Online resource benefits more than 70 companies (From The Northern Echo)

Online resource benefits more than 70 companies

9:01am Friday 5th February 2010 in

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MORE than 70 companies will be helped to expand their business as a result of hundreds of thousands of pounds of investment in an online resource delivered by the region’s science and technology park.

The NETPark Net project began as a pilot run by the County Durham Development Company (CDDC).

It is now being expanded with the aim of providing a business support environment to existing and new small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly in the field of science, electronics and engineering.

Funding for the planned expansion is in the form of £221,000 from the European Union’s ERDF competitiveness programme, along with £165,000 from regional development agency One North East and £326,000 from Durham County Council.

Businesses can register with the uknetpark.net website, which provides specialist advice from experts on a range of topics, including law, finance, innovation, one-toone workshops and clinics.

There will be more interactive activities on different aspects of running a business, and quarterly panel debates about cutting edge technologies.

Experts from all sectors will be available for members to contact by phone or email.

A proposed NETCycle facility linked to the website will also allow members to recycle unwanted goods to other members.

Catherine Johns, director of innovation development at CDDC, said the 70 companies which will benefit had signed up to the project or had been identified to come on-board.

She said: “NETPark Net offers a total business support environment with access to personalised content and proactive information via an online platform.

“As well as acting as a virtual office facility for start up companies, further technical development will bring new services to the NETPark Net website.

“These will be designed to maximise the clustering effect of NETPark itself, bringing together companies across the region to collaborate, consult and grow through networking.

“We want to encourage partnering in a traditional face-to-face way, but also enable ongoing learning and collaboration via the online environment and resources.”

Lynne Davies, innovation and business development manager at One North East, said NETPark Net would be a catalyst for improving the process of getting new products and services to market and boost the region’s economy.

NETPark, based in Sedgefield, County Durham, houses a range of cutting-edge companies working in sectors such as plastic electronics, nano and micro technology, software, photonics, microelectronics,