,presented the Queen’s Award in theinternational trade category as part ofa visit to SMD’s head office and man-ufacturing facilities in Wallsend, NorthEast England.

The company is one of the world’sleading manufacturers of remote in-tervention equipment, which is op-erated in hazardous environmentsacross the globe. As part of the visit theLord-Lieutenant was given a tour ofSMD’s heavy production facilitieswhere he viewed some the of thecompany’s latest trenching vehicles.

SMD’s latest development, the Atomwork class ROV system, has been ex-ported to customers in South East Asiaand the Mediterranean. The Atom is anultra-compact work class ROV, which is

2020 Vision

Engineeringexcellencerecognised

QUEEN’S AWARD SMD boss Andrew Hodgson receiving his award from the Lord Lieutenant, Nigel S h e r lo c k

SMD suitable for subsea drill support, in-spection, repair and maintenance, sur-vey and light construction and can bemobilised on vessels and rigs withlimited deck space.

The company has expanded rapidly,increasing its workforce from 136 in2010 to nearly 500, and opening fournew sites in and around Wallsend.

This is the second Queen’s Award thecompany has won in the last two years.In 2011, SMD was presented with theQueen’s Award for Innovation for itswork class ROVs.

Andrew Hodgson, chief executive ofSMD, said: “Winning consecutiveQueen’s Awards for Enterprise is anoutstanding achievement for the com-pany and recognition of the excep-tional work of our team. We weredelighted to welcome the Lord Lieu-tenant who was very impressed by theprogress the company has made sincewe won the Queen’s Award for In-novation in 2011.

“We have achieved significantgrowth in recent years through thepenetration of international marketsand new and existing industry sectors,which has enabled the continued ex-

pansion of our workforce and invest-ment in new facilities and innovativemanufacturing processes.”

July saw the company receive visitsfrom the business sceretary VinceCable MP and Linda Arkley, mayor ofNorth Tyneside.

John Cridland from the Confeder-ation of British Industry joined Vince

Cable on his tour of the Turbinia Worksheavy production facility.

Vince Cable said: “Manufacturing isextremely important for the Britishe c o n o m y.

“This company, like others see agreat deal of future in developingthe technologies around offshorewind development, and I think it

has a great future.”The mayor of North Tyneside’s visit

focussed on the company’s most re-cently opened sites on the OceanaBusiness Park in Wallsend, which willhouse the design and production ofthe world’s first subsea miningvehicles.

w w w . s m d . co . u k


Opportunities created by anageing society – care and support

WORKING TOGETHER Mike Morgan (second from left) with the Living Well North team which aims to help individuals maintain their independence

N E W CA S T L EUNIVERSITY

CONTACT DETAILS:

THE CHANGING AGE FOR BUSINESS PROJECT

Telephone 0191 208 1142 or email [email protected] andvisit www.ncl.ac.uk/changingage/business

The Changing Age for Business projectbenefits from £2.1 million of European Unioninvestment from the ERDF CompetitivenessProgramme 2007-13, managed by theDepartment for Communities and LocalGovernment. The ERDF Programme isbringing over £300m to support innovation,enterprise and business support across there g i o n .

B AC K G RO U N D

As part of its Newcastle Ini-tiative on Changing Age(NICA), Newcastle Uni-versity is creating an en-

vironment where businesses can col-laborate with the University to createsolutions that meet the needs of anageing society.

The combination of business, re-search and public input has the po-tential to help make the North East thebest place to be for companies todevelop age-inclusive solutions fortheir customers.

INCREDIBLEO P P O RT U N I T YTHE UK population is ageing at anastonishing rate bringing huge chal-lenges - as society ages how will peoplemaintain their quality of life and in-dependence? However, this also bringsgreat opportunities as the over 50s inthe UK own 80% of the wealth but onlyreceive 10% of marketing spend. Thereis an incredible opportunity for or-ganisations to deliver products andservices which increase people’s qual-ity of life as they age whilst helpingbuild sustainable business models.One of many good examples of this isthe University’s work with DiagonalAlternatives and Living Well North

UNIVERSITY SUPPORT

HEARING Tom Kirkwood, NewcastleUniversity’s Associate Dean for Ageingspeaking about the opportunities cre-ated by this changing society was oneof the key inspirations that shapedChristine Savage’s thinking about de-veloping services to help people keeptheir independence as they age. TheUniversity has provided access to itsunique age-focused research and ex-pertise and helped Christine start thedevelopment of two business initi-atives, including a new innovativecompany called Diagonal Alternat-ives.

Newcastle University has encour-aged the company’s developmentthrough its inititiative, Changing Agefor Business, supported by the

European Regional Development Fund(ERDF). Christine has a strong businessbackground having led a specialisthousing company and taught at New-castle University Business School. Shewas aware of the fact that society isageing and that there is a need forbetter quality care provision. Workingwith Newcastle University hasprovided her with the detailed evid-ence and knowledge to help her andbusiness partner, Bob Nelson. He has atrack record of developing and owningcare businesses and together they havecreated the new company, DiagonalAlternatives, to meet these growingneeds.

“We are now aware of quite howenormous the opportunity is and howwell-positioned we are to develop ourbusiness with the support of the Chan-ging Age for Business Programme.”

Christine Savage

NEW COMPANY –NEW SERVICESTHE forming of this new company,Diagonal Alternatives, is a great suc-cess story for the North East, creating33 paid positions so far, and continu-ing to recruit and train many more

staff. Most importantly it is a businesswhich will deliver services to improvepeople’s quality of life as they age.

“The numbers of people who needsome assistance to live well and in-dependently at home are growing sig-nificantly and these people are ourcustomers. We work hard to recruitand train the right employees, so thatwe have a professional workforce - andour customers choose their staff team,which they expect to do, as customers.We are creating satisfying jobs, andoften recruiting older people lookingfor a second career, providing themwith a professional qualification.”

Bob Nelson

I N N OVAT I V EC O L L A B O R AT I O NTHE University has also helped Di-agonal Alternatives consider a moreholistic client-focused approach. Therealisation that individuals need awhole range of services to help nav-igate through the complex environ-ment that we all face as we age has ledthe company to build a network oforganisations called Living Well North,covering a wider range of services.Helping optimise an individual’s in-dependent lifestyle, these include fin-ancial advice, legal assistance andbuilding modifications. This networkconsists of Carr & Co (Legal), CI Ac-

countancy Limited, Diagonal Altern-atives (Care and Support), DolphinStairlifts, Rutherford Wilkinson Ltd(finance) and Shape Adaptations.

