Biggest Companies

Dec 7 2007

FROM traditional industries to new state-of-the-art sectors - the Tees Valley business community is an impressive portfolio.

This region continues to produce worldclass companies - springing from a bedrock of world-class people, worldclass technology and world-class innovation.

Business optimism is increasing across many parts of our industrial environment - and in many key sectors.

And marking the significant achievements of our region's economic performance is the Top 250 North East Companies.

This essential guide to the state of business in our region is organised by the Evening Gazette's sister paper The Journal in Newcastle, and is compiled by Durham Business School.

The listing has been produced every year since 1978.

And to celebrate this significant milestone and reflect our growing economy - it was recently increased in size by 25% and renamed the Top 250.

The Journal's Top 250 North East Top Companies ranks firms in order of turnover which is considered, for this purpose, a better indication than profit of growth and success.

And more than 60 Tees Valley firms have made it into the prestigious line-up.

Companies are placed from one to 250 on a basis of last publicly reported turnover.

To qualify, companies must have their registered office, or a decision-making management with direct financial power, situated within the region.

This rule is necessary since many large firms operating in the region, which would otherwise be considered, do not provide a full regional breakdown of turnover.

The list is compiled from publicly available information, including that of FAME, Companies House and Dunn and Bradstreet.

This was put in place for the first time in last year's list.

Previously entrants submitted information for inclusion.

For more details on the Top 250 log on to www.nebusiness.co.uk

It was a Tees Valley company that was honoured as the shooting star in this year's Top 250 North East Companies.

Amec, of Darlington, burst onto the list coming from nowhere to be in second place.

The company has refocused away from construction in favour of project management in oil, gas and nuclear work.

Amec employs more than 700 people on Teesside at sites including Darlington and Wynyard Park.

It expects to create about 150 jobs in the Tees Valley over three years through a share in a £500m National Grid contract.

Company bosses recently said the Teesside sites would continue to play a significant part in the future of the business.

The comments came as the group saw half year profits soar by 127%.

An investment of £1m has seen Amec open its new design and engineering centre at Wynyard Park.

The company relocated 150 designers from its Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, office to Wynyard, and announced it had plans to double the workforce over the next year Amec's activities in the region include a five-year maintenance and turnaround framework contract at Sabic's Teesside chemical plant.

The company also operates an overhead line training school in Darlington, providing engineering skills for upgrading the UK's national electricity grid.

Darlington-based Southern Cross Healthcare Group is now the country's biggest care home operator.

And it is another high-flyer which has made its first appearance in the Top 250 at position 11.

A rapid expansion programme has seen the company continue to grow.

It now runs more than 700 homes after acquisitions in recent years.

And it plans to add another 1,200 beds in 2008.

It employs 41,000 people through its three brands - Southern Cross Healthcare, Ashbourne Senior Living and Active Care Partnerships.

The business has prospered in recent years as an ageing population has meant demand for care home beds in Britain is now growing at the rate of 14,000 beds every year.

Sharing the home town of Darlington is Northgate, the UK's largest commercial vehicle hire business.

The Tees Valley company was originally founded 25 years ago.

By 1987, it had been taken over by FTSE quoted holding company Goode Durrant.

But 10 years later, with Northgate having outgrown its parent, the decision was taken to sell off other parts of the Goode Durrant empire and rename the firm.

As a result, the firm moved back up North from Goode Durrant's Crawley headquarters to Darlington and since then the firm has continued to grow and develop.

The business in the UK and Ireland comprises 20 hire companies operating from 87 sites with a fleet of more than 65,300 vehicles.

In addition, it sells former rental vehicles to both retail and trade customers and provides an increasing range of services and products to help customers manage their fleets effectively.

But expansion has also taken the business overseas.

In Spain, Northgate operates through two separate brands - Fualsa and Record.

With 35 branches and a combined fleet of more than 51,000 vehicles it is the market leader in light commercial vehicle rental in Spain.

Northgate, which is ranked 16th in the Top 250, employs more than 3,000 people across the group.

A company with big ambitions is PD Ports.

The group, which is ranked 37th in the Top 250, has plans to build a £300m deep sea container terminal at Teesport.

It was January 2005 when the scheme, which could create 5,500 jobs, was first revealed.

Hard work, planning and public consultation has been carried out since then.

And now, with no outstanding objections, it's hoped the project will get the green light from the Government.

And the project, known as The Northern Gateway, could be operational by 2010.

The new facility would significantly increase PD Ports' cargo handling capacity from 300,000 to 1.8m 20ft equivalent units a year.

