North East cabinet maker Trinity Kitchens is poised to boost its manufacturing capacity after tapping into investment from the North East Small Loan Fund.
Trinity Kitchens, based at the Aycliffe Business Park in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, was launched 20 years ago to manufacture cabinets for kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms, which are supplied to tradesmen and retailers across the North East and Yorkshire.
Five years ago the company moved into a new 14,700 sq ft manufacturing facility in Newton Aycliffe to help meet growing client demand. Now with the help of a five-figure investment from the North East Small Loan Fund, Supported by The European Regional Development Fund, it has signed up for a further 4,750 sq ft of manufacturing space across the road.
READ MORE: {}
It aims to use the space to move into manufacturing and painting its own timber and MDF cabinet doors, with the cash helping with the preparation of the new premises as well as the purchase of equipment and fittings.
County Durham Radiation detection specialist Kromek secured orders worth more than $1.6m. The company, which has its main base at Sedgefield’s Netpark as well as operations in the US, working to develop radiation and bio-detection tech solutions for the advanced imaging and CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) detection segments. The AIM-listed business has now announced to shareholders that it has secured four orders worth a total of $1.63m (£1.28m) in the advanced imaging segment.
The orders, which are all from existing customers, are to provide the group’s detector components for computed tomography and gamma imaging applications and gamma probes. Two of the orders are to be delivered in the current financial year and two are for delivery over the next 12 to 24 months.
Arnab Basu, CEO of Kromek, said: “We are pleased to have received these orders from existing customers, which is illustrative of the repeat nature of our business in the advanced imaging segment. With the increasing adoption of next-generation detection modalities by OEMs in the medical imaging market, we expect to continue to expand our customer base in this key area.
Warkworth-based Coquet Cottages has become part of The Travel Chapter. The business has been acquired for an undisclosed sum after seeing huge growth over the last 25 years, winning a number of awards and maintaining average occupancy rates of more than 56% in the last year.
Most Read
The family firm was launched in 1998 by Julie Ringland, who was later joined by husband Mark, daughter Stephanie Robertson and son Miles, and the company now manages a portfolio of around 140 privately owned luxury holiday properties in Northumberland.
Ms Ringland started the business when, after managing her own portfolio of luxury holiday properties, she was approached by other owners in the village wanting her to take on their properties. As a result of the acquisition, Coquet Cottages joins a portfolio of regional and lifestyle holiday letting brands owned by The Travel Chapter.
Ms Ringland said: “I am extremely proud of what we have built at Coquet Cottages with the support of our wonderful staff and property owners who we have worked so closely with over the past 25 years. I am confident that the business will continue to thrive and grow under the continued stewardship of Stephanie, with the support of the Travel Chapter team.”
Gateshead tech firm Palintest has invested more than £1m into its manufacturing facilities to aid growth ambitions and help meet increasing demand for its products.
The specialist in analysis technology manufactures equipment for water quality monitoring and disinfection control from its Team Valley base, where it has invested in a range of new equipment in the largest spend into its operations in a decade. Palintest was established in the 海角视频 in 1989 but has a history dating back to the 1800s, and it has pioneered techniques and tech which are used in water management, the pool and spa sector, the food and beverage sector and humanitarian aid, as well as in industrial processes.
Its customers include water companies and municipal authorities, leisure facility operators, NGOs and food processing plants. The new investment includes increasing the number of production lines at the site from one to three.
Mark Davison, managing director at Palintest, said: “Palintest is growing rapidly, so it was vital that we strengthened our manufacturing capabilities and capacity to meet increasing global demand for our water analysis technology. In addition, the investment gives us the confidence that we can deliver on our growth plans and realise our ambitions. It is a statement of intent.”
Don’t miss
North East telecoms technology business Filtronic has announced a £2m deal with a global defence and security company. The firm, which has bases at Sedgefield’s NETPark business hub and Leeds, designs and manufactures products for the aerospace, defence, telecoms infrastructure and low earth orbit space markets, and has recently reported a run of lucrative deals.
The latest sees a new contract win with QinetiQ and phase one of the contract, valued at £2m, is expected to see revenue recognised over the next two years. The contract is for the development of a radio-frequency subsystem, to be installed as a vehicle-mounted land system or a helicopter-mounted mobile solution.
Richard Gibbs, chief executive officer, said: "Winning this contract with a multinational, world-class defence technology company such as QinetiQ, is an important strategic development as we add a target client to our customer register and broaden the customer base. We look forward to working with our new customer to develop the product, deliver the final solution and build further on the relationship.”