Businessplus Winter 2015 | Page 10

Airedale welcomes clients from Uruguay TECONNEX clamps onto global market Cooling specialist, Airedale International, which exports to more than 60 countries around the world recently welcomed clients from Uruguay. Keighley-based clamping solutions manufacturer Teconnex recently underwent a major expansion programme at its two-acre site. The factory covers 90,000 sq ft including a new office and administration block, along with an additional warehousing facility. This included representatives from Airedale’s Montevideo-based business partner, Improtel. Managing Director, Jose Maria de la Fuente was accompanied by Pablo Gutierrez from government-owned ANTEL, the largest telecoms provider in the country. The visit was the latest in a series over the course of the last few years which have provided both Improtel and ANTEL with opportunities for training at Airedale’s training school. Jose Maria de la Fuente and Pablo Gutierrez were also present to witness test the Airedale AlphaCool™ precision air conditioning (PAC) system which forms part of the latest order from ANTEL. Uruguay has an estimated population of 3.2 million people of which 1.7 million live in the capital Montevideo. When asked why they choose to partner with Airedale, Pablo Gutierrez said: “Antel have extremely high standards which narrows the choice of suppliers down considerably. Energy performance is just one part of the equation. We also place a great deal of emphasis on system reliability. Airedale’s systems score very highly in both areas.”    Ellis checksin to secure King Abdulaziz airport order Cable cleat manufacturer, Ellis has secured a major specification for its Emperor cleats to be installed in the new King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA), which is currently being built 19km north of the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah. The order was secured through the North Yorkshire company’s Saudi distributor, Riyadh-based Mena Arabia. Installation of the products is currently underway, and is scheduled for completion during the first quarter of 2015 – with the airport expected to open at the end of this year. When complete, the new KAIA will feature a 670,000 sq. m. passenger terminal complex with the capacity 10 “We have invested over £2 million in the last two-anda-half years, in our Keighley head office operation across all areas – plant, equipment, manufacture, test, in-house computer-aided design, quality assurance – and, importantly, in our people,” explained Teconnex managing director Paul Sleaford (pictured). “While we manufacture clamps – around 200,000 a week for a multitude of applications – we design and make them specifically to our customers’ specifications. We are also now actively seeking to recruit more people across-the-board to fulfill both current and planned future growth potential.” Since 2008 the company has increased employee numbers from 172 to 400. Turnover has virtually doubled and is forecast to hit £28 million in the current financial year. Aerospace Accreditation Brings Boost In Business for 80million passengers a year – an increase of over 600 per cent on the current airport’s13million. Tony Conroy, export director for Ellis, said: “KAIA is one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the world today and securing such significant involvement in it is a resounding endorsement of our strategy of appointing local distributors in key export markets. “As with so many of the export orders we secure, the market knowledge and expertise our local distrib ]܈8