News: Zen Golf putting success in the hands of the crowd

Innovative firms in the Sheffield city region are working together on a golf putter that uses the very latest in advanced technology and are calling on the crowd to help them get to market.

The project is the brain child of Sheffield-based Zen Golf, which has joined forces with Performance Engineered Solutions, based on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham and Newburgh Engineering, that has a base at Templeborough in Rotherham.

Zen Golf has teamed up with Bloodhound SSC, whose mission is to build the first car to break 1,000 mph, and will use the same engineering excellence and spirit of adventure by creating the "most awesome golf putter of all time." Newburgh is a high-tech precision engineering sub-contractor and is a project sponsor of Bloodhound, completing Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) gearbox casings for use in the car.

The team is already using its expertise to create a driver to attempt to break the long-standing world carry record of 408 yards 10 inches. The new golf club is being called the Bloodhound Driver after the car.

The development of the putter will see the bezel set into the sole of the putter manufactured from the same aluminium used to build the wheels for the supersonic car. It will be combined with the company's "Zen Wave technology" which has been developed alongside training techniques to help golfers understand the strengths and weaknesses of their own putting technique.

Research on the Reduced Dimple Error (RDE) Wave face technology was carried out at Sheffield Hallam University and PES (Performance Engineered Solutions) helped with the concept designs and brainstorming the putter design and proposed many variations.

Prototypes have been made with the finished putters set to be manufactured at Newburgh in Rotherham. Zen has turned to leading crowdfunding source, Kickstarter, to raise some of the finance from fans, golfers and engineers alike.

Nick Middleton, founder of Zen Oracle Golf, said: "We aim to achieve an exclusive Limited Edition Zen Bloodhound Putter created using the exact same materials and technology from the most adventurous and expensive car ever produced. This unique putter will showcase the next generation impact technology which delivers perfect launch conditions; while the training aperture will be constructed from the same unique alloy developed for the car wheels. Together, these will be fused into into a distinctive Bloodhound styled body to create the ultimate putter that is both elegant as it will also deliver superior performance to match.

"Each putter will have the signatures of Wing Commander Andy Green OBE (Bloodhound pilot) and Richard Noble OBE (Project Director) engraved on the putter head to confirm the authenticity of this highly collectable masterpiece of golf engineering.

"We want to create 1000 putters, one for each mile per hour of the target record attempt. In a similar vein to Bloodhound, Zen Works are looking to deliver their project through means of crowd funding. And, the first 100 units to be produced will therefore act as a catalyst for our mission as well as bestow particular significance for the collectors."

The project is another to be developed at Think On!, an ideas incubator that develops promising concepts into reality. Chairman, Vincent Middleton, is also the chair of Newburgh Engineering. Vincent's aim is to create multiple sustainable businesses created around innovation and entrepreneurship to create wealth, jobs and an excellent reputation for the Sheffield region by providing the infrastructure around every business idea.

Zen Golf website
Newburgh Engineering website

Images: Zen Golf

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News: AMRC engineers switch focus to unmanned aircraft

Engineers at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing in Rotherham have successfully printed a 1.5m-wide prototype unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for a research project looking at 3D printing of complex designs.

Based on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, the AMRC is a world leading model partnership between industry and academia that focuses on advanced machining and materials research for aerospace and other high-value manufacturing sectors. It employs around 200 highly qualified researchers and engineers from around the globe, who have worked on manufacturing challenges for likes of Airbus, Boeing and GKN Aerospace.

Small fixed-wing remote-controlled aircraft – often known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – have a host of applications such as aerial surveys, photography and environmental monitoring. Many different designs are already available, but most are expensive and time-consuming to produce. For some important applications, such as helping search for survivors in disaster areas, UAVs need to be quicker, cheaper and easier to make and fly.

Engineers in the AMRC with Boeing's new Design & Prototyping Group set themselves the challenge of proving that a viable UAV could be made using relatively simple additive manufacturing technologies.

The AMRC team chose a fused deposition modelling (FDM) technology and aimed to design each part of the airframe structure so that it can be printed without any need for support material.

John Mann, development engineer at the AMRC, who created a number of conceptual models for the project, said: "The whole airframe was designed specifically for additive manufacture. The optimum configuration for the diverse requirements of aerodynamic performance and FDM manufacture appeared to be the blended-wing body. This type of design has a number of advantages and, most importantly for this project, lends itself to FDM technology due to the smooth leading and trailing edges over each half-span."