“We are impressed with the progressthat Living Well North has made. Notonly have each of the companiesshown innovation in providing ageinclusive services, by collaboratingthey have demonstrated an even great-er level of innovation which will helpprovide better services and businessgrowth. This is a great outcome for thesupport from the University’s Chan-ging Age for Business initiative.”

Mike Morgan, business developmentmanager, Newcastle University’s

Changing Age for Businessp ro g ra m m e

VOICE NorthLIVING WellNorth hasrecently be-nefitted byhearing

from older people directly in a work-shop with the University’s VOICE Northpanel. This group has been set up to

help the University prioritise its age-re-lated research agenda and value theinput of older people. This collabor-ation has helped Living Well Northbetter understand what its offeringshould be, how to describe it andwhere to market it. The use of VOICENorth early in the design process canhelp companies design solutionswhich are truly age- inclusive.

“The VOICE North experience wasextremely useful to us, to test out ourideas and methods with real custom-ers. The feedback has helped us shapeour marketing strategy, and we intendto continue to work with VOICE Northto make sure that our offer is right, andmade in the right way. It was a veryenjoyable and worthwhile experiencefor us all”Christine Savage

For more information about howNewcastle University can provide in-novation support to help develop yourbusiness become more age-inclusive,please contact the Changing Age forBusiness team at Newcastle Uni-v e r s i t y.

2020 Vision

IDEASChanging Agefor Businessactivity at theB i o m e d i ca lR e s e a rc hBuilding onthe Campusfor Ageing &V i ta l i t y


Trade links with theT

HIS September marks fiveyears since the run onNorthern Rock, which iswidely taken as marking

the start of the financial crisis thatwould ultimately plunge Britaininto a recession that still scars theeconomy today.

It also marks five years since thelaunch of Emirates airline’s daily ser-vice from Newcastle to Dubai. And –considering the events of the last fiveyears – the fact that the route is stilloperating today might be consideredsomething of an achievement.

So what should we make of the factthat the route hasn’t just survivedbut thrived? Or that, to mark the fifthanniversary of the service nextmonth, Emirates will be upgradingits Newcastle-based aircraft to a£186m 777-300ER, increasing capacityfrom 278 seats to 428?

It’s hardly surprising that, at arecent event convened by the NorthEast Chamber of Commerce, LaurieBerryman, the vice-chairman of Emir-ates who oversaw the Dubai linkbeing established five years ago, wasenthusing about the success of theservice which now carries around80,000 passengers a year with 11.5mtonnes of cargo imported and ex-ported in their hold.

“We’ve been delighted by howpeople, businesses and political or-ganisations have got behind theroute and made it a success,” he said.“But now we want to increase pas-senger numbers by 15% this year and

20% next year – from 80,000 peopleto around 120,000 or 130,000 – andwe definitely think that is achiev-able.”

Berryman said that in a time ofeconomic turmoil for the eurozoneand the United States, he was de-lighted to be able to help North Eastbusinesses connect directly withplaces to the east, including India,China and Oceania, the latter ofwhich has seen a huge £125m a yearincrease in trade with the regionsince 2007.

Research carried out by York Avi-ation on behalf of Newcastle Inter-national Airport claims that since2007 the Dubai link has saved NorthEast firms around £20.3m by cuttingthe time it takes to travel abroad. Italso shows that leisure travellerscoming in on the Emirates route areworth around £16.7m a year to theregion’s economy, with £7.2m spentby visiting businessmen.

And going the other way, the re-port, which will be fully publishedlater in the year, claims the annualvalue of exports from North East

companies using the route now ex-ceeds £150m.

Every day, scores of North Eastbusinesses are benefiting from theDubai link, and, if the new expandedservice is to thrive, that numberneeds to grow further.

James Ramsbottom, chief execut-ive of the North East Chamberof Commerce, said thatthe Dubai link has beena key factor in enablingthe region to continueto grow its exporttrade, and maintainits positive balance oftrade.

A year ago, TheJournal

teamed up with the Dubai govern-ment and Emirates to offer threeNorth East businesses the opportun-ity to join a trade mission to theemirate to explore the opportunitieson offer to them.

Nickie Gott, who runs events man-agement company She’s Gott It, was

GO GLOBAL

North East businesses will have even moreopportunity to build trade links with the MiddleEast and beyond when Emirates increasescapacity on its Newcastle to Dubai service nextmonth, as ANDREW HEBDEN reports

PURSUITSLaurie Berryman,vice-chairman ofthe Emiratesairline. Left,Nickie Gott,founder of She’sGott It PR

2020 Vision


Middle East booming

keen to explore the potential fordelivering events in Dubai with itsfamous reputation for extravagantparties and high-class hotels.

She has received several inquiriesregarding potential contracts as aresult of links established on the visitand is in further discussions with

UKTI about the best way to establish apresence in Dubai.

“We are looking at setting up asmall pilot office but there is stillsome leg work to be done and weneed a bit more help,” she said.

“I remain confident that we willdo something because of the

opportunity that is out there.”County Durham-based PC Hende-

rson, which makes sliding gear sys-tems for sliding and folding doors,was also represented on the trip. Itsexport director Mark Wilson is now aregular a user of the Dubai flight,especially as a link into India which is

its fastest-growing export market.Wilson said: “Since our visit to

Dubai we have seen a huge increasein inquiries as a result of new part-nerships we have developed outthere, mainly on projects such asnew hotels and schools.

“For us, Dubai is really a platformfor the rest of the Middle East interms of business development.”

The firm, which employs around80 staff at its Bowburn head office aswell as a network of staff around theworld, is building a presence in amultitude of markets globally.

“The home and European marketsare full of challenges generally,” saidWilson. “We tend to prioritise placeswhich are undergoing large infra-structure developments; emergingcountries such as India and in Africaand Indonesia are doing particularlywell.”

Such global aspirations will be mu-sic to the ears of Emirates chief Ber-ryman who is banking on the NorthEast business community using theexpanded service to Dubai as a routeinto many long-haul final destin-ations.

And he believes that there is eventhe possibility of increasing the reg-ularity of the service if the marketresponds, something that recentlyhappened to the Glasgow-Dubai ser-vice.

“You never know, in three years’time we might be here again dis-cussing a double daily service,” hesaid.

LINKS Competition winnersNickie Gott, managing director ofShe’s Gott It (green dress), IanMurray of Distinction Consultants(behind Nickie) and Mark Wilsonof PC Henderson (holding folder)at the Dubai Chamber ofC o m m e rce

2020 Vision

CMYK


BUSINESS DURHAM

Building for businessB

USINESS Durham has beenformed with the support ofDurham County Council inresponse to the current, chal-

lenging economic environment.Its responsibility is to play a leading

role in the delivery of business support inthe county. It will also take a strategic leadin continuing the diversification of theeconomic structure of the countythrough the creation and development ofinnovative and creative industries.

