Durata’s new unit will include an Innovation Centre designed specifically to host potential clients from all around the world and welcome students from schools and colleges to learn more about a career in engineering.
As well as recently opening its first overseas office in Frankfurt, Germany, the proud Teesside firm has added Unit 3 to an existing Unit 2 base at the Tees AMP Business Park on Wilfred Whitfield Way.
The extra 6,331sq ft space means Durata will have approaching 10,000sq ft to operate from on Teesside alone when the building refurbishment is completed.
Durata’s managing director John McGee said: “These are exciting times for Durata. As well as working around the world, we now feel it is time to bring the world to us here on Teesside too.
“We are extremely happy here on Teesside and even though we could have our main base anywhere else in the world where we have projects, we firmly believe staying here is the right thing to do.
“We are from Middlesbrough, born and brought up here, and we wouldn’t want to move elsewhere. This expansion highlights what the area where we are from means to us and we believe there is a very supportive business network in this area too.”
Work will begin on putting the Durata stamp on Unit 3 in the new year. As well as the trademark blue and white colours and Innovation Centre, there will be a new meeting room to discuss the design and project process.
There will be a work area created to include a demo modular building, kitted out to showcase how Durata can help in terms of creating a modular data centre, microgrid, battery storage, or other ways of meeting customer requirements globally.
Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke said: “It’s great news that a brilliant Middlesbrough business like Durata is committing its future to our town.
“Durata continues to lead the way and put Middlesbrough on the map in its specialism.
“The plans for the Innovation Centre sound really exciting and it’s a credit to everyone at Durata that the firm is looking to create inspirational learning opportunities for our young people.”
And Durata’s quality director Alison McGee said: “As a team we spent a lot of time developing our offer into a comprehensive and concise marketing strategy.
“Our head of modular data centre projects, Lewis Cobb, is already bringing huge industry players to Middlesbrough to talk to them about modular buildings, for example, and our new Innovation Centre will provide the perfect place to enhance that tour.
“As well as highlighting Teesside’s industrial heritage and explaining how our free port can help logistically, we can show them somewhere tangible where our modulars are manufactured and demonstrate to them how we will deliver.”
In the last year alone Durata’s workforce has grown from 20 to 35 employees, including key management appointments, and year-on-year multi-million-pound turnover increases are set for record levels this year.
Despite working on projects in many corners of the world, such as South Africa and the Middle East, as well as Germany and other parts of Europe, Durata wants to enhance its supply chain across Teesside too.
Alison said: “We use local suppliers wherever possible and 90 per cent of our engineers are from this area, despite contracts that are stretching to the UAE and beyond. We do this by shipping out from the excellent Teesside facilities. We want everyone to know how Teesside has such a part to play in the digital age.”