Designed specifically to be 3D printed, the structure took 24 hours to manufacture. Before design for additive manufacture optimisation, this airframe would take over 120 hours to produce.

The final airframe design comprised just nine parts – two wings, two elevons, two spars, two wing end fences and a central spine – all of which were manufactured using the FDM process without any support material. The fewer number of parts also helps reduce the time for manufacture.

The nine airframe parts were designed to clip together and the finished aircraft has a wingspan of 1.5 metres, weighs under 2kg, and can be easily split into two halves around the central spine for easy transport. The last challenge for this proof-of-concept project was to show it could fly – so, after fitting out the airframe as a radio-controlled glider, the team took a trip out into the Peak District.

Dr Garth Nicholson, who led the project, said: "Following successful flight testing, we are working to incorporate blended winglets and twin ducted fan propulsion. We are also investigating full on-board data logging of flight parameters, autonomous operation by GPS, and control by surface morphing technology. Concepts for novel ducted fan designs are also being investigated."

AMRC website

Images: AMRC

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News: Waverley sales exceed expectations

Harworth Estates, the company created to realise the property assets of what was UK Coal, has helped Coalfield Resources post a profit of £12.9m before tax for the year ended 28 December 2013.

Recovery plans for Doncaster-based UK Coal were put in place in May 2011 following big losses and a large pension deficit. Following a serious fire at one of its mines, administrators were called in to save the mining division, with the remaining focus of the new company targeting the realisation of its property assets through the Harworth Estates Property Group Limited.

Based on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, Harworth Estates is one of the largest landowners in the UK with access to over 30,000 acres of land.

In its annual report, Coalfield Resources, which owns 24.9 per cent of Harworth Estates, reported that the brownfield developer has performed strongly in its first year of trading as an independent property development company. Net assets increased to £235m from £222m in 2012 on a property portfolio value of £278m (2012 - £260m).

A return of £33m was delivered on the opening property portfolio of £260m, with £24.5m from increases in valuation at year end, £8.3m by way of profit on its £19m of asset sales in the year, and £1.4m from operating activities.

The Waverley development in Rotherham is the biggest brownfield site development in South Yorkshire and covers 741 acres, an area bigger than Sheffield city centre.

Over a development phase of 20 years, the site will see the establishment of a new community of around 4,000 homes, shops, restaurants, schools, leisure facilities, health and community centres and parks. It is also home to the AMP, the UK's premier advanced manufacturing technology park.

The report revealed that Harworth has benefited from a recovery of interest in the property sector and has sold further land to housebuilders at Waverley, enough for 238 houses, and that "sales to date have exceeded management's expectations." Taylor Wimpey, Barratt Homes and Harron Homes began work on the first 250 homes in 2012.

Harworth will release further parcels of land for later development phases and the 500th home at Waverley will be built by the end of 2014, accompanied by new road infrastructure and community facilities.

Other highlights in the year at Waverley include Harworth being provisionally awarded over £10m in government infrastructure funding that would enable around 1.2m sq ft of employment floorspace. It plans to use it to provide essential utility infrastructure such as new roads and a water and waste water pipe network.

Harworth is also set to receive a slice of the government's Local Infrastructure Fund to accelerate the housing development on the Waverley site.

After the end of reporting period, a funding deal with Rotherham Council was finalised to enable construction to begin on the R-evolution industrial development on the AMP.

Jonson Cox, chairman of Coalfield Resources, said: "Harworth Estates had a strong first year of trading as an independent property development company, generating a net 6% increase in net asset value to £235m, repaying £22m of its inherited bank debt and investing £10m in its land assets.

"While we are aware of the challenges inherent in moving forward from our mining heritage, the Board of Coalfield Resources remains confident of the ability of Harworth Estates to deliver and grow shareholder value."

Harworth Estates website

Images: Harworth Estates

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News: Rolls-Royce Rotherham facility set to double in capacity

The manufacturing capacity of the new Rolls-Royce facility in Rotherham is set to double to 200,000 turbine blades per year once the ground-breaking manufacturing techniques have been validated.

The Advanced Blade Casting Facility (ABCF) is currently being kitted out at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham. The multi million pound facility will produce a specific portfolio of civil aerospace parts, such as turbine blades, using advanced manufacturing techniques and an increased level of automation.

The new foundry will be used for Rolls-Royce's pioneering work in the manufacture of single crystal (SX) turbine blades. George Durrant, the technical lead for Rolls-Royce at the ABCF, discussed the new, high-productivity manufacturing processes that will create these important and highly complex aero engine components at a recent meeting of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) in Sheffield.