A key priority of Business Durham is tomaximize the benefit of the county coun-cil’s business property portfolio. To sup-port the achievement of that goal, a £3mproject to develop more quality officeenvironment in Consett has been giventhe go ahead, with construction due tobegin in summer 2012.

Based at Consett Business Park, thehigh specification offices will provide along-term facility for over 35 new startand existing small to medium enter-prises (SMEs) to enable their future de-velopment and prosperity. It is expectedto create over 80 jobs and support theoverall regeneration of the Consett andNorth Durham area.

The project has secured £1.5m invest-ment from the European Regional De-velopment Fund (ERDF) which is man-aged by the Department for Communit-ies and Local Government, with matchfunding being provided by DurhamCounty Council.

The two-storey development willsatisfy the significant increase in demandfor small office units in the areaoffering easy in/easy out occupancy ar-rangements and providing access to ex-cellent IT and business accommodationfacilities.

The 2.2-acre site will also boast greencredentials, being constructed to BREEAM(Building Research Establishment Envir-onmental Assessment Method)

“Excellent” standards – lowering carbonfootprint.

The site is part of the successfulDerwentside Business Centre complexmanaged by Business Durham. Busi-nesses will have access to state-of-the-artfacilities, including modern office ac-commodation with broadband con-nectivity, conference and meeting roomfacilities as well as access to a designatedmanagement team providing integraloffice services, such as reception and atelephony system.

Peter McDowell, business propertymanager for Business Durham, said: “This

businesses in a revolutionary, three-storeybuilding.

Similarly, St Stephen’s Court in LowWillington has 14 units that are builtusing sustainable materials. The singlestorey, high-spec offices provide a flexiblestart as well as move-on accommod-ation.

Other developments in the county in-clude Durham Gate, the biggest mixeddevelopment scheme in County Durham.The site has had an overall investment of£100m, and will include 10,000sqm ofoffice space, up to 2,000 jobs in offices,new residential and industrial premisesand hotel, leisure and local retail ser-vices.

Modern floor spaceNETPark has rapidly become one of the

leading locations for emerging sciencesand technology in the UK and for thecommercialisation of cutting-edge R&Din the physical sciences.

Home to some of the North East’s mostadvanced technology companies in thephysical sciences, particularly printableelectronics, microelectronics, photonics,and nanotechnology and world-class re-search groups from Durham University,NETPark boasts the National PrintableElectronics Centre – a facility of inter-national significance which is now at theheart of the first national TechnologyInnovation Centre for High-Value Man-ufacturing.

Industrial unitsThere are a number of industrial units

available at a range of sizes at 13 estates

across the county, and units can becombined to create larger floor space.

Peter McDowell, added: “Here at Busi-ness Durham we want to make it as easyas possible for companies to move to newpremises, establish a base for themselvesor to expand their operations. We operatea number of the county’s business parksand other developments and supportinggrowing companies to expand. We arealso able to offer a property findingservice, using local knowledge to identifysites and properties that may be suitableto potential tenants.”

To find out more about how BusinessDurham can help you with your com-mercial property requirements, call03000 261 261, email [email protected] or visit www.busi-ness durham.co.uk

TOP-SPEC Tanfield Lea Business Centre has good green credentials

TOP OF THE RANGE Left, St Stephen’s Court in Low Willington was built using sustainable materials and Consett BusinessPark, above, will offer long-term facilities for over 35 new start and existing SMEs

major office development will be a wel-comed addition to the already successfulfacilities in the area and will make animportant contribution towards satis-fying the ever-growing demand forhigh-quality business space.

“Consett Business Park office devel-opment will be a huge boost to theeconomy of the county and is the nextstep in ensuring that public sector-ledprojects continue to lead the way inencouraging the economic growth ofsemi-rural locations.”

Business Durham’s property portfolioextends right across the County. Modernoffice space, industrial units andhigh-tech incubator units all offer a widerange of quality floor space suitable formost business sectors.

The state-of-the art Tanfield Lea Busi-ness Centre, which was awarded a “VeryGood” BREEAM status, uses advances intechnology to provide a greener envir-onment for tenants, with the inclusion ofsolar paneling and natural air ventilation.The Business Centre provides 40,000sqftof modern office and workshop space for


Newcastle Business School worked closely with Nexus to design a programme tohelp Nexus managers make fundamental changes, as the organisation transformsinto a strategic planning-led and procurement-driven organisation.

Nexus, the passenger transport executive for Tyne and Wear, owns and managesthe region’s Metro system, as well as planning and providing all forms of publictransport.

Led by Associate Dean for Corporate and Executive Development, Jane Turner;Newcastle Business School academics Ruth Leggett and Joanne James;and David Bartlett, Human Resources Director of Nexus, the joint awardentry highlighted the development of the Management Effectiveness Mastersprogramme for Nexus managers.

The programme content is closely aligned to the company’s business strategy,integrating theory and practice to prepare managers to help their workforcesdeliver Metro Reinvigoration, the introduction of Smart Ticketing and the building ofa Better Bus Network.

Currently there are 44 Nexus managers on the programme, 20 of whom are takingthe fully accredited route. The programme has already had a significant impacton Nexus, with managers improving their competency level and 37 percent ofmanagers progressing in their careers since starting the programme.

Dean of Newcastle Business School, Professor Sharon Mavin, said:

“This recognition from EFMD is very important for the business school. Thisis the first time we have entered a submission for the award and to receivea high commendation which recognises our strength in partnership workingwith business and which addresses their strategic challenges is a significantoutcome for Newcastle Business School and Northumbria University.”

David Bartlett, Nexus’ HR Director, said:

“At Nexus we are proud of our achievements over the past four years, duringwhich our partnership with Newcastle Business School has been in place.

We are now well on our way to delivering our key strategic priorities ofMetro Reinvigoration, Smart Ticketing and Building a Better Bus Network.

“I have no doubt that our Management Effectiveness Programme waspivotal to our success in introducing such significant change to theorganisation and I am delighted that this collaboration has achievedinternational recognition.”

Now in its sixth year, the EFMD Excellence in Practice Awards 2012 recognisesoutstanding partnerships in learning and development.

Also highly commended in this year’s awards were entries from Airbus,AirBusiness Academy and the Open University Business School; BSH Bosch undSiemens Hausgeräte, Axialent Europe DTEK & DTEK Academy and Kyiv-MohylaBusiness School (KMBS); and Novartis International & Novartis Corporate LearningUBS with UBS Business University.

