AN organisation is hosting a celebration to champion the Tees Valley’s engineering sector.

The Teesside Engineering Network is holding its fifth event at Hartlepool’s Maritime Experience.

Guest speakers will include Jerry Hopkinson, PD Ports’ managing director, and Mark Snell, business development manager at Applied Graphene Materials, in Wilton, near Redcar.

The network was founded in early 2013 to support the region’s engineering supply chain, keeping companies informed and aware of new tender and contract opportunities.

Mr Hopkinson said: “PD Ports is one of the UK’s major seaports and logistics businesses and Teesport, by volume, is in the top four ports in the UK, handling some 40 million tonnes of cargo annually.

“Supporting our traditional industrial base and supply chains, while driving forward in search of new opportunities, demands we maintain and further develop the links to the local people, businesses and the infrastructure that underpins our business.

“The network is a business forum we can certainly relate to and fully support.”

The event, which takes place on Friday, June 20, is supported by Tees Valley Unlimited and Hartlepool Borough Council.

Applied Graphene aims to triple its North-East workforce as it focuses on wonder substance graphene, which can conduct electricity a million times better than copper, despite being as thin as human hair.

PD Ports, which operates Teesport and the Port of Hartlepool, exports steel slab from Redcar’s SSI UK.