Retired businessman offers rent-free, equipped factory (From The Northern Echo)

Retired businessman offers rent-free, equipped factory

12:43pm Wednesday 14th April 2010 in North-East Business News By Owen McAteer

A RETIRED entrepreneur has offered a free factory and machinery with the aim of getting a plastics business back up and running.

Andy Eavis is not only offering his last remaining County Durham factory unit rent-free for a year, but also free use of a £250,000 hydraulic plastic moulding press.

Until January last year, he leased the unit to plastics component manufacturer Thompson Technik (Newcastle), but the company went into administration and 65 people lost their jobs.

After that, he provided one factory unit on the site – Dubmire Industrial Estate, in Houghton-le-Spring, Wearside, rent-free since September and is expecting a second to be occupied soon.

Now he is offering the third, which comes with equipment.

He said: “I have been in the industry for the past 30 odd years. I sold my company about three years ago, then the recession came and the company I sold it to went into administration and left the factory unused.

“It seems to me a great shame that this should be lying idle and I believe in a year or two it could be a really profitable business again.”

“I also have properties in the South, so I have a reasonable income, that is how I am able to make this offer.”

Mr Eavis said if a business was given a helping hand to get up and running it would then be able to start paying rent once it started turning a profit, as well as creating jobs for the former workers.

He said: “I would think that in the short term it could take on 20 to 30 people and, in a year or two, as many as 50.

“There is an excellent local workforce and they are very hard working. For someone willing to work hard, there are tremendous rewards.”

Until 2008, the factory produced large plastic components and vehicle parts, including the bonnets of Caterpillar trucks and trailers.

Mr Eavis said: “With the UK slowly emerging from recession, manufacturing growing and local firms such as Nissan and CAT finding their order books filling up again, I think the time is ideal for an entrepreneur to take on this opportunity.

I’m willing to offer not only a year’s free rent, but also offer a free press to the right person.

“There are only a small number of companies in the world that operate this plastic moulding process and only two volume producers in the UK – both in the south.

“What’s more, there’s an excellent, experienced local workforce who know exactly how to operate the machinery and who are very keen.”

Contact Mr Eavis at andy@andyeavis.com