Three North East firms are set for growth – with more than 60 jobs created – after receiving investment topping £500,000 from a regional fund.
The County Durham Growth Fund was set in motion last April as a three-year cash pot of £4.9m, created to plough investment into SMEs across the county and ramp up their growth.
The fund – overseen by Business Durham, the economic development arm of Durham County Council, and delivered in partnership with UMi – has invested sizeable sums into Bignall Group Ltd, Dyer Engineering and Design X-Press Ltd, allowing them to buy new kit, boost capacity, improve efficiency, explore new markets and create more than 60 new jobs between them.
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Dyer Engineering, in Stanley, has received a £475,000 investment to buy machinery, robotic welding units and cranes at its Annfield Plain premises, to help increase its manufacturing capabilities and open doors to new markets. A total of 54 jobs have been created.
Bignall Group, in Shildon, secured £35,000 investment to help modernise and update its current machine shop, as well as buy new milling machinery to increase capacity and help it expand into new markets. Eight jobs have also been created.
And Consett-based Design X-Press plans to use its £50,000 investment to buy new print equipment to increase capacity and improve efficiency and offer a broader range of services, a move which is creating four new jobs.
Sarah Slaven, Business Durham’s interim managing director, said: “We are delighted to be able to fund these three businesses’ capital investment projects and help each of them to grow and achieve their ambitions.
“It is inspiring to see the County Durham Growth Fund attracting businesses which can help bring investment not just into the county, but the region as a whole. Each of these companies can make a real impact on our local economy and help boost job creation.”
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Mark Coatsworth, group commercial manager at Bignall Group, said: “The grant has been gratefully received by Bignall Group, enabling our Shildon Manufacturing Company (SMC) brand to secure additional work through increased machine capacity. This has secured our position with a key customer and enables us to continue supporting our internal projects as well as new and other existing external customers, further contributing to the growth of the North East region.
"We work closely with the UTC in Aycliffe and are delighted, on the back of this investment, to engage another level 3 apprentice from there. Our machine supplier has also offered additional training, allowing us to continue our investment in local skills, and commitment to develop the next generation of engineers through continual employee development.”
The £4.9m fund has been secured from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020.
Karen Jones, senior project manager at UMi, said: “The fund is really starting to make a difference now and it’s great to hear from businesses what the impact from the grant means for them as well as the boost to the County.”