It has been a mixed year once again for businesses in 2019 - thanks to ongoing economic and political uncertainty.
Here, as we prepare to mark the start of a new decade, we look back at some of the biggest business stories from North Staffordshire in 2019.
Stoke-on-Trent's newest business centre opens
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Flexible office space provider Business Lodge opened a brand new business centre in North Staffordshire.
The company has transformed a former Npower building in Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent, into a much-needed office facility for new and growing businesses.
The Trent House building boasts a coffee bar, table football and a free gym for tenants.
It has enough room to house 50 businesses and up to 400 staff.
St Modwen unveils sneak peak of North Staffordshire's newest trade park
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Developer St Modwen released the first image of what North Staffordshire's newest trade park could look like.
The firm broke ground on the multi-million pound development which is being constructed near to DPD and bet365 at Festival Park in Etruria Valley, in July.
Proposals for the site - which is expected to be completed in March - include a trade park with 11 industrial units and one speculatively built industrial warehouse.
Portmeirion acquires US homeware business in multi-million pound deal
Stoke-on-Trent pottery firm Portmeirion acquired US-based homeware business Nambe in a deal worth £9.5 million.
Portmeirion - which owns brands including Spode, Royal Worcest and Wax Lyrical - took ownership of Nambe in July.
It is the first non-British brand to be acquired by the Stoke-based company.
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£10m boost for Veincentre as part of 海角视频 expansion plans
Veincentre revealed plans to open further clinics across the 海角视频 after securing £10m investment.
The varicose veins business, based in Stoke-on-Trent, won the funding from Manchester-based Palatine Private Equity.
Veincentre bosses say the cash boost will allow the company to open new clinics in Glasgow and Leeds.
JCB makes manufacturing history by going into full production with industry's first fully electric digger
Digger-maker JCB made manufacturing history this year by going into full production of the industry’s first fully electric mini excavator.
The Staffordshire manufacturer's first-ever electric diggers started to come off the assembly line at JCB Compact Products in Cheadle in August.
Since then, orders have been rolling in from customers from across Europe and North America.
Trailer specialist Don-Bur invests £4m at Stoke-on-Trent HQ as it plans to increase turnover by £10m
Trailer specialist Don-Bur invested more than £4 million in new plant machinery and software – as part of plans to increase turnover by £10 million in the next three years.
The company, which designs and manufactures commercial vehicle trailers and rigid bodywork, saw cutting-edge technology installed at its Stoke-on-Trent headquarters, including an automated raw material and parts management hub, a fibre laser, press brakes and an auto welding cell.
The latest investment will allow Don-Bur to mass-produce a range of products to meet the growing demand in the rental market.
Grenville Engineering makes £520k investment in new machinery
Sheet metal fabricator Grenville Engineering invested more than £520,000 in new machinery as part of its plans to grow by 10 per cent every year.
The Stoke-on-Trent business saw the installation of a new Trumpf fibre laser, a Haegar fastener insertion machine and a hexagon absolute arm in August.
Bosses at the firm hope the investment will lead to Grenville winning additional orders from new and existing customers across a variety of sectors including automotive, construction and earth moving.
Lucideon to create 20 new jobs as part of plans to quadruple turnover
Materials technology company Lucideon revealed plans to create another 20 jobs as part of efforts to quadruple turnover to £80 million in the next few years.
The company, which has its global headquarters in Stoke-on-Trent, welcomed 34 new employees at the start of 2019 and recruited a further 20 before the end of the year.
The new roles - which take its total workforce to 240 - included scientists, research and support staff.
Director shake-up at Portmeirion after chief executive steps down
Pottery firm Portmeiron appointed a new chief executive after Lawrence Bryan retired after 25 years at the helm of the Stoke business.
Mr Bryan stepped down from his role as chief executive but agreed to continue with the business and stay on the board as non-executive director.
His successor was named as Mike Raybould while David Sproston - previously group financial controller and finance director of Portmeirion - was appointed group finance director.
Saint-Gobain Abrasives opens new 海角视频 headquarters in North Staffordshire
Abrasives products manufacturer Saint-Gobain Abrasives 海角视频 opened the doors to its new multi-million pound head office and distribution centre in October.
The Stafford-based firm relocated from the old Universal Grinding Wheel site in Doxey, to Unicorn House based at Redhill Business Park, just off J14 of the M6.
The new site includes the company’s new Centre of Excellence, testing and training facilities, customer service department and the new distribution centre.
Michelin 海角视频 names 36-year-old Chris Smith as new managing director
Tyre-giant Michelin 海角视频 unveiled Chris Smith as its new managing director.
