Focus Dinner with Mike Matthews, Nifco

Then throw in the Mike Matthews factor and suddenly the apparently ordinary becomes extraordinary.

His impact on Nifco UK has earned him the title of North East Business Executive of the Year and an MBE, as well as the respect and admiration of entrepreneurs and business leaders across the region.

Thanks to Mike, Nifco UK is not only among the highest profile and most exciting businesses in the North East but is also one of the fastest growing with turnover expected to increase by £25m to £75m in the next two years.

A time served tool maker, Mike was appointed managing director of Nifco UK in 2008, making him the only non-Japanese member of the company’s international board. He became European operations officer in 2012.

At this intimate dinner he will chart his journey from a Darlington council estate and the shop floor to his position managing five plants and 2,500 employees in Europe and a further 500 at the company’s highly efficient and productive factories in Eaglescliffe.

A former apprentice himself, he is a great advocate of apprenticeships and skills training, working closely with SEMTA, the organisationresponsible for developing engineering skills for the future of the UK's most advanced sectors, and with Teesside University on skills development strategy.

He also finds time to be vice chairman of the North East Chamber of Commerce, a role that allows him to fly the flag for the region’s manufacturing sector.

Nifco UK is targeting £100m turnover by 2020 yet challenges remain, not least survival amid swingeingrationalisationby the biggest names in the automotive sector.

Join Mike and like-minded entrepreneurs at this enjoyable dinner to hear more about his personal success story and Nifco’s ambitious plans for the future.