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Gateshead’s Advantex secures £500k worth of new business

Work to provide IT services for a North East car dealership is among new contract wins worth in excess of £500k for fast growing Gateshead firm Advantex Network Solutions Ltd.

The firm, one of the region’s leading suppliers of IT and communications services, has been working for the region’s most successful Peugeot dealership Simon Bailes Peugeot, across the company’s four sites in Northallerton, Guisborough and Stockton.

The contract has included a major upgrade to the dealerships’ PC technology network as well as a new Internet infrastructure and enhanced secure Wi-Fi connectivity for staff and visitors.

Advantex has already installed internet-based telephony and data cabling but has won this second phase of work after proposing a proactive solution to further improve services.

Advantex’s head of IT John Prescott said: “This exciting project will see touchscreen PCs installed and connected in their showrooms to enable customers to interactively select and build their own cars.

“The showrooms will be securely connected together to allow the Simon Bailes Peugeot teams to better communicate with each other, allowing staff to flexibly work anywhere with access to all their emails and documents.”

A third phase of work will see the expansion of the existing internet-based phone services (VoIP) to the Northallerton showroom and the ability to call from site to site to reduce telecom costs and provide reliable and fast communications for the company.

Elsewhere, a deal has been won with Prudhoe-based manufacturers and suppliers of unlicensed medicines The Specials Laboratory. Internet Protocol (IP) cameras, telecommunications, call recording, and ICT support services are among the systems being upgraded by Advantex over the next three years – the firm will also be providing an on-going Internet connectivity and security.

Owners of the hotel and restaurant Jesmond Dene House are also investing in a three-year IT programme for their St. Mary’s Inn site, which is under refurbishment at Stannington, Northumberland.

There, Advantex is installing a new IT infrastructure and IP telecommunications system, which it will also manage as part of an on-going service and maintenance agreement.

The contracts are the latest success for Advantex, which is looking to boost current turnover of £4 million by 20% in the next year and expand its workforce of 45 people as work starts to ramp-up in the coming months.

The firm is already targeting further growth on the back of this and another recent contract to supply IT services to several schools across Wearside, Tyneside and Teesside.

Managing director, Simon Bailes, said: “We’re currently undergoing a period of development and investing heavily in our operations systems so that we can continually provide the highest levels of customer service.

“Advantex is helping us to do exactly that and has been exceptionally proactive in developing our systems.

“This latest investment will allow us to move forward with our growth plans across our four sites and help to secure our capacity for growth and expansion as we ramp up to meet customer demand for new cars over the next few years.”

Director Stephen O’Connell said: “These and other contract wins have seen the value of using us as a single source supplier of state-of-the-art technology and services.

“Our success has been achieved through sheer hard work, investing in skilled people and an on-going commitment to providing clients with a high quality, cost effective and proactive service.”

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