Process firms defy the gloom
FAST-GROWING firms in Teesside’s process sector are defying the economic gloom by reporting an increase in business.
Three members of the North East Process Industries Cluster (NEPIC) - pharmaceutical reagent supplier Cambridge Research Biochemicals (CRB); pump manufacturer Tomlinson Hall and skills firm Pitman Training - have all witnessed a boom in business despite facing challenging trading conditions.
All three have benefited from NEPIC’s ENCAP (Enhancing the Chemical and Process Industries Cluster) project, which uses process industry experts to work with SMEs on business issues.
Billingham-based Tomlinson has seen year-on-year growth of 7.5%-10% in the last four years and has increased turnover to more than £3m.
Sales director Colin Simpson said the family-owned firm’s ability to diversify into new areas had opened up opportunities.
He said: “Traditionally we had focused on the industrial sector but today we are also active in the food, pharmaceuticals and beverage markets.
“We’ve also taken the decision to advertise more, to tell more people what we do.”
Pitman Training in Middlesbrough has won more than £50,000 of business in the last few months, including lucrative contracts with two Teesside chemical firms.
Meanwhile CRB, also based in Billingham, has also won new orders and clients in recent months after revamping its business plan.
The company makes products including peptides and antibodies which can be used in clinical research.
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