The Rotherham factory will manufacture advanced turbine blade castings for the company's most modern, high-thrust engines. There are over 65 in every iconic Trent engine.

The turbine extracts energy from the hot gas stream received from the combustor in high-thrust aero engines. Turbine blades convert the energy stored within the gas into kinetic energy. It is required to withstand centrifugal loads of up to ten tonnes while operating at temperatures in excess of the melting point of the alloy. One HP blade lasts five million flying miles before being replaced.

Durrant explained how making a blade as a single crystal using a modified version of the directional solidification technique eliminates grain boundaries, a source of weakness in a high stress application, and single crystal casting, exotic alloying additions and protective coatings have enabled Rolls-Royce to increase metal temperatures by approximately 300°C over the last 50 years, a figure that can be doubled when the temperature of the gas stream itself is considered.

Speaking at the event, Durrant said: "Rolls-Royce has a £71 billion order book, with around £60 billion coming from our civil aerospace division. Our Airbus XWB program is a FTSE size business on its own.

"Fuel consumption is now the biggest driver of engine design. If you can increase the heat in the turbine, you can increase the efficiency, and we are working on new components that can operate at increasing pressure ratios and increasing temperatures. The SX blades are crucial and lowering the cost of their production is the challenge."

Rolls-Royce chose to invest in a new facility as it needed more than one location for the production of its HP and IP turbine blades. It selected Rotherham due to the AMP and the close links already forged with the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing on the site. It was also a condition of the government funded research that a location with a legacy of heavy industry was selected, creating 180 jobs in the area.

Rolls-Royce has been working closely with the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry (part of the government's High Value Manufacturing Catapult Centre along with the AMRC in Rotherham) to develop and optimise the enabling technologies.

All though reluctant to disclose the precise details, Durrant explained that the improvements include more automation and control with robots used in the casting process and the factory operating more like a modern automotive factory, with greater integration and intelligence.

With blades manufactured to tolerances of +/- 0.2mm, and from advanced alloys, measurement techniques at the ABCF are at the cutting edge. 3D structured light systems and computer tomography is being used to see inside the cast pieces to check that they are fit to fly.

As well as adding capacity and capability, the new ABCF is set address cost issues and vastly increase the yield of the casting process. Currently, for every 100 casts going through the process, one fifth can't be sold and are recycled. This is the magic number for high end manufacturers who are using alloys that are more expensive than silver.

Durrant added: "The new techniques are about not letting manufacturing limit design. The development of new alloys is slowing down and we recognised four years ago that SX is crucial to the aerospace industry."

Equipment is in place at the ABCF but only half of the 14,900 sq m factory is currently in use. Validation is taking place and parts will begin to be shipped this year. With an initial capacity of 100,000 blades per year, this is set to increase to 200,000 in 2016.

"The manufacturing process needs proving," concludes Durrant, "but it will happen."

Rolls-Royce website

Images: Harworth Estates

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News: Wilko and out?

Wilkinsons, the value general merchandise retailer, is planning to take a 20,000 sq ft unit at Parkgate Shopping in Rotherham, a move which would create new jobs but could lead to an uncertain future for its town centre store.

The Worksop-based High Street chain looks set to take the large unit that was vacated by electrical retailer, Comet, with a planning application recently submitted for new signage at the empty unit.

Comet appointed administrators in November 2012 and as Deloitte failed to find a buyer, the Rotherham store at Parkgate Shopping closed in December that year. It was amongst the last of the 236 stores to do so.

Wilkinsons has only recently had plans approved for the replacement of signs at Corporation Street as part of a national rebranding to "Wilko" but Tesco is set to move across from that side of town to a new larger store by the end of this year.

Some retailers like Boots, New Look, Argos, Poundworld and WH Smith operate from both locations, whilst others like Marks & Spencer and Dorothy Perkins have closed their Rotherham town centre stores since opening at Parkgate.

Wilkinsons press office is yet to respond to a request from Rothbiz regarding its plans for the town centre store.

The council has confirmed Forge Island as the preferred site for a town centre cinema and theatre development. The council has an option to buy the site for £1.5m when Tesco vacate and move across town to the site of former council buildings on Drummond Street. In preparation for redevelopment, the council acquired a number of properties on Corporation Street including the Riverside Precinct, Chantry Buildings and the former Lloyd's bank.

Since JK Wilkinson opened his first general store in Leicester in 1930, "the home of family value" has successfully grown to 374 stores but an expansion plan target of over 500 stores by 2012 was scaled back.

