Review of the year

PD Ports plans to nearly double the container terminal capacity.

North Yorkshire’s ICE Renewables demonstrated the ability of the region’s firms to punch above their weight by securing a £35m wind turbine contract with French firm Vergenet.

A pay dispute at tank track maker Astrum, in Stanhope, County Durham, was finally resolved after staff had staged a one-day walkout and imposed an overtime ban.

By the end of the year, Weardale’s biggest employer was reporting buoyant sales driven by its determination to expand sales in Asia and the Middle East.

The Printable Electronics Technology Centre in Sedgefield, County Durham, was given a major boost when it was included in a multimillion pound Government funding programme to support its research into flexible lights, displays and solar panels.

AUGUST - TEARS were shed as the last Wearside-made Micra rolled off the Nissan production line.

The factory had made more than two million models of the Micra since 1992.

Production was shifted from Sunderland to India to make way for the new Juke crossover car, which Nissan hopes will replicate the success of the Qashqai, which has sold more than 500,000 since its launch three years ago.

Darlington engineering and energy company Amec secured a £60m contract to extend a gas storage facility in Cheshire for EDF Energy.

Its annual report revealed Amec was in an exceptionally strong financial position, with a strong order book that included engineering and design work for Maersk, in the North Sea, and the strengthening of its links with BP.

Vehicle chassis maker Thyssen Krupp Tallent, the biggest employer in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, took on almost 100 staff after work was transferred from its site in Cambridgeshire.

Darlington engineering company Henry Williams Ltd secured a major deal to help create vehicles for frontline forces in Afghanistan after investing £1.5m in its North- East facilities.

US flooring firm Armstrong World Industries announced that 163 jobs would go when it closes its Teesside linoleum factory in the new year following a drop in demand.

There was better news for family firm Franks the Flooring Store, which announced plans to open ten more showrooms, creating 60 jobs, as well as investing £1m in its distribution centre in Shildon.

The historic Bonds Foundry, in Tow Law, County Durham, reported a huge increase in export sales. The familyowned factory produced more than half a million castings for the Royal Navy’s two new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.

A dark time for North-East steelmaking appeared to be at an end as Thai steel company Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI) signed a memorandum of understanding paving the way for a proposed £320m deal to buy Teesside Cast Products (TCP) from Corus.

More than 1,000 employees had left the Redcar plant since its partial mothballing in February. SSI president Win Viriyaprapaikit, who joined Corus chief executive Kirby Adams in signing the agreement, confirmed that the 700 steelworkers remaining at the facility would be kept on should a deal progress, and that the firm intended to draw on the skilled workforce that exists on Teesside.

Both companies said they hoped to conclude a sale as soon as possible.

SSI, the biggest steelmaker in Thailand, is expected to become a major client of the Redcar works when the site reopens.

SEPTEMBER - TAG Energy Solutions bolstered the region’s position as an international centre for the renewables industry by announcing plans to build a factory to make offshore wind turbine foundations on the banks of the River Tees.

The £20m plant is expected to create about 400 jobs across the Tees Valley and is due to begin operating in the spring.

Darlington company CTC Marine, JDR Cable Systems of Hartlepool and Francis Brown Ltd, the Stockton-based fabrication and engineering specialist, all played key roles in building the massive Wave Hub project, off the coast of Cornwall. The £42m scheme created the world’s largest test site for tidal power technology and showcased the region’s world-class expertise in the offshore sector.

Darlington engineering company Mech-Tool strengthened its position by securing a £2.3m contract to supply a new substation platform within Centrica’s offshore wind farm project off the coast of Skegness, Lincolnshire.

Energy provider npower officially opened its £60m offices at Rainton Bridge, near Sunderland. The site had originally been built as Northern Rock’s showpiece headquarters.

Liberty Electric Cars unveiled details of a £500m deal agreed with Chinese government contractors to produce vehicle parts and charging points for a fleet of electric buses.

Camerons Brewery reported record growth in its annual results, with turnover rising to £70.2m. The Hartlepool business said pre-tax profits nearly doubled from £1.6m to £2.99m.

The potential saviour of North-East steelmaking arrived in the region as plans to rescue TCP took another step forward. SSI president Mr Viriyaprapaikit spoke of the passion of the region’s steelworkers as he met representatives of Corus, union leaders and politicians in Middlesbrough.

