Derwentside is bustling
THERE'S been a bit of bustle about industry in Derwentside to judge from the 37 new entries and re-entries in the Top 250.
The variety of manufacturing going on in north west Durham ranges from aircraft parts to caravans.
Three well known companies are either back in or listed for the first time: CAV Aerospace, Romag and Elddis Transport.
CAV Aerospace, the aircraft parts manufacturer, was started in 1990 with 10 employees and grew to 610 worldwide with 440 of those at its Consett headquarters.
These numbers have scaled back, and in a tighter market a proporton of work has recently been switched to Cambridge, sparking some industrial trouble.
Chief executive Owen McFarlane was the 2007 winner of the Durham and Wearside regional final in the North East Business Executive of the Year Awards.
Romag meanwhile has made its name manufacturing toughened security glass, and is now in addition a market leader in the production of photovoltaic panels for solar energy.
In south west County Durham, Ebac Group the air conditioning manufacturer is back in the list also – at 247.
The Bishop Auckland firm has been a world leader in dehumidifier technology and design since its formation in 1974.
It is widely acclaimed as the UK’s leading dehumidifier brand, protecting homes from humidity, damp and condensation, as well as relieving allergies and ailments such as arthritis.
Chairman, founder and mastermind behind the company is John Elliott, who has recently also become something of a television personality.
A draughtsman by trade, he became self-employed after winning a contract to produce industrial dehumidifiers for a national construction group.
This led to Ebac’s foundation – with him as its only member of staff. But his dedication and drive have steadily grown the company and today it employs more than 400 people.
In 1980 he developed the UK’s first mass-produced domestic dehumidifier. This effectively created the British market for the product type.
Also in the new entries and re-entries, Hellens Group of Washington, the construction, development and reclamation group gets 163rd place. The Stockton vehicle hire business Reflex Vehicle Solutions is in at 236.
On the Tyne, shiprepairer A&P Tyne is in at 197. This is one of four A&P operations in the country, and is based at Hebburn. It has the largest dock on the east coast of England with two deep water berths.
And talking of water, there must be a lot of enthusiastic gardeners spending their cash these days. William Strike the Stokesley firm with garden centres in the region is in at 219.
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