Mayor of Tees Valley, Ben Houchen onsite at the Freeport with Volvo SMTGB and Hall Construction

Ben Houchen, Mayor of the Tees Valley, gives Peter Haddock an exclusive interview the morning after his re-election, as he gets back to work promoting the 'Biggest site in Western Europe.'
They talk job creation in the thousands for the #construction phase and witness the delivery of the impressive Volvo Construction Equipment EC950E excavator from dealer SMT GB.
With access to the biggest and deepest river on the east coast, Hall Construction Services Limited is on-site preparing the very tough ground for a huge GE wind turbine blade factory to be built.
Ben: "We lost over 3000 jobs when the steelworks closed, but thanks to our Freeport status, we can save businesses 10's millions of pounds when they build facilities on the site.
"That makes us very competitive, and by attracting global players like GE, we bring good sustainable jobs and careers to the region. Not just in the factories that will be built, but in the supply chains that will support them.
"For example, In the construction phase, we see local businesses like Hall Construction, working with another local employer SMT GB. They have brought one of the largest and most advanced pieces of plant onto the site to support its swift remediation and ultimately a better life for those living in Teeside."
Ben was also able to witness a trial of the latest all-electric Volvo L25 wheel loader on the site.
For more information on this and the Volvo EC90E visit www.smtgb.co.uk