Steel Engineering Firm Expansion with North of Tyne Rural Grant Investment

An engineering firm in Wooler, specialising in large-scale commercial and agricultural steel frame construction has expanded its operations and created new jobs with the aid of a grant from The North of Tyne Rural Business Growth Service.

Glendale Engineering have successfully applied to The North of Tyne Rural Business Growth Service and secured a grant of £42,640.00 for the acquisition of new plant costing over £106,000. The new plant, a 14-tonne Excavator with Steel Wrist Tilt Rotator provided Glendale Engineering with increased capability to engage and complete all the Civil Engineering works along with the manufacture and erection of the steel frames on large scale construction projects. This enables the business to take on larger scale projects than were previously possible and increase its efficiency and profitability through its new plant and machinery.

Through the grant support, Glendale Engineering were able to start a brand-new arm of the business in ground works, leading to the hire of four new full-time staff coupled with the acquisition of the Excavator. Alongside these new orders the business will also use the new team to work on all existing sites and new business projects through the North of Tyne area and beyond.

The North of Tyne Rural Business Growth Service recognised that the project was a good fit with the aims of their programme and helped the company to prepare the application to aid in securing the grant and enabling the project to proceed.

The North of Tyne Rural Business Growth Service is a £7.896m business support project, which supports Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) based in the rural areas of the North of Tyne Combined Authority Area over the next three years. The main objective is to provide a bespoke, locally accessible, business support and advice service, which will focus on meeting the specialized needs of rural businesses with the development of business growth plans. This support will also aid businesses in their Covid response resilience planning. The programme is part funded by the England European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the North of Tyne Combined Authority.

The service is being delivered using a variety of methods to ensure easy access for businesses across the North of Tyne Combined Authority Areas.

The investment made by Glendale Engineering will enable it to expand its current construction, civil engineering and steel-fabrication business, which includes building stores for supermarket giants like Asda, Lidl and Aldi, schools, sports centres and data centres as well as farm buildings, specialist livestock feeding and handling equipment to boost agricultural productivity.

North of Tyne Cabinet Member for Economic Growth and Deputy Leader of North Tyneside Council Cllr Bruce Pickard said: “Now, more than ever, support for businesses in the North of Tyne is key.

“I’m delighted we’ve been able to make this investment which will allow Glendale Engineering to take the next steps to fulfil their potential.

“It’s fantastic to see such a local company flourish and become one of the pillars of our rural economy.”

Chair of Advance Northumberland Councillor Richard Wearmouth said: "It's great to see such a well-established business in one of our most rural areas continue to go from strength to strength.

"This grant funding has helped the company expand not only its reach but also its workforce and we wish them every continued success."

Glendale Engineering Finance Director Paul McKenna said: “This expansion project into Ground Works has been in our business plans for some time now as we were receiving more and more enquiries to deliver the complete package from Civils to Structural Steel including M&E.

“We would not have been able to get this project off the ground in such a timely manner without this support”.

Glendale Engineering which currently employs 60 staff, started 37 years ago by Gordon and Graeme Wilson in their Dad’s Garage at Milfield, Northumberland. The business moved to Wooler 19 years ago where it occupies a three-acre site. Glendale Engineering offers the complete package of civil and structural steel work from planning, surveying, design, manufacture and erection. Commercial Projects & Agricultural Buildings can range from 5 tonnes of steel to 1,500 tonnes. Glendale Engineering also specialises in the manufacture of their own range of livestock equipment.

To find out more, please contact the Rural Business Growth Service Team on 01670 528 400,  email ruralsupport@advancenorthumberland.co.uk or visit www.ruralbusinessgrowthservice.co.uk