OCTOBER - PEARSON-HARPER, based in Billingham, near Stockton, secured a £6.25m deal with Chevron, as part of the multinational’s work in gas fields off the coast of Western Australia.

Liberty Electric Cars failed in its takeover bid for Wearside-based electric van maker Tanfield Group.

Tanfield, which had experienced cashflow problems earlier in the year, went on to sign a $1m (£642,000) exclusivity deal to merge with its US associate company, Smith Electric Vehicles.

Kromek, at NET Park, near Sedgefield, received official EU certification to provide colour x-ray liquid detection systems to European airports.

The business started as a twoman spin-out from Durham University.

Thorn Lighting, one of the region’s largest private employers, demonstrated a long-term commitment to the North-East by moving its headquarters from the Home Counties to its plant in Spennymoor, County Durham.

John Kennair predicted good times were on the horizon after he stepped into the breach to lead specialist glass firm Romag after the death in June of inspirational chief executive Lyn Miles.

The Government backed plans for a new enterprise group for the Tees Valley, which hopes to create jobs and business opportunities. The area was one of 24 regions across the country to be chosen for a Local Enterprise Partnership, which are expected to replace development agencies such as One North East and Yorkshire Forward. Tees Valley Unlimited, which was behind the proposals, appointed Stephen Catchpole as managing director.

Public sector budgets were cut as Chancellor George Osborne unveiled the biggest spending cuts since the Seventies in the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Mr Osborne defended his £81bn cuts programme, saying Britain had stepped back from the brink of bankruptcy.

Economic experts predicted the region would lose almost 50,000 jobs and £2bn would be wiped off its economy as a result of the decision.

NOVEMBER - EFFORTS to save Durham Tees Valley Airport went into overdrive with the introduction of the £6 passenger fee, which was predicted to generate about £500,000 a year for the beleaguered airport.

The move proved to be unpopular with passengers and airline operators.

The face of the country’s financial system continued to change in the wake of the banking crisis. Swedish bank Handelsbanken opened six branches in the region, including offices in Darlington and Durham.

Earlier in the year, Aldermore Invoice Finance, part of business-focused new bank Aldermore Bank, established an office in the region and NBNK Investments, led by outgoing Northern Rock chief executive Gary Hoffman, aimed to establish 600 high street branches.

Manufacturing workers across the region were able to look forward to a happy new year after oil and gas engineering contractor Offshore Group Newcastle (OGN) announced it would need more than 1,000 staff to fulfil a £150m North Sea oil platform order.

OGN, formerly SLP Production, demonstrated its faith in the North-East when it acquired the mothballed Hadrian Yard construction site, in Wallsend, North Tyneside, in 2009.

Campaigners reacted with dismay after the Government shunted the decision on the Intercity Express Programme into the sidings.

Hitachi’s plan to bring train building to Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, would create thousands of jobs in the region, but fears grew that the project could be scaled down or located elsewhere.

Nissan’s Leaf electric car, which will be built on Wearside from 2013, was named 2011 European Car of the Year.

The company hoped the award could give a further boost to sales, and secure jobs at the factory which employs about 5,000 people.

The Leaf was the first electric vehicle to be shortlisted for the award.

DECEMBER - CHANCELLOR George Osborne announced that Barnard Castle was on the shortlist for a manufacturing plant that would create about 1,000 jobs.

GlaxoSmithKline, the UK’s largest pharmaceutical company, confirmed that the town was one of three sites under consideration for its new biopharmaceutical plant.

Darlington care home operator Southern Cross Healthcare more than doubled its losses as its dependence on local authority and NHS-financed clients was exposed in the wake of public sector cuts.

Plans were unveiled that aimed to boost tourist visits to Barnard Castle, Bishop Auckland, Stanhope and Chester-le-Street.

County Durham tourist bosses showed their determination to encourage those visitors who flock to Durham Cathedral and Beamish Museum that they should explore the county’s other treasures.

Former Tory Cabinet minister Lord Heseltine told a gathering of North-East business leaders that they were among the frontrunners to benefit from the £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund that is being made available for innovative projects to create privatesector jobs. The first round of bidding starts next month.

As Durham County Council announced 1,600 job losses, town hall bosses criticised Government grant settlements for widening the North-South divide by taking money from deprived North-East communities to give to prosperous southern shires.