County Durham manufacturer collaborates with The Advanced Manufacturing Forum to champion North East businesses

Newton Aycliffe based BTS Facades and Fabrications hosted a networking event in partnership with The Advanced Manufacturing Forum (AMF), to showcase its expertise in the manufacturing industry and promote the fabrications sector across the North East.

The event, which took place on Wednesday, welcomed engineering and manufacturing businesses from across the North East to share knowledge and exchange expertise.

The team of 48 at BTS, who manufacture “high-quality” facades and rainscreen products for clients around the country, were at the forefront of the event, exhibiting their products and sharing reflections on their recent successful move into automation.

The meet-up, which included a factory tour, presentation and an exchange in best practice, was even granted the seal of approval by Newton Aycliffe’s Mayor, Ken Robson, who said he is “blown away at what the business has managed to achieve.”

Philip Atkinson, BTS’ managing director, said: “It’s such an honour to have been able to host this event at our offices, which are a showroom for exactly what we do. Some incredible North East industry leaders attended. These events are all about learning from one another, and that’s exactly what we saw today.

“I hope that everyone who came along was able to see that our investment into automation and machinery has made a huge difference to the way we work, and it is certainly the way forward for us.

“This certainly won’t be the last time I invite fellow business leaders over to our offices; I love showing people around and banging the drum for our incredible workforce and for our thriving sector.”

22 people attended the event which was co-hosted by the AMF, a membership forum whose aim is to bring together the North East’s manufacturing and engineering community to create successful opportunities.

Arthur Hodgson, AMF’s forum manager, added: “We’ve had a fantastic visit and it’s been great to bring the members down to BTS. All of the members I have spoken to have had a brilliant day, it’s been fascinating. The feedback is that I now have a hard bar to try and beat for the next event.”