Dr Richard Straub, Director of Development at EFMD, said:

“Developing people, enhancing skills and providing a learning environmentare essential components for any company. All of the winning cases andhighly commended cases show that investing in people is not a luxury; it isa key asset for business success if done well.”

EFMD is a Brussels-based international membership organisation with over 750member organisations from academia, business, public service and consultancyin 81 countries. The network advances excellence in management developmentin Europe and worldwide by building links between leading business schoolsand companies, creating and disseminating knowledge on best practices andchanging trends and providing access to benchmarking tools and accreditation.

Five winning partnerships will present their case-study to the EFMD ExecutiveEducation Conference hosted by Instituto Internacional San Telmo (Sevilla, Spain)in October.

Newcastle Business School and Nexus Partnershipon the right trackA corporate partnership between Newcastle Business School, Northumbria Universityand public transport provider Nexus has led to the creation of a bespoke MA programmewhich has received international recognition.Both organisations have been highly commended in this year’s European Foundationfor Management Development (EFMD), Excellence in Practice Award.

Part-time courses for full-time people

www.newcastlebusinessschool.co.uk

Masters in Business Administration (MBA) • BA (Hons) in Leadership Management (BALM) • Masters in Human Resource Management and Development (HRMD) • Leadership and Performance Coaching

Here at Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University, we offer a range of part timeprogrammes that are flexible around your work and life commitments and enable you to developyour current role at work and help secure your future career aspirations.

To book your FREE informal appointment with one of our Part Time Programme Tutors to gain moreinformation, please e-mail [email protected]


Sevcon paysthe way fordriving upstandards inthe future

ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING

The shortage of young people coming in tothe engineering and manufacturingindustries remains a key concern for theNorth East economy. ROB PHILIPS hearsabout one firm’s innovative approach totackling the problem

AS a manufacturer in the elec-tric vehicle sector, Sevconnaturally has one eye on thefuture. But it’s not just the

changing trends in the motor in-dustry or the green energy challengethat is concerning bosses at the com-p a n y.

Instead, and in common with manyfirms in the manufacturing sector inthe North East, Sevcon fears that itsfuture growth may be compromised bya lack of young people willing to con-sider careers in the sector. And such istheir level of concern, the business hascommitted to throwing some seriousmoney at the problem – by preparing tofund over £200,000 of tuition fees forup to eight university students.

Sevcon says the investment will en-sure it has a pipeline of skilled staff tomeet its future business needs. and it’snot just the business that is set tobenefit – the first student to be selectedon to the Sevcon scheme has describedthe £27,000 offer of financial supportover three years as a lifeline.

North East university leaders havealso welcomed the investment which isbelieved to be the first of its kind in theregion, since the Government allowedtuition fees to rise to £9,000 a year fromthis autumn.

Team Valley-based Sevcon is a worldleader in the supply of motor controlsfor electric and hybrid vehicles.

It has designed and manufacturedcontrols for companies such as Renault,Toyota, Ford, Nissan, and Hyundai for arange of on and off road, zero-emissionvehicles.

After a difficult few years followingthe 2008 recession the company’s per-formance has improved markedly andit is now back in the black with annualsales of over £20m.

This has in part been due to a shift offocus to the electric vehicle marketwhich recently saw it selected toprovide the motor controllers forRenault’s new urban vehicle the Twizy.

The company employs over 60 en-gineers at its Team Valley headquartersbut is constantly looking to recruitadditional skilled staff to support theneeds of the growing business.

Matt Boyle, president and chief ex-

ecutive officer of Sevcon, said: “It’s ex-tremely difficult to get good graduateengineers and it’s even more difficult toget them in the North East.

“We have searched across the globefor good quality staff for around fouryears.

“While we have managed to recruitengineers from Colombia, Canada, In-

dia and a second engineer form China,we have been unsuccessful in recruit-ing the quality and quantity of staff werequire.

“The potential opportunities for ourbusiness are tantalising and we needskilled staff to help us achieve that.

“So the time has now come to growour own.”

Sevcon is talking to Newcastle Uni-versity and Northumbria Universityabout recruiting able students to itsundergraduate, tuition fee scheme.

Boyle added: “Over the next fewweeks we expect to have four under-graduates sponsored on our schemeand at some point in the not too distantfuture we want to be in a positionwhere we have eight engineeringgraduates going through the region’s

We need skilled staff to helpus achieve that. So the timehas now come to grow ourow n

Wednesday, August 15, 2012 25THE JOURNAL j o u r n a l l i v e . c o. u k 2020 Vision

universities. We have alreadysponsored a PhD student and now wehave decided to expand this schemefor undergraduates.

“We are happy for the students tocome and work for us during theirvacations and on graduation, we willoffer them jobs, providing they havepassed all of their exams.

“What we are doing is looking afterthe needs of the business for the nextfew years, but this is also good for theoverall skills base of the North East.”

Ehsan Dehghan-Azad, 26, is the re-gion’s first undergraduate to benefitfrom the new Sevcon initiative.

Ehsan is about to start his secondyear of studies at Newcastle Universityfor an MEng (Masters in Engineering)and Sevcon will pay £27,000 towards

his studies – that is £9,000 for each ofthe next three years.

Ehsan, who is a practising Christian,fled Iran to seek political and religiousasylum arriving in the UK eight yearsa g o.

He ended up in Sunderland wherehe undertook a HND in industrialpower engineering and worked in apizza shop.

In 2011 he was accepted on to theengineering course at Newcastle Uni-versity and moved to Heaton and nowworks in a local cafe to fund his edu-cation and living expenses.

This summer he is flying to Turkey tobe reunited with his family for the firsttime since he fled Iran and says theSevcon award is a lifeline.

“This is very important to me,” he

said. “It gives me peace of mind know-ing that I have a job at the end of mystudies.

“I do not have my family here withme so this award really helps andmeans I will not always have to worryabout money. I will use the money tobuy the software and other things Ineed for my education.”

Newcastle University says it is verysupportive of the Sevcon initiative andlooks forward to working in partner-ship with the company over the com-ing months and years.

Sevcon is also in talks withNorthumbria University where it iskeen to fund two undergraduatesthrough software engineering de-grees.

Students starting university this au-

tumn will be the first to pay up to£9,000 a year in tuition fees, withmany English universities – includingDurham and Newcastle – charging themaximum.

Recent research revealed that uni-versity applications from the NorthEast have fallen by nearly 12% after thedecision to increase tuition fees.

Newcastle University recently an-nounced it would pay the tuition feesof 20 students from the poorest back-grounds.

