page_title: North East England
section_title: County Durham businesses
hierarchical_section_title: North East England / Businesses / County Durham businesses
caption_attribution_description: Tyne Bridge and the Sage Gateshead
context_page_description: North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of NUTS for statistical purposes. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and the area of the former county of Cleveland in North Yorkshire. The region is home to three large conurbations: Teesside, Wearside, and Tyneside, the last of which is the largest of the three and the eighth most populous conurbation in the United Kingdom. There are three cities in the region: Newcastle upon Tyne, the largest, Sunderland, also in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear; and Durham. Other significant towns include Barnard Castle, Berwick Upon Tweed, Darlington, Gateshead, Hartlepool, Hexham, Middlesbrough, South Shields, Stockton-on-Tees, Washington and Yarm.
context_section_description: Phileas Fogg snacks are made by the United Biscuits subsidiary KP Snacks in Consett on the Number One Industrial Estate. Nearby CAV Aerospace make ice protection systems for aircraft. Thomas Swan, an international chemicals company, is in Crookhall. The Explorer Group, who own Elddis, make caravans at Delves. The LG Philips Displays cathode ray tube factory at Carrville, Durham was the second largest employer in the north east after Nissan, before the company went bankrupt in 2006. Northumbrian Water is in Pity Me, Framwellgate Moor. Esh Group is a large construction company based south of Durham in Bowburn. Schmitz Cargobull UK is the UK's biggest trailer manufacturer, notably for refrigerated trailers, and is based at Harelaw near the Pontop Pike mast.
  Black & Decker and Electrolux had large factories at Spennymoor, but moved production overseas. Thorn Lighting of the Zumtobel Lighting Group are on the Green Lane Industrial Estate at Spennymoor. Since 2007 RF Micro Devices (RFMD) have made electronic wafers on the Heighington Lane Business Park at Newton Aycliffe, on the site formerly owned by Fujitsu. Slightly to the north, TKA Tallent make automotive axles and chassis components. Husqvarna-Flymo, formerly owned by Electrolux, are on the Aycliffe Industrial Estate, where the world's first hover mower was built in 1965. In West Auckland, Potters Europe make road reflectors. GlaxoSmithKline has a site at Barnard Castle that makes pharmaceuticals.
  NSK make ball bearings on the North West Industrial Estate at Peterlee, and GWA International subsidiary Gliderol UK build garage doors. Mecaplast Group UK produce automotive components on the Low Hills Industrial Estate in Easington Village near Peterlee. Reckitt Benckiser make cough syrup and indigestion remedies at Shotton, near Peterlee until 2014. Walkers Crisps have a site north of Peterlee.
  Darlington stayed relatively un-industrialised throughout the 20th century, with finance and manufacturing as the main elements of its economy. Darlington today is recognised primarily for its railways, as the first steam-hauled public passenger railway in the world was constructed through the town. Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company, which is responsible for the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Tyne Bridge, is still based in Darlington. The Orange mobile network provider, Argos and Aldi, and the American engineering company Cummins all have sites in Darlington. The town centre continues to develop into a successful retail hub for the region, and a large new £110m shopping centre, 'The Oval', is under construction. The national safeguarding authority has set up its national office here. The Student Loans Company has begun operations in Lingfield Point, and Magnet Kitchens is in Lingfield east of town.
caption: Tyne Bridge and the Sage Gateshead
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