News Article

An engineering firm has become one of the first companies to receive funding from a £60m pot aimed at accelerating job opportunities across the Tees Valley.

PD & MS Energy (Teesside) Ltd aims to create up to 27 new skilled jobs over the next two years with the help of a £185,000 Grant for Business Investment from the regional development agency One North East and the Tees Valley Industrial Programme (TVIP).

The company provides specialist engineering design and draughting services primarily to the offshore engineering industry and the funding will allow it to purchase state of the art computer equipment and engineering software and to expand operations at its base in Port Clarence, Stockton.

One North East Chief Executive, Alan Clarke, said: “I am delighted that PD & MS Energy (Teesside) is one of a growing list of companies receiving assistance from the Tees Valley Industrial Programme. TVIP was created to accelerate job prospects as a direct result of the partial mothballing of Teesside Cast Products and it is excellent to see the fund proving a success just two months after it was created.

“PD & MS Energy (Teesside) will service a range of regional growth industries such as oil and gas, offshore renewable, nuclear, petrochemical and various heavy industries and with an exceptional average salary these are excellent high-quality jobs. I wish them the best of luck in this exciting new venture.”

PD&MS Energy (Teesside) is owned by the Wilton Group, and is a multi disciplinary engineering company providing concept and detail engineering design and build services across a wide range of disciplines and markets.
The Wilton Group employs 250 people in the Tees Valley and is a major regional exporter.

PD&MS Energy (Teesside) Ltd is led by Managing Director Andrew Stevenson and Operations Director Andy Eaton. Mr Stevenson said: “This grant will help us to significantly develop the business as we create a range of new products and break into new sectors and markets.”

Both Mr Stevenson and Mr Eaton have a wealth of experience and contacts within these sectors which they anticipate will present considerable business opportunities as the company develops.

Mr Stevenson added: “Key to the critical success of this venture is attracting the right calibre of staff with this funding giving the company the confidence to recruit and bring into the business a large number of talented individuals.”

Tees Valley Unlimited Chair Hugh Lang said: “The Tees Valley’s strength in advanced engineering is one of the key elements in our plans for using the experience and expertise gained from our industrial heritage to help us grasp the opportunities of the emerging technologies of the 21st Century.

“The funding being made available for PD & MS Energy (Teesside) is a clear demonstration of how the Tees Valley Industrial Programme really can help local companies and create the kind of high-quality jobs our area needs.”

The company is already preparing bids for several multi-million pound project opportunities that will be awarded in the next year and has already won its first large scale design and manufacture project along with a number of smaller contracts

Government Grant application specialists Finance 4 Business helped PD & MS Energy (Teesside) Ltd to secure the grant. Director Richard Watts said: “I am delighted to have helped secure grant assistance for this exciting project, which is great news for the company and the area. The efficiency with which One North East has handled this application has been first class. It awarded the grant within seven days of the application being submitted. This type of quick response is essential to ensure businesses can take full advantages of opportunities that come their way.”

The Tees Valley Industrial Programme is supporting companies through the Grant for Business Investment product, which is part of Solutions for Business - the Government’s package of publicly funded support products offering help to companies to start, grow and succeed. Solutions for Business makes it easier for companies to get the advice and assistance that they need.

For further information on the full package of support, visit www.businesslink.gov.uk/northeast or Tel: 0845 600 9006.

The Grant for Business Investment (GBI) initiative delivered by One North East is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund 2007-13.

Ends. 

For more information, contact Gordon Arnott (press office) on 0191 229 6309 or 07713 317883 or by emailing: gordon.arnott@onenortheast.co.uk
You can now follow One North East on Twitter at http://twitter.com/OneNorthEast