Serving an average of 4.5 million customers per week, Wilko sells a wide variety of products focusing on homewares, cleaning, DIY, health and beauty, pets and stationary.

With a mission to "deliver extraordinary everyday shopping in the heart of the community," Wilkinsons stores are more commonly found on the High Street in town centres and in shopping malls.

In the 53 weeks to February 2 2013, the retailer recorded sales of £1.53bn and pre-tax profits were £27.5m, a 21% increase on the previous year.

Owned by Hercules Unit Trust, which is advised by British Land and managed by Schroders, Parkgate Shopping is one of the largest retail parks in the UK, home to over 40 shops and attracting around seven million visitors a year. It is valued at over £100m to the trust via a subsidiary, the Rotherham Unit Trust.

Recent openings include fashion retailers USC and Blue Inc, alongside a Nike Factory Store. Supported by agents, Smith Young and Cushman & Wakefield, only one unit on the park remains empty.

Across the borough at Cortonwood Retail Park, an occupier may have been found for the unit vacated by Dreams when the bed retailer was bought out of administration in 2013. A planning application has been submitted for changes to the layout of the unit as the unnamed "potential occupier of unit 2 requires full mezzanine cover."

Wilkinsons website
Parkgate Shopping website

Images: Wilkinsons / Facebook

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News: Tata Steel welcomes energy measures

Tata Steel Europe has welcomed the measures to cut energy bills for manufacturers that were announced in the government's recent budget.

The Indian-owned steelmaker, that operates sites in Rotherham, has been leading the call for the government to create a level playing field when it comes to energy policy. Energy costs remain a significant element of the costs of the Foundation Industries such as steelmaking with evidence that they are higher than those facing competitors operating in other countries.

The government accepts the need to compensate these industries and announced plans to extend the compensation for energy intensive industries for the cost of the Carbon Price Floor (CPF) (a carbon tax) and EU emissions trading system to 2019-20. It is also set to introduce a new compensation scheme, to help energy intensive industries with higher electricity costs resulting from the renewables obligation and small-scale feed in tariffs for renewable generation, from 2016-17.

Karl Koehler, cief executive of Tata Steel's European operations (pictured, left), said: "The measures announced in the Budget to introduce relief against the rapidly rising costs of energy taxes, which pose a very real risk to Britain's foundation industries, are extremely welcome. The Government has listened to the concerns of the foundation industries by introducing a limit on these costs – particularly the Renewables Obligation – after they have peaked over the next two years.

"These measures are a clear and meaningful contribution to forging a more competitive and sustainable future for our UK steelmaking sites, which employ 18,000 people directly and several times that number indirectly. Such a contribution is vital in the face of European demand that remains well below pre-crisis levels. We will seek to work closely with the Government to secure EU approval for the measures quickly so that we can feel the impact of last week's announcements as soon as possible."

Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne MP (pictured, second left), added: "I want Britain to manufacture things so we build a resilient economy. So, listening to industry, at the Budget I announced a package to cut the cost of manufacturing, with particular support for our energy intensive industries worth £7 billion.

"I want to ensure our manufacturers are not priced out of international competition. I also want to give assurance to companies like Tata Steel and the 18,000 people working for them that this Government is on the side of the makers. Which is why I'm pleased that Tata Steel has welcomed the support in Budget – which they believe will help secure the competitive future of UK steelmaking."

Tata Steel Europe website

Images: HM Treasury

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News: Alkane's plans for Maltby pit

Alkane Energy plc, one of the UK's fastest growing independent power generators, is applying for planning permission for producing energy at the Maltby Colliery site in Rotherham.

The Nottinghamshire company operates mid-sized "gas to power" electricity plants providing both predictable and fast response capacity to the grid.

£6m in equity funding was raised to complete a £7.5m deal to buy coal mine methane (CMM) assets at Maltby from Hargreaves Services last year. Alkane is set to make a further payment of £2m to acquire additional site infrastructure assets six months after the mine shafts are satisfactorily sealed as part of the planned closure of Maltby Colliery. This is expected to occur by October 2014.

Maltby has reserves of an estimated 11.6 billion cubic feet of coal mine methane, which Alkane is already extracting and using to generate electricity. With eight CHP engines, the site has an existing installed capacity of 11.2MW and when it acquired the site, Alkane said that it hoped to expand CMM operations.

So far, The Maltby operations have been performing ahead of plan, taking Alkane's total group output to 192GWh, up 15% on 2012.

