Aycliffe Fabrications reflect on ten years since “In Our Image” and look forward to an exciting future


For many people entering Aycliffe Business Park, the stunning head structure at the A1 entrance “In Our Image” has become an iconic symbol representing not only the park but the many companies situated on the business park.

In June, “In Our Image” is ten years old. Who could have predicted ten years ago that the structure would be adopted by the business park to represent the local business community?

For Aycliffe Fabrications, who were commissioned to manufacture the stunning piece of art, it has become a piece of artwork they are proud to be associated with. It also represents a ten-year journey of success through to the present day of expansion and the announcement of record sales.

In 2015, Christine Bewley took over as sole owner and Managing Director at Aycliffe Fabrications. With a dedication to making the company one of the best small companies in the area, she has focused on making it more efficient, investing in staff and new technology.

Christine said: “Although I took over as sole owner in 2015, I have been with the business for over 30 years and was a key member of the team involved in the manufacture and installation of “In Our Image”. It was an exciting and stressful time ensuring the structure was manufactured to specification and the artist's requirements, then transported to site and erected. The satisfaction we experienced was overwhelming and still is every day I drive past.

Shortly after the installation of “In Our Image”, recession gripped the economy, and we experienced a difficult few years. It was due to our established customer relationships, dedicated workforce and reputation for quality, service and reliability that we were able to fight through the recession and flourish again. It’s great to be able to say that we are still working with our very first customer!”

By 2016 Christine had recruited a Business Manager, Katie Flanagan into the business to play a pivotal role within the management team, providing a strong commercial lead for the business focusing on achieving efficiency and growth. Katie also introduced a new marketing strategy to raise the awareness of Aycliffe Fabrications across the region and within key industry sectors.

The team further expanded in 2018 with the introduction of a new apprentice, Matthew Brown, in a move to ensure the skills and craftsmanship within the company were passed on to build the company for the future.

2019 will see their Senior Tradesman John Flanagan celebrate 25 years with the company and in 2020, Colin Henderson, Technical and Estimating Manager and the first Aycliffe Fabrications apprentice will celebrate 40 years’ service. Chris Parkin, another Senior Tradesman, has been with the company 20 years confirming their long history of retaining quality people.

Christine continues: “Our success is a testament to our staff commitment, skills and experience. My main objective has always been to invest in the business and our people, which we have done over the past few years, and will continue to do. We carry out highly specialist work, therefore, all our employees have served an apprenticeship and are Construction Skills Certification Scheme accredited.”

The Company has opened up new opportunities for both new and existing customers with the investment in an Ermaksan press brake and the delivery of a new Swift-Cut plasma CNC machine as well as other new equipment. They have also invested heavily in health and safety requirements across the company. Dave Mann, Production Manager, is NEBOSH qualified and ensures they continue with their recognised high standards.

The local community is also close to Aycliffe Fabrication’s heart. They have worked closely with the UTC South Durham since it opened in 2015 offering work placements, apprenticeship experience, student projects and student presentations to help the students understand and experience workplace life. They are also on the UTC Employer Group representing small businesses, helping SME’s and the UTC work better together.

Indirectly, Aycliffe Fabrications is supporting its local business community by outsourcing key functions such as health and safety and by increasing its own supply chain.

The workforce at Aycliffe Fabrications has and will always be at the heart of the company. The commitment shown by everyone since Christine took over the company has meant they have gone from strength to strength. It has contributed towards turning a company with negative equity into a strong, profitable business with a very positive balance sheet.

As a manufacturer of bespoke metal products in mild steel, stainless steel, aluminium and Cor-ten, Aycliffe Fabrications service a wide range of customers from large-scale manufacturers through to local authorities and schools. Their core business is within factory maintenance, security, safety and artistic commissions.

Increasingly, the business is becoming more involved in industrial work within factories, providing everything from platforms, barriers, guards and maintenance. They continue to be involved in artistic commissions, their most recent being a Cor-ten seat commissioned by artist Jane Crawford to commemorate the WW1 heroes ‘The Bradford Brothers’.

As a full-service company, they handle every stage of a project from the site visit, quotation, drawings, quality manufacture, delivery and installation. With a skilled long-serving workforce, they have the skillset and knowledge to provide solutions to various safety, security and factory maintenance problems and the technical ability to undertake challenging prototype work. The company takes pride in its reputation for high-quality work and excellent customer service.

The stunning ‘In Our Image’ in transit The stunning ‘In Our Image’ in transit Ermaksan Press Brake Ermaksan Press Brake Swift-Cut Plasma Swift-Cut Plasma In Our Image situated at the A1 entrance to Aycliffe Business Park ‘In Our Image’ situated at the A1 entrance to Aycliffe Business Park Colin Henderson and Matthew Brown, Aycliffe Fabrication’s first and most recent apprentices. Colin Henderson and Matthew Brown, Aycliffe Fabrication’s first and most recent apprentices.

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Aycliffe Fabrications have been supplying high quality tanks to Oberlin Filter Ltd for 13 years. Oberlin recognize the importance of developing a good business relationship with suppliers to achieve a constant high quality service. All the personnel at Aycliffe Fabrications provide a comprehensive quality service.

- Alistair Jameson, Managing Director, Oberlin Filters (UK) Ltd

Having known of the reliability and quality of Aycliffe Fabrications work by previously consulting with them on various projects I was more than happy on this occasion to ask them to undertake the fabrication of my sculpture. It was a pleasure to work with them in every detail of the work, where they provided a quality service and I look forward to working with them again in the future.

- Colin Rose, Artist, The Swirl

I've used Aycliffe Fabrications on several occasions over the past 8 years. I cannot fault the entire service, ranging from design to execution and installation. The workmanship is of the highest order and whether the job has been to fit bars to windows or create an entire new gateway I have always been 100% happy with the work carried out. The finished work is always of the highest quality and will undoubtedly last for decades.

- Liam Cawley, Operations Leader, Whitworth Park School & Sixth Form College

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CHAS Certified CSCS Certified

Aycliffe Fabrications are proud to be certified in the above.