Engineering its way to the top

Oct 17 2007 By The Journal

THE Engineering Business Limited is the fastest growing company in the North-East for 2007.

The offshore, marine and renewable industry engineering specialist walked off with the title at the Ward Hadaway Fastest 50 Awards at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead.

The company, based at Riding Mill near Hexham in the Tyne Valley with operations in Stocksfield and Wallsend, was named as the fastest growing large business as well as winning the overall title for its phenomenal expansion over the past two years.

Another business in the offshore sector – Newcastle-based Shepherd Offshore Services – won the title for fastest growing small business while temperature and pressure sensor specialist Controle Mesure Regulation (UK) Ltd of North Tyneside was named fastest growing medium-sized business.

The Engineering Business was set up whilst its four owner-directors were at Newcastle University.

The company carries out large-scale engineering projects ranging from offshore pipe-laying to working on NATO's new submarine rescue system.

Dr Tony Trapp, managing director of The Engineering Business, said: “I'm very pleased to win – our plans at The Engineering Business are really coming to fruition at the moment and even surprising me.

“We have a £45m order book, we have increased our workforce by a third in the first nine months of this year and we are still recruiting heavily. We are looking at £20m turnover this year and probably more than £30m next year.

"Being vigorous and being determined has been key to our success. In the end, it all relies on people – it's the people who make it and ours are just fantastic."

The winning companies were revealed before an audience of more than 150 business leaders at the Rooftop Restaurant at the Baltic.

The Minister for the North East, the Right Honourable Nick Brown MP, was the keynote speaker at the prestigious event.

Mr Brown told the audience that the awards represented “an important vanguard project for our region” and that those gathered were his “most important allies” in helping to drive up the prosperity of the North-East.

He said: "My objective of driving up the prosperity of our region will only succeed if it is private sector-led.

"Good quality, successful, entrepreneurial, dynamic private sector employers are important to every part of the United Kingdom – they are particularly important to the North East of England."

Brian Aitken, editor of The Journal, introduced the awards, which reward profit-making privately-owned companies and organisations in the region which have shown the strongest sales growth over the last two years.

He said: "We live and work in a fantastic region. Well done to everyone in the Fastest 50 who have shown they have what it takes to compete at the highest level."

This year's awards marked the tenth anniversary for the Fastest 50, sponsored by leading North law firm Ward Hadaway and supported by The Journal.

Colin Hewitt, head of commercial law at Ward Hadaway, said: "The award winners and indeed every business in this year's Fastest 50 have performed fantastically well and we salute their achievements.

"They are all shining examples of success which shows that we in the North-East can compete not just on a national level but a global one too."

Fastest growing small
business: Shepherd
Offshore Services Limited, Newcastle.

Fastest growing medium business: Controle Mesure Regulation (UK) Limited, New York, North Tyneside.

Fastest growing large
business and overall
winner: The Engineering Business Limited, Riding Mill, Northumberland.