Underground operations ended in March 2013 at the Maltby site that occupies 500 acres and employed over 500 staff and contractors. It is the last coking coal mine left in the UK and produced both high quality coking coal and power station coal.

A decision was made to mothball the mine following no viable alternative solution being found to geological reports that indicated that the risks associated with mining a new panel, called T125, had not significantly reduced and that the panel is not viable on health and safety, geological, and financial grounds.

Now Regent Park Energy Limited, previously called Green Park Energy before it was acquired by Alkane in 2012, is applying to Rotherham Council to "retain gas pipelines, mine gas extraction pump house, containerised generation plant and ancillary equipment, extract mine gas and generate electricity."

The firm is currently contacting nearby landowners and tenants about the plans.

Alkane has more than 800 sq km of acreage under various onshore Petroleum Exploration and Development Licences (PEDLs). Alkane retains a 100% interest in the majority of these PEDLs, which extend to all of the hydrocarbons recoverable from these licence areas. This includes any CMM, natural gas, coal bed methane (CBM) or shale gas. Alkane has the licence for PEDL 43, which covers the Maltby site, but is yet to come forward with plans to extract shale gas by the controversial method of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and continues to focus on the coal mine methane.

In its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2013, Alkane reported that, revenue had grown by 40% to £20.6m compared to the previous year and that adjusted profit before tax increased by 17% to £3.4m.

Neil O'Brien, CEO of Alkane, said: "The UK energy market is facing a number of challenges including the decline of generating capacity with increased risks of power shortages over the coming years. Alkane is well positioned and will continue to develop its business to take advantage of the changing dynamics of the UK power industry."

Alkane website

Images: Alkane Energy

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News: Northern Rail picks up contract extension

Train operator, Northern Rail, has secured an extension to its contract to run train services across the North, which will now run until February 2016 when a new long-term franchise will be let.

Owned by a 50:50 joint venture between Serco Group plc, the international services company, and Abellio, a subsidiary of NS Dutch Railways, Northern Rail was formed in December 2004 when the parent companies won the franchise contract to operate train services in the North of England until April 2014.

The Government announced today that the contract will be extended and the deal has been co-signed by all five North of England Passenger Transport Executives (PTEs).

Serco estimates that its share of total revenue from operating the service over the 22-month franchise is around £520m.

Northern Rail is working with the DfT to secure the introduction of electric trains to the newly electrified rail routes in the North. Serco and Abellio have achieved significant performance improvements since the franchise began in December 2004, as well as investing around £30m into the railway.

As well as key rail services to the town, Northern Rail operates the newly refurbished Rotherham Central station. Led by South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) together with Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC), Northern Rail, Network Rail and the Department for Transport, and part financed by the European Regional Development Fund Programme 2007 to 2013, the £10.4m improvements have seen the number of passengers using the station grow to over half a million a year.

Rail Minister Stephen Hammond said: "Rail travel across the north will be transformed over the next five years through huge levels of government investment.

"However, I am well aware that there is a need for action now. So I have insisted on even tougher punctuality, reliability and passenger satisfaction targets for Northern Rail.

"We will also continue to work closely with the operator to deliver additional electric trains which will strengthen services across the network."

Key projects include the electrification of the Midland Mainline to Sheffield and The Northen Hub, the cluster of rail enhancements which will result in quicker journeys between Manchester and Sheffield.

The Northen Hub also has the potential to bring faster services to the redeveloped Rotherham Central and an extra train every hour throughout the day to Sheffield, Manchester and Liverpool.

The Department for Transport and Northern Rail are continuing to work on proposals to deliver a fleet of electric trains for the franchise, which would see existing diesel stock released to strengthen other services during the period of the deal.

The operator will also provide new passenger information screens at a further 100 train stations and will work to make buying tickets more convenient.

David Stretch, managing director for transport services at Serco, said: "We look forward to continuing to work alongside Abellio, the PTEs and other regional stakeholders to help drive improvements and greater efficiencies - benefiting both our fare-paying passengers and the taxpayer."

Northern Rail website

Images: SYPTE

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News: Nuclear AMRC's measured approached to expansion

The Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (Nuclear AMRC) has secured planning permission for an extension to its state of the art facility on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham.


The £25m Nuclear AMRC is a joint initiative with industry, The University of Sheffield and The University of Manchester's Dalton Nuclear Institute, and is designed to help build and enhance the UK's civil nuclear new build industry.

The Nuclear AMRC is the focal point for the civil nuclear manufacturing industry in the UK. