Tesco set for Bishop Auckland (From The Northern Echo)

Tesco set for Bishop Auckland

6:09pm Monday 15th March 2010 in

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SUPERMARKET Tesco confirmed yesterday they are building a store on the site of a North-East factory, creating 400 jobs.

Factory owners Ebac say the move will also secure the jobs of their 220-strong workforce at Bishop Auckland and give them a modern new plant where they can develop new products..

The site, which is between Tindale Crescent and St Helen Auckland, already has outline planning permission but Tesco have now submitted plans for one of its first eco stores in the region with 50,000sq ft of floor space, a café and petrol station and parking for 550 cars.

Tesco hope it will open before the end of the year, completing a ‘full set’ for Bishop Auckland of all the major supermarket companies.

Ebac, who manufacture dehumidifiers and water coolers mainly for export, want to keep their base in the area but need better facilities than its current 60-year-old site.

Founder and chairman John Elliott said: "The economic situation has never been more difficult but a great team effort meant we achieved our sales target for 2009 and the improvements we can make by moving to a better site augers very well for the future."

"Our core business, dehumidifiers and water coolers, is good but to grow the business we need to develop other areas, notably heat pumps, and we can’t do that properly at our current site. Heat pumps are a growing market – environmentally-friendly and economically beneficial to use.

"We are already using the technology available and working on product development to make them even more competitive."

Tesco corporate affairs manager Doug Wilson said: "The store will provide greater choice for shoppers and 400 full and part-time jobs.

"It also means the future of Ebac, a real local success story and one of the area’s biggest private employer, is secured."