TEDCO Team Builds Business Contact

TEDCO is unlocking South Tyneside’s business growth potential with a pledge to visit hundreds of firms in the Borough.

The agency’s friendly support team will be out and about in the business community explaining what assistance is available to help companies grow and create more jobs.

To help strengthen the team, TEDCO has just appointed a new SME Development Manager, Mark Wilson.

Under this new role, Mark will oversee and manage the plans and programmes already in place to make sure all businesses get the help they need to develop.

In addition to its core business development activity, TEDCO is running these groundbreaking business development programmes on behalf of South Tyneside Means Business, which is delivering £16.2m of central government funding through the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI), until March 2009.

Mark said: “There is a huge amount of work going on in South Tyneside to boost business growth.  While there is justifiably a lot of effort being channelled into supporting businesses starting out for the first time, exciting projects have been launched to help existing businesses grow.

“We want to get that message out loud and clear and the best way to do that is by meeting businesses face-to-face and finding out first hand what their needs are.

“Every business is different and we want to find out how we can help them best so they can attract more work and ultimately create more wealth and employment.”

There are almost 4,000 businesses operating in South Tyneside and Mark and his team want to meet as many of them as possible as part of their mission to boost enterprise across the Borough.

Mark said: “Our role is to meet with a company, find out their needs and provide the best possible services to drive businesses forward.

“This could be help through the South Tyneside Means Business Access to Markets programme, for example, or with help from our Networking Champion.  Equally they might need pointing in the direction of other help and assistance.”

The Access to Markets programme is successfully helping businesses find new markets and attract more contracts while the Networking Champion is bringing more business people together.

Mark said: “The networking is critical.  It is very easy for businesses to stay within their comfort zone and quite often there are business opportunities in their own backyard.

“But networking is not just about business opportunities.  It can be about learning from other businesses and adopting best practices.  Sharing experiences can really help firms operate more effectively.  The Networking activity in South Tyneside is about to be boosted by the appointment of another Networking Champion to spread the word.

“We are also helping businesses through the South Tyneside Means Business Access to Markets programme to promote themselves more effectively.  The Marketing Information Centre also has access to first class data which firms can use to target their efforts.  These include Mintel reports, media lists and databases of companies across the region and the UK.”

Mark joins TEDCO after a 23 year career with Global manufacturing company Freudenberg.  Mark worked at the company’s base in North Tyneside, project managing and overseeing production work at the plant which employs about 300 people.

Carole White, Business Support Manager at TEDCO said: “Mark’s role is a strategic one to make sure that we are getting out there into every nook and cranny of the local business world.  To be successful we have to manage that process effectively and drive it forward.

“Historically the business world in South Tyneside has been associated with a small group of big names.  We are working towards boosting the great work being done by many of the small and medium sized businesses and helping them grow.”

Photograph: New SME Development Manager Mark Wilson toasts business success