North East Automotive Alliance achieves ‘landmark’ member milestone

The North East Automotive Alliance (NEAA) has achieved a new milestone in its member base.

The organisation, launched three years ago to support the region’s £11bn-a-year automotive sector, welcomed Howell Technology Group (HTG) as its 300th member.

South Tyneside-based IT consultancy HTG provides digital workspaces, cloud services, virtualisation, networking and IT security for a range of industries, including the automotive sector.

CEO Graham Wight has a background in automotives, having started his career in 1991 with Nissan Yamato (now Unipres).

Graham said: “We operate globally from our North East base and can support manufacturing companies and supply chains linked to the automotive sector at every stage of their business journey.

“The automotive sector looks to be entering a tremendously exciting era and is very important to the region, so the NEAA provides the perfect platform to network with other members, forge new partnerships and keep up to date with any developments in the sector.”

NEAA chief exec Paul Butler commented: “We are delighted to welcome HTG to the NEAA.

“To see the cluster reach this landmark in such a short period of time is remarkable and a clear indication the organisation provides valuable support for our automotive sector.”

“We are entering a very exciting and challenging period of technological advancements both within the vehicles we produce and the factories that produce the vehicles and component parts.”

The North East is currently home to more than 240 businesses operating in the automotive sector.

The region produces around 30% of the UK’s passenger cars and 20% of Europe’s new electric vehicles.

Earlier this month, the NEAA appointed the Nissan Sunderland Plant deputy MD as its new chairman.