A FLEDGLING timber frame manufacturer is on the verge of signing two deals, worth £2m, that will double its turnover and workforce by next year. Billingham company Datum is in “advanced talks” with two housing associations on Tyneside and Teesside to deliver 200 bungalows and houses by 2009. According to Datum founder Simon Bliss, the deals will be worth £2m over two years and will see the company increase its workforce from 12 to 24 by next spring. Annual sales are set to rise from £1m last year to £2.5m this year and reach £5m by 2010. Mr Bliss said: “The deals will be signed early next year and we’ll be taking on more production and design staff.” Established last April, Datum makes timber frame panels for erecting on-site. The company’s portfolio includes timber frame houses, flats, doctors’ surgeries, hotels, nursing homes and sheltered accommodation. Housing associations are registered social landlords – government-funded bodies that provide homes for those who cannot afford to buy them. Mr Bliss said: “RSLs are funded by the Government on an annual basis and their success in getting projects built allows them more funding the following year. Their challenge to us was to look at more cost-effective ways of building.” Mr Bliss said Datum had partnerships worth £1.5m with three regional development companies. The company, based in Billingham’s Cowpen Lane Industrial Estate, was created by Mr Bliss and his wife Sandy after they moved to the North-East from the Lake District. Mr Bliss, a former estate agent, was working as sales director of a North-East timber frame business when he realised the sector was relatively untapped in the region. Originally from London, he headed North in the 1980s after he and his wife both turned their backs on promising media careers. Mr Bliss was a London-based photographer who specialised in capturing punk rock bands such as The Clash. His wife was an art director who oversaw photo shoots with the likes of Duran Duran and Depeche Mode. In establishing the business, the couple received extensive public sector backing from Tees Valley Regeneration, Stockton Borough Council and Business Link Tees Valley. The firm also worked closely with the North-East Productivity Alliance to improve its efficiency and meet the increasing demand of its customers. | 
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