Companies are being urged to Make Their Mark by entering Aycliffe Business Park’s fourth annual awards competition.

Make Your Mark will single out the business park’s shining stars and recognise outstanding performances from the last year during a special event at the Xcel Centre, which is now being held on Thursday May 24.

The event organisers, Aycliffe Business Park Community (ABPC), have slightly changed the format of Mark Your Mark after listening to feedback from businesses, while changing the date to give firms extra time to enter the awards.

The 11 categories for Make Your Mark remain the same, with awards available for Engineering and Manufacturing, Apprentice of the Year, Apprenticeships & Training, Innovation, Service, Export, Newcomer, Small Business, Employer of the Year, Heart of the Community and Company of the Year. As usual, an independent panel of judges will decide on 10 awards.

ABPC chair Kerina Clark said: “We’re again looking forward to the calendar event of the year for Aycliffe Business Park residents.

“Make Your Mark has brought to the fore some fantastic success stories about many of our companies and we hope to see more of them come forward to enter this year’s competition.

“After listening to feedback, we have slightly changed the format of the evening to make it slightly less formal and allow more time for networking and socialising.

“But ultimately the main thrust of the event remains the same – to shout from the rooftops about all our great businesses here and to jointly celebrate our success stories.”

The Make Your Mark 2016/17 winners included PWS (Company of the Year), Hitachi Rail Europe (Apprenticeships), Arlington Automotive (Employer of the Year), Premo Fabrications (Engineering & Manufacturing), Stiller Warehousing & Distribution (Innovation), Primex Plastics (Export), Beaumont Grounds Maintenance (Small Business of the Year), Trident Manor (Service Business), UTC South Durham (Newcomer), Ben Thubron, Baltic Training (Apprentice of the Year) and DISC (Heart of the Community).

The deadline to enter the 2017/18 Make Your Mark is Thursday April 12, and businesses can enter easily and quickly online at www.aycliffeawards.co.uk

Tickets for the evening itself on May 24 are priced just £17.50 each, which includes welcome drinks on arrival and canapés, are also available online, while sponsorship packages are available from www.aycliffeawards.co.uk or by emailing hello@aycliffeawards.co.uk