Sevcon’s deal to provide the con-trollers for Renault’s Twizy was theculmination of over three years’ workand a major milestone in the com-pany’s bid to establish a presence inthe on-road electric and hybridvehicle market. The Twizy has ex-

ceeded Renault’s expectations sinceits launch this spring with over 5,000vehicles sold and Renault is now ex-pected to ramp up production fur-t h e r.

The Twizy is a two-seater vehicledesigned for urban driving. It is aquadricycle rather than a car with atop speed of 50mph. It is exempt fromroad tax and has a range is 62 miles.

Sevcon’s Gen4 controller is used tovary the speed and movement ofvehicles. It integrates specialised func-tions, and helps optimise the battery’senergy consumption.

Boyle added: “This is a major mile-stone for us and we are working hardto secure the foundations the Twizyhas helped us establish in the on-roadelectric vehicle market.”

NEW RECRUIT S evco npresident and CEO Matt Boyle,seated in a Renault Twizy, withSevcon's first sponsoredundergraduate EhsanDehghan-Azad

CMYK


OPPORTUNITY Apprentices Kelly Burn, left, and Jacqueline Foster and, back, Jenni Dodsworth, HR andapprenticeship manager at Talent Training

SouthTy n e s i d eCouncilinvests inworkforceof futureSOUTH TYNESIDECOUNCIL

TIME, money and commit-ment are being invested bySouth Tyneside Council, as itrecognises the need to nur-

ture the workforce of the future.The local authority recently an-

nounced new measures to help youngpeople into work and secure potentialcareer prospects. Councillor Iain Mal-colm, leader of South Tyneside Council,announced these plans as he ad-dressed the North East Youth JobsSummit in South Shields.

Coun Malcolm said: “Youth unem-ployment in South Tyneside is now at aworryingly high level and our youngpeople have been disproportionallyaffected by the recession, facing morecompetition for fewer job vacancies.

“I am pleased to announce that weare working with South Tyneside Col-lege and other partners to launch apre-apprenticeship academy for ouryoung unemployed residents.

“South Tyneside has a strong pastand a bright future in engineering andmanufacturing, and this will provideyoung people with first class skills ineither electrical or mechanical engin-eering.

The council’s economic growthteam are working with local busi-nesses to identify new apprenticeshipopportunities for the graduates of thea c a d e m y. ”

Coun Malcolm also highlighted thecouncil’s Youth Employment Scheme,which is providing funding for 100paid apprenticeship placements witha range of employers across SouthTyneside. The scheme is open to 18-24year-old residents who have been outof work for three months, with busi-nesses potentially eligible for up to£4,000 for each young person theyemplo y.

One company currently taking partin the Youth Employment Scheme isHebburn-based Talent Training (UK)L L P.

Over the past 18 months the businesshas taken on and trained eight app-rentices, six of whom have obtained atleast one qualification and are all nowenjoying full-time careers.

“The apprenticeship scheme giveslocal businesses the opportunity totake on additional staff members in

this difficult economic climate, help-ing reduce the number unemployed inthe borough,” said Jenni Dodsworth,HR & apprenticeship manager at Tal-ent Training.

Jenni adds: “South Tyneside Councilhas recognised the problem with un-employment and is tackling it head on.As a training provider, we are de-lighted to work with the council inimproving unemployment rates andfinding sustainable employment.”

Talent Training (UK) LLP was estab-lished 11 years ago and offerswork-based NVQs and Apprenticeshipsin Customer Service, Business Admin,Warehouse and Storage, PerformanceOperations and Management. A na-tional company employing 40 people,Talent Training moved to SouthTyneside from Newcastle in early2010.

Jenni concludes: “The young peoplebring fresh ideas to the business, as theapprentices of today are our managersof tomorrow.”

Two people currently embarking onthe apprenticeship scheme are Jac-queline Foster and Kelly Burn.

Jacqueline, 22, of West Harton, SouthShields is in the process of completingher Business Administration Level 3A p p r e n t i c e s h i p.

Kelly, 19, of Hebburn is a Data Pro-cessing Apprentice and is working to-wards her Business Administration Ap-prentice Level 2.

Throughout the 12-month pro-gramme they receive ongoing supportand guidance from their colleaguesand are encouraged to develop at theirown pace. The apprentices are given athorough grounding in the principlesof business administration.

Jacqueline has been working as anapprentice since the start of May. Shetalks about her time so far on thescheme and what she hopes to achieve.Jacqueline said: “I hope to gain goodexperience in the work place, whilst

studying for a qualification at thesame time.”

Jacqueline studied at BrinkburnComprehensive in South Shields,where she received 10 GCSE grades A-C.She wants to go down the career pathof Human Resources or become a med-ical secretary.

Jacqueline adds: “Apprenticeshipsare very important to the youngpeople of South Tyneside, especiallywith there being a lot of unemploy-

ment in the area. The scheme is a greatopportunity for anyone lucky enoughto get involved and it’s nice to earnwhile you learn.

“I’m finding it really interesting, asthere’s so much stuff to learn. It’s alsoa real bonus that the apprenticeship isbased in the office, as I can ask ques-tions and receive valuable support.”

Talent Training has another affil-iation with the council as they run aninitiative, Talent Start. The scheme

works with South Tyneside Counciland Jobcentre Plus, to help providelocal unemployed people who are notin education, employment, or trainingto gain relevant skills and find sus-tainable work.

For further information about howyour business can get involved inSouth Tyneside Council’s apprentice-ship programme, please contact LisaPrince, Economic Development Officeron 0191 424 7569.

This will provide youngpeople with first class skillsin either electrical ormechanical engineering

2020 Vision


British Science Festival bringsbusiness opportunities to theregion

IDEAS TAKE FLIGHT Pupils from Southridge First School in Whitley Bay enjoy a science workshop . From left,Francesca Burridge, Kaia Swinburne and James Styles, all eight,

The region’s businesses will have aunique opportunity to showcase theirscience and technology credentials tothe UK and around the world whenthe British Science Festival comes toNewcastle on 7-12 September 2013.

NEWCASTLE will come alivewith science when Eur-ope’s largest and longestrunning public science

event – the British Science Festival –sets up for six days in the city inSeptember 2013.

Organised by the British ScienceAssociation, the Festival is being hos-ted by Newcastle University, withNorthumbria University and New-castle City Council as associate part-ners.

With 100,000 people expected toattend the 200-plus events across thecity and millions more hearing high-lights of the Fest-ival through ex-tensive media cov-erage generatedby local, nationaland internationaljournalists, alleyes in the scienceworld will be onNewcastle fromSeptember 7-12,2013.

