A Government minister has praised the “impressive” efforts of one of County Durham’s biggest employers during a recent visit to the company’s site.
Mike Freer MP, who was appointed Exports Minister in 2021, paid a visit to global automotive manufacturer Gestamp on Aycliffe Business Park in Newton Aycliffe, at the end of last week.
During his visit, Mr Freer heard from Gestamp’s local and international managers on his tour and learned about the firm’s ambitious expansion plans, its investment in state-of-the-art research and development facilities and its track record on training young local talent.
As a multinational company which specialises in the design, development and manufacture of highly engineered metal components for the automotive industry, Gestamp exports almost 70 per cent of the products made in Aycliffe to Europe, the US, China and South America.
The firm, with its global HQ in Spain, has invested heavily in new technology and innovative manufacturing processes at its Aycliffe site, including a new R&D facility, and has also appointed an employee wellbeing lead.