PD Ports, which is owned by Babcock and Brown, is already an important employer in the region.

It provides more than 500 jobs directly and a further 1,300 indirectly, contributing £250m to the region's economy.

Alan Clarke, chief executive of regional development agency One North East, says PD Ports' plans would be a further major boost to the North-east economy.

"The Deep Sea Container Terminal could deliver a further 1,000 jobs by 2014, as well as open up a number of new opportunities for development and investment in the region - in turn strengthening our bid to narrow the productivity gap between the region and the rest of the UK, and helping us achieve our aim of being a leading location for national and international businesses.

"It could also deliver environmental benefits by removing north-destined road freight which currently lands in the south of the country."

Stockton-based Aker Kvaerner Engineering Services - placed at 55 in the Top 250 - is another company busy building a strong future in the region.

New business, new recruits and a new state-of-the-art headquarters are all signs of the company's success.

Despite several name changes, the Teesside-based business has operated out of Stockton for more than 100 years.

From 2008 the business will be based at new premises at The Surtees Business Park on Bowesfield Lane - providing space for about 400 staff.

The new home - named Phoenix House, following a call for suggestions from workers - will also house other Aker Kvaerner operations such as its offshore oil and gas business.

The new modern workspace replaces its former home at Ashmore House, also in Stockton.

The company, which works in five key sectors - nuclear, water, energy, metals and process - has secured a string of major contracts in recent months.

A £26m project will see it build a combined heat and power plant for SembCorp Utilities UK at the Wilton International site.

Further wins include a £28m contract with Northumbrian Water for a major green power-from-waste project at the Bran Sands treatment works.

Hertel (UK) is one company that is continuing to expand in the Tees Valley.

The firm, which takes the number 56 spot in the Top 250, is the British arm of the international Hertel group and provides support services to industry through a multidisciplinary activities package.

With its head office in Middlesbrough, the company continues to grow.

It has followed up the acquisition of Aker Kvaerner's Engineering Services workshop and maintenance business by buying the facilities from which the operations are run.

The Wilton workshop site, which has been purchased from landlords SembCorp, is now become the centre of Hertel's Tees Valley operations and the Scotland and East of England business unit.

Refurbishment and upgrading of the facilities is now a key priority.

The acquisition and refurbishment marks a seven-figure investment in Hertel's future in the Tees Valley.

Taking the 79th spot in the listing is one of East Cleveland's major employers.

Cleveland Potash employs about 1,000 people at its Boulby potash mine.

A massive £20m investment has been announced for the site, which will safeguard jobs and the future of the mine for at least another 20 years, putting the firm at the forefront of the industry.

It will also benefit the prosperity of about 4,000 people in the surrounding area who depend on the mine, based near Loftus, for their jobs.

Boulby Mine is the only potash mine in the UK and Cleveland Potash is the largest employer in East Cleveland.

The mine, open since 1973, produces potash used in the production of fertilisers.

The rock salt byproduct supplies almost half the UK's winter road de-icing salt market.

Investment will also see Marlow Foods - number 80 on the list - expand its local operations.

The firm, which is part of the Premier Foods group, manufactures meat substitute Quorn and has sites at Billingham and Stokesley.

A £35m investment in a new fermentation plant at its Belasis factory, will significantly increase its capacity to support continued rapid growth of Quorn.

After almost four decades in business, Teesside's North East Truck and Van is still powering ahead.

The Billingham-based company says having an entrepreneurial, familyorientated culture has been the secret of its success.

The firm, ranked 90th in the Top 250, has grown into a £70m turnover business and is one of Iveco's leading UK dealerships.

The business also has Iveco Daily, IRISbus, LDV, MEN ERF and Hino franchises.

And as well as new and used vehicle sales, the company offers 24 hour sales and servicing and is the only engineering operation to be approved by Iveco for vehicle modification and customisation.

The company was established in 1969 and is a great example of a home-grown company that has continued to thrive and develop.

It's now more than 60 years since furniture retail Barker and Stonehouse arrived on the region's economic scene.

The company, which has its headquarters in Middlesbrough, toasted its special anniversary in 2006.

Today the business has seven stores, a wholesale operation, an army of more than 360 staff and an annual turnover of more than £50m.

And furniture designs from across the globe grace its beautiful showrooms.

The company - ranked at 117 in the Top 250 - remains a family-run operations with an ambitious, hard-working team, a passion for top class service and attention to detail - just as it was in 1946.