And with a pro-gramme offeringsomething foreveryone – from families and schoolgroups to adults looking forthought-provoking entertainmentand professionals interested in thelatest research – the festival will con-nect a huge range of people with theUK’s top scientists, engineers, and in-dustr y.

Taking part in the Festivalp ro g ra m m e

Newcastle University has launched aregional campaign: Ideas Take Flight,to encourage the public to help shapethe Festival in 2013, by sending inquestions they want answered, ideasfor events, and issues they want todiscuss (www.ideastakeflight.org).Now the region’s businesses are alsobeing urged to play a part in de-termining the look and feel of theFestival programme, by contributing

THE BRITISH SCIENCE FESTIVAL AT A GLANCE:Six days200 eventsAround 100,000 attendeesOver 350 world-leading scientistsOver 100 members of the world’s media62 million people reached through media coverage

The British Science Association alsolooks to secure corporate support tohelp deliver the festival, and iscurrently raising sponsorship for2013. Sponsorship opportunitiesrange from being a principal or leadsponsor which comes withsignificant branding opportunitiesand media exposure, to thesponsoring of an individual event or

a particular aspect of the Festival,such as Wi-Fi provision.

The British Science Associationhas a long record of workingtogether with businesses to tailorsponsorship and wider involvementopportunities to meet the specificobjectives, target audiences andexpertise of individual companies.

To discuss sponsorship

opportunities further, please emailPhilip Wilson, Director ofDevelopment at the British ScienceA ss o c i a t i o n( p h i l i p . w i l s o n @ b r i t i s h s c i e n ceassociation.org) or Rose Wu, ScienceFestival and EngagementCoordinator, Newcastle University([email protected]) or visitw w w. i d e a sta ke f l i g h t . o rg

their knowledge and expertise. As wellas providing an exciting platform forbusinesses to put on events or activityto showcase their work and the scopeof science in the North East, the Fest-ival will also offer an opportunity forbusinesses to engage with differentaudiences and to develop new col-laborations.

Paul Walker, chairman at NewcastleScience City, said: “Newcastle and theNorth East is home to some of theworld’s leading businesses operatingat the cutting-edge of technology –from renewable energy firms and sub-sea; to health, advanced manufactur-ing and electric vehicles.

This event provides the perfect plat-form to showcase this expertise to aglobal audience and demonstrate why

Newcastle is recognisedas a city of science.

“There is already con-siderable excitement inthe business com-munity about the forth-coming

Festival. Businessesrecognise the phenom-enal opportunity theFestival represents forthem to align them-selves with innovationand technological ad-vancement and I’d

urge companies to come forwardearly to secure their part in the Fest-ival.”

The Festival events which are to beheld at the Newcastle University cam-pus as well as at diverse venues acrossthe city, such as cafes, bars, museumsand theatres, offer a wide range ofopportunities to reach key audiencesand meet corporate objectives includ-ing:

Brand positioning – add brandvalue by aligning with the UK’s leadingscience event, alongside cutting-edgetechnologies and leading scientists;

Highlighting corporate strengthsand current agenda – showcase newtechnologies and innovations throughorganising events, exhibitions, work-shops or press conferences;

Brand exposure – benefit frombranding on Festival marketing materials

which reach 100,000s of people;Demonstrating leading corporate

citizenship – showcase CSRprogrammes, while also helping toengage a huge range of audiences inscience, technology and engineering;

Engaging with the community;Meeting the media – opportunities

to network with the media andpotential for excellent coverage;

Reaching new audiences – eitherthrough widespread marketing or bytargeting specific audiences;

Attracting new talent – showcasecareer opportunities to students andgraduates;

Networking – the Festival is atten-ded by leading individuals inscience-related business and industryin the surrounding region, Govern-ment ministers, civic leaders in theregion, leading science writers andjournalists and distinguished academ-ics, both national and local.

SCIENCE CITY CHAIR Pa u lWa l ke r

2020 Vision

N E W CA S T L EUNIVERSITY

SPONSORING THE FESTIVAL

SUPPORT FORBU S I N E S S E S

Newcastle Science City is offeringsupport to businesses aiming tohost an event or activity during theFestival. Its team is expert inmaking sure intended activitiesmatch the requirements of theBritish Science Association, whilemeeting the desired objectives ofthe host company and deliveringmaximum benefits. The team willwork with businesses to make theirsubmission as strong as possible tomaximise their prospect of beingselected to take part in theFe st i va l .

For assistance, contact KarenMarshall on tel: 0191 211 3018 oremail: Karen.marshall@newcastles c i e n ce c i t y. co m


THE ARRIVAL OF HITACHI

It has been a long, anxious wait, but the dealthat will bring Hitachi to County Durham wasfinally signed and sealed last month. RUTHLOGNONNE hears how the £77m investmentcould benefit firms across the region

A LONG JOURNEY

Region goesfull throttleto create newg e n e r at i o nof trains

PLANS to replace Britain’s ageing fleet of 1970s-erahigh-speed trains were first mooted back in 2005.

The prospect of the trains being built in NewtonAycliffe emerged four years later when Hitachi began toconsider 40 sites in the UK.

Three were shortlisted two and a half years ago, but itwas the local skills and the money already invested inNorth East manufacturing at the likes of Nissan thatultimately convinced Hitachi to choose County Durham.

Six months later, Amazon Park was formally identifiedas the preferred site.

Keith Jordan, managing director of Hitachi RailEurope, said: “There are 20 Japanese companies withina 20-mile radius of Newton Aycliffe with Nissan beingthe largest.

“We received some very good feedback about the

support these companies get from the various localauthorities and this was instrumental in our decision.

“The infrastructure was already in place and we didn’thave to start from scratch.”

The lengthy journey to last month’s final formalconfirmation of the deal has not been without itssetbacks, however.

The total order of just under 600 carriages is asubstantial reduction from the original programme foras many as 1,400 when Agility Trains was givenpreferred bidder status in February 2009 as part of a£7.5bn deal.

The global financial crisis made banks ultra-cautiousabout providing financing for the trains and the threedepots, with Agility ultimately securing finance with acore group of lenders.

IT WAS the region’s outstandinginfrastructure – excellent ports,international airports, raillinks and trunk roads – that

persuaded Hitachi to build Britain’snext generation of Intercity trains inCounty Durham.

On July 25, Transport SecretaryJustine Greening finally approved a£4.5bn contract to supply Britain withan Intercity fleet of 92 complete trainsat Amazon Park in Newton Aycliffe.

Agility Trains, a consortium made upof Hitachi and John Laing, was awar-ded the contract to build and maintainthe high-speed trains under the In-tercity Express Programme (IEP), theproject to replace Britain’s Intercity 125trains with new, higher capacity mod-ern trains.