The 36-year-old took over the role at the Stoke-based company, replacing James Alderman who has retired.
Chris now oversees the strategy and direction of Michelin 海角视频 while continuing his responsibilities as sales director B2B for the 海角视频 and Republic of Ireland.
Best Western takes over one of Stoke-on-Trent's biggest hotels
Hospitality brand Best Western officially took over one of Stoke-on-Trent's biggest hotels.
The company has snapped up the 135-bed Quality Hotel, in Hanley - and has renamed it the Best Western Stoke-on-Trent City Centre Hotel.
The announcement came just months after it was revealed that the Best Western Moat House Hotel - based less than a mile away on Festival Park - will be taken over by DoubleTree by Hilton next year following a £6.5 million transformation.
The hotel will be known as the DoubleTree By Hilton Stoke-on-Trent from 2020.
Smart Fleet Solutions completes £4m rebuild of technical centre
Vehicle refurbishment specialist Smart Fleet Solutions completed the £4 million re-development of its North Staffordshire site.
The company, which has a 30-acre facility at Cold Meece near Stone, was forced to stop operating from the site for three weeks when a fire broke out inside the technical centre in October 2018.
But 11 months after the fire, Smart Fleet Solutions officially opened a brand new state-of-the-art technical centre – which bosses say is one of the most technologically advanced operation of its kind anywhere in the 海角视频.
Work has started on North Staffordshire's first £20 million Marriott hotel
Work officially started on North Staffordshire's new £20 million Marriott hotel.
A ground-breaking ceremony took place at Keele University in October to mark the official start of work on the multi-million pound project which will be built near to the main campus entrance on the Science and Innovation Park.
Once constructed, the Marriott hotel - which will be a first for North Staffordshire - will boast 150 bedrooms, a restaurant and bar, meeting rooms, a fitness suite and 180 parking spaces.
New HQ for abrasives supplier Kuhmichel as revenues hit £13 million
Blasting media and abrasives supplier Kuhmichel relocated to new, multi-million pound headquarters after seeing annual revenue reach £13 million.
The Stafford-based business had been operating from two separate sites in Cold Meece near Stone and at Friars Terrace in Stafford.
But Kuhmichel’s 23-strong workforce has now been brought together under one roof at a new 30,000 square-foot warehouse on Astonfield Industrial Estate, in Stafford.
The company invested more than £500,000 to transform the building into its new base - taking Kuhmichel’s total investment in the warehouse to more than £2 million in the last three years.
North Staffordshire industrial estate sold for £11m
A busy North Staffordshire industrial estate was sold for more than £11 million.
Parkhouse Industrial Estate, on Brookhouse Road in Newcastle-under-Lyme, was snapped up by new owners – for almost double what it was bought for five years ago.
The site – which boasts 13 units totalling 155,000 sqft – was sold by agents Harris Lamb on behalf of BlackRock Industrial Trust, which acquired the estate in 2014 for £6.4 million.
The commercial estate – which is home to a number of national retailers such as Screwfix, Tool Station and DHL – was sold to global infrastructure and real estate investor InfraRed.
Gambling giant bet365 enjoys another record year as revenue hits £2.9bn
Gambling giant bet365 enjoyed a bumper year after seeing revenues hit almost £3 billion in the last 12 months.
The Stoke-on-Trent company released its latest financial accounts this week which revealed another record year for the business.
Highlights include an increase in revenue to £2.98 billion from £2.71 billion and a rise in staff numbers from 4,108 to 4,236 - including 319 employees at Stoke City Football Club.
Stoke-on-Trent pottery giant Steelite International acquired by US investment firm
Global pottery firm Steelite International was acquired by US investment firm Arbor Investments.
The company - which is headquarters in Middleport, Stoke-on-Trent - has been taken over by the Chicago-based private equity firm for an undisclosed amount.
Arbor specialises in investing in companies which predominantly operate within the food and beverage sector - such as tabletop products manufacturer Steelite.
Steelite has so far failed to confirm or deny whether any jobs are at risk following the acquisition.
This is what Stoke Railway Station could look like after multi-million pound facelift
New images were released to show how Stoke-on-Trent Railway Station could look after a multi-million pound facelift.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council is bidding for up to £59.4 million of government funding to pay for transport improvements across the city.
Artist impressions show that the new-look Stoke Station could boast new pedestrian routes, a cycle hub and a footbridge as well as new shop, food outlets and offices for businesses.
As part of the revamp, the council also wants to ban cars from driving past and turn neighbouring roads into dedicated bus routes to cut congestion.