Historic North East firm Cleveland Bridge faces imminent closure
Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen tells us this sad situation could have been avoided but the whole thing has been mismanaged.
A Darlington firm which was founded in 1877 looks set to close its doors for good.
Cleveland Bridge which helped to design the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Tyne Bridge and others landmarks around the globe went into administration in July but no viable buyer has been found.
The company once boasted a work force over 200 people but now around 140 staff members face redundancy. Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen says it's a dark day for region:
"It's truly sad day for Darlington and the region as a whole as Clevleand Bridge looks likely to cease operations later this month. 200 jobs look to have left the region but we must do all we can support the employees and their families throughout this difficult time.
We are creating new job on Teesside, I know of a number of businesses that are looking at the workers of Cleveland Bridge and I could see them finding work in other sectors of our region. So hopefully we can see as brighter future for those who have been negatively effected."
Administrators confirmed last night they would continue to look for a buyer but the company is preparing to end production by the 20th of September.
The company is ran by the Saudi Arabian Al Rushaid Group, but projects both in the UK and internationally have stalled due the pandemic.
Mr. Houchen went on to tell us he believe mismanagement if the main reason why we're seeing this historic firm looking set for closure:
"Cleveland bridge is a fantastic company and ultimately it's been brought to it's knees by a disinterested, callous and detached owner. A perfect storm has sadly lead to this situation being salvageable. The management group waited till the last minute to call in the administrators, it's made the job since then extremely difficult.
Despite having an order book stretching forward into the end of next year, every passing moment placed more pressure on them contracts and ultimately they'll never be completed. Really poor senior management, a disinterested and an ill managed process has lead us to a situation where we really didn't need to be"
To hear more on this story listen to Metro Radio 97.1/DAB, TFM Radio 96.6/DAB and Greatest Hits Radio North East's DAB news bulletins at the top of the hour this afternoon.