More than 700 skilled jobs will becreated with a further 200 jobs duringthe construction of a £77m factory.Around 2,000 more will be secured inthe supply chain.

Hitachi will also locate its Europeanrail research and development cap-abilities on the site, which will furtherenhance the factory’s ability to win railcontracts across Europe.

The train fleet will include electricand bi-mode trains, some fivevehicles-long and others nine. Con-struction at the site is expected tobegin next year and it will be fullyoperational by 2015.

The first trains will enter reven-ue-earning service on the Great West-ern main line in 2017 and on the EastCoast Main Line by 2018.

It is anticipated that 10,000 jobs willbe created over the next five years,between now and the trains being fullyoperational.

The final confirmation of the dealhas been hailed as a major success forNewcastle-based Merchant Place De-velopments (MPD), which owns thesite in partnership with DurhamCounty Council.

MPD director, Geoff Hunton, said thesite was the preferred location forHitachi ahead of 42 others in the UK.

He said: “Newton Aycliffe is one ofthe larger towns in the area and has astrong industrial base. It’s seen by a lot

of global manufacturers as the place tobe.

Its closeness to the A1M has attractedinward investment and it is acknow-ledged as one of the region’s strongestlogistics and distribution locations.

“This major win brings a whole newdimension to North East manufactur-ing and is the catalyst for many morethings to follow. This is why we havebeen waiting for this deal to happenfor so long.

“Our journey to formal confirma-tion has been a rollercoaster ride andnot devoid of setbacks.

“The IEP programme was set up bythe then Labour Government but thenthere was a change of Government in2010 and the whole thing had to bereviewed.

“The global financial crisis madebanks ultra-cautious about providingfinancing for the trains and the three

depots, with Agility ultimately secur-ing finance with a core group oflenders.

“In March 2011 they announced itwas all going ahead in Parliament, butHitachi still hadn’t signed a contractwith the Government.

“It wasn’t until a few weeks ago thata contract finally existed and from mypoint of view we can now progresswith the project.

“We will now be quickly completingcontracts and getting on site as soon asis practical to start work before the endof this year for delivery, as a turn-keyproject in 2015.”

The Hitachi open day in May 2011 atthe Xcel Centre, in Newton Aycliffe,attracted more than 1,000 people from600 companies keen to learn aboutthe business opportunities availableduring the construction and fit-out ofthe new factory. The event, thought to

be the biggest of its type the North Easthas ever hosted, was a huge successand turned out to be heavily over-subscribed.

Speakers at the open day includedrepresentatives from Durhan CountyCouncil, Business Durham, MPD, Agil-ity Trains and Hitachi Rail Europe.

One firm that is looking to workwith the Hitachi-led Agility Trains con-sortium is Newcastle-based Hart DoorSystems, which specialises inhigh-speed automatic doors.

Managing director Doug Hart said:“Our type of product is a high-speed,automatic door which provides en-ergy-conserving facilities. It is alsoself-repairing. We are a family-run op-

eration in Newcastle and we have beenin business for 65 years so we havesome clout behind us.

“This is the picture we’ve put to thisclient, along with similar clients andcontracts, which we’ve completed ofthis type.”

At Heathrow, the firm has installedmore than 50 smoke/fire doors and isto supply 155 multiple industrial rollershutters for Dubai Metro in the UnitedArab Emirates.

Although Hunton, of MPD, says nosupply chain contracts have beenagreed as yet, the firm has alreadyworked alongside 15 other North Eastconsultants to help bring the projectto fruition.

Newcastle-based Ryder Architecturehas already carried out work, alongwith environmental consultants E3, inHexham and Wardell Armstrong inNewcastle.

MPD, which is made up of seven staffin Newcastle and five in London of-fices, has invested £500,000 in theproject to date.

This has proved to be an investmentthat has undoubtedly paid off for thec o m p a n y.

“I can finally sleep at night,” saidHunton. “We’ve worked tirelessly withour partners to see this project finallysigned off, but it is without doubt thebiggest contract I have ever won in myc a r e e r.

“There’s lots to do over the next sixmonths, with our design team movingfrom outline design stage to full

2020 Vision


design stage along with contracts go-ing out to tender and planning ap-plications going in.

“It’s going to be full throttle for thenext few years, but it’s what we’vewanted to bring to the region for solong.”

The £77m investment has the po-tential to revitalise Newton Aycliffe,according to industry experts.

Simon Haggie, industrial partner atKnight Frank, said as a manufacturingbase, the County Durham town has

seen its industrial fortunes fluctuate.He said: “The arrival of Hitachi will

bring with it a 450,000 sq ft plant,more than 700 direct jobs and manymore in the supply chain, reversingthe decline in manufacturing in thetown.

“The selection of Newton Aycliffeagainst 42 other UK locations under-lines the town’s connectivity by roadand rail – important for Hitachi as thecompany has horizons beyond the UKand contracts such as the IEP and is

openly negotiating for contracts inEurope. This has potential for Tees-port.

“This will be a significant inwardinvestment for the North East.

“Though not comparable to thescale of Nissan, the Hitachi develop-ment will nevertheless underline thefact that the region is an excellentlocation for Japanese companies.

“Newton Aycliffe in particular willbecome an important focal point for anew industry.”

READY FOR TRANSFORMATION An aerial view of the proposed Hitachi site MAKING IT HAPPEN Justine Greening and Geoff Hunton

2020 Vision


Celebrating the rebirthTHE MANUFACTURERS’ LEAGUE

MANUFACTURING haslong been part of theNorth East’s DNA; theregion’s role at the

heart of the industrial revolutionwas celebrated even at the openingceremony of the London Olympics.

But images of coal mines, ship yardsand Jarrow Marchers haven’t alwayshelped the North East to convinceoutsiders that it has an especiallybright economic future. In a worldwhich, until recently, everyone seemedconvinced financial services would payour way in future, the North Eaststruggled to find a convincing nar-rative.

And then suddenly manufacturingbecame fashionable again. Ministerstalked of ‘rebalancing the economy’and that, ultimately, means shiftingthe focus back on to manufacturing.Which should be good news for theNorth East, where 17% of the region’sGross Value Added comes from man-ufacturing against the UK average ofjust 13%; in some parts of the region(especially in Tees Valley) almost athird of the workforce is employed inthe sector.

So the North East is well placed toplay a key role in this new era. A seriesof good news stories such as the con-tinued growth of Nissan – now widelyacknowledged as the most productivecar plant in Europe – and Hitachi’scontract to bring train building backto County Durham have taken theheadlines. But as well as these majorannouncements, the sector as a wholecontinues to enjoy a renaissance withmany businesses finding their expan-sion constrained only by a lack ofavailability of skilled staff.

It is this rebirth of manufacturingthat has spurned the rebirth of aninitiative designed to celebrate in-dustry here in the North East. Ten yearsago the Ernst & Young Manufacturers’League was wound up after almost adecade of highlighting the con-tribution that manufacturingcompanies were making to theregion’s economy.

When the league re-launcheslater this year, it will see busi-nesses from across the regioncompete to be included inour quarterlyleague tableof the bestperformingfirms ac-cording toa range ofcriteriasuch assales, staffnumbers,exports andapprentice-

ship places. The best of the best willthen be honoured at an annual awardsc e r e m o n y.

Peter Bernard, managing director ofGateshead-based Responsive Engineer-ing group, was a keen supporter of theoriginal Manufacturers’ League. At thetime he was head of Streamline Wa-terjet Cutting – now part of the Re-sponsive group – which was a formerwinner of the competition and reg-ularly featured towards the top of theleague.

Recalling the impact of the originalLeague which ran for eight years until2002, he said: “It provided motivation,recognition for the guys in the busi-ness, and a bit of good publicity for theregion.”

He described the League as “a verygood thing for manufacturing in theNorth East”.

“There is nothing wrong with com-petition – it is a healthy thing,” he said.“It is also good to be able to see whichother companies are doing well.”

Bernard said that, whilst the man-ufacturing sector was generally per-

based in South Tyneside, and chairmanand founder of the South TynesideManufacturing Forum, was anotherparticipant in the original league andalso welcomed its return.

“I believe manufacturing, which isfundamental to the North East, canlead the UK out of recession, and, assuch, it needs to enjoy the maximumprofile possible,” he said. “The returnof The Manufacturers’ League is there-fore most welcome.”

Andy Tuscher, regional director forthe manufacturers employers’ organ-isation EEF, called on its members toget involved in the project.

“This is a really great opportunity toshowcase the best of manufacturing in

the North East and to show the rest ofthe economy just how strong our man-ufacturing base is,” he said.

“The North East is still the onlyregion in the UK with a positive bal-ance of trade and whilst that is in alarge part due to the success of Nissan,we have a strong presence in the widerautomotive supply chain, as well as inoil and gas, defence, aerospace andincreasingly in renewable energy.

“This region is therefore in a reallystrong position in many of the keygrowth areas and the Manufacturers’League is a chance to tell the worldabout what is going on here. Unfor-tunately a lot of manufacturers tra-ditionally like to keep a low profile, but

it would be great to hear from themnow and to highlight their successesthrough the league.”

Simon Whiteside, director at Ernst &Young in Newcastle, said that, after a10-year break, it was the right time tobe bringing the Manufacturers’ Leagueback. “It‘s a prime time for manu-facturers to be celebrated in the NorthEast for the contribution they make tothe economy,” he said.

“The Ernst & Young Manufacturers’League is a tangible measure of thewealth, jobs, exports and apprenticesthey create.

“The league will share the region’sleading exporters, sparking discussionon their strategies for entering in-ternational markets and their views onthe next hot places to invest. It will actas a rallying call to young people,highlighting the attractions of joiningthe manufacturing sector and the op-portunities available.

“Overall, the league aims to supporta sector that perhaps has been over-looked, recognising the achievementsof manufacturers and the part they areplaying in the economic recovery.”

The Journal has long championed the region’smanufacturing sector. Now, after a 10-yearbreak, we’re bringing back an initiative designedto showcase the very best of the sector, asANDREW HEBDEN reports

We need to attract peoplebecause there is potentially alack of young peoplechoosing manufacturingforming well in the region, there wereincreasingly issues in the supply chainwith attracting skilled staff. He saidthat, by highlighting the growth offirms in the sector, the Manufacturers’League could help to attract peopleinto the industry.

“There is too much bad news aroundat the moment, so it is good to high-light the positives. Engineering is partof this region’s heritage and there are a

lot of great engineering com-panies still around today so it

is right that we should pro-mote and celebrate them.”

Another backer of thecompetition, Express Group

chairman Chris Thompson,agreed.“We need to attract people to

manufacturing because there ispotentially a lack of young

people choosing manu-facturing as a careerand it is importantthat we promote thebenefits,” he said.

“This is a greatway of identifyingwhich companies

are leading in thesector both re-gionally and na-t i o n a l l y. ”

Geoff Ford,chairman of Ford

Component Manu-facturing and Ford

Aerospace, both

HELPLEAD USOUT OFRECESSIONGeoff FordMBE

RE-ENACTMENT OF OUR PAST Performers in a scene during the London Olympic Games 2012 Opening

2020 Vision


of manufacturing

HOW THE LEAGUE WILL WORK

PROMOTE THE BENEFITSChris Thompson, Express Group

A MAJOR PART OF NORTH EAST BUSINESS One of the region’s biggest manufacturers, Nissan

A PRIME TIME SimonWhiteside, Ernst & Young

PROVIDE MOTIVATIONResponsive’s MD Peter Bernard

THE competition is open to anycompany with manufacturingoperations in the North East region(defined as the area formerlycovered by One North East) and aturnover in excess of £1m.

The first quarterly data willcover July to September (plus therolling 12-month quarterlynumbers) with a plan to releasethe first league table early to midN ove m b e r.

Information required includes(for the rolling four quarters):turnover, employee numbers,apprentice numbers and exportva l u e s .

The data will be used to rankcompanies quarterly into one ormore leagues with tables to bepublished showing the highestgrowth of turnover, exports andapprentices, relative to theemployee base. Once we have morevisibility of the participants in theleague, we will be clearer on the

final format of the league tables tobe published.

Following publication a reportwill be developed and shared withthe region’s manufacturingbusiness community accompaniedby various events for members ofthe league as well as the generalmanufacturing community.

HOW TO REGISTER: Companiesinterested in joining the league willneed to [email protected] to notetheir interest, providing minimalidentifying information and adescription of their manufacturingoperations in the region.Organisers of the competition willthen maintain regular contact witheach league member and providefurther details of the league. Toobtain the data, a link will be sentto a web page a month before thedue date for data. The closing datefor entries is September 30.

Ceremony, which celebrated the country’s proud industrial heritage, a huge part of which took place here in the North East in the last century

2020 Vision

CMYK


Pay fortalent,notoverhead.

Square One Law LLP, Anson House, The Fleming Business Centre, Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 3AE. Email: [email protected] www.squareonelaw.com

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