ENGINEER JNP Group is marking the 10th anniversary of the opening of its Teesside office by announcing an expansion.

The consulting engineering company was the first business tenant to move into UK Steel Enterprise’s multi-million pound Innovation Centre on the Queens Meadow Business Park, Hartlepool when it opened in 2005. After a number of moves and expansions, it will now occupy more than six times the space that it did a decade ago.

Colin Cook returned to his home town to open the Teesside office for the Buckinghamshire-based consulting engineers and the office has expanded steadily since then, working with clients from Tata Steel to Yuill Homes.

JNP Group was appointed by UK Steel Enterprise as the civil and structural engineers for the Hub Two extension at the Innovation Centre that was built in 2011. Now the company is expanding its own offices into Hub Two, as two additional engineers boost the team to six to help meet demand from existing and new clients.

“The Centre has been an ideal place for us to start up and grow in Teesside,“ said Mr Cook. “The facilities are first class and the transport links have been a plus as we work right across the North- East.”

Senior Partner Alan Brackley said: “The current upturn in the construction sector is obviously helping us and the demand from commercial clients is strong in the North-East, but we believe that JNP Group’s decades of expertise is a strong factor in our growth.

“We have a reputation for providing innovative engineering solutions and our emphasis on cost-effectiveness and quality has brought us a very loyal client base and considerable new business from recommendations.”

Peter Taylor UK Steel Enterprise Area Manager said: “Our Centres are specifically designed to support businesses as they grow and it has been good to see JNP Group, our very first tenant in Hartlepool, doing so well. We naturally thought of them when we were developing our Hub Two extension and the team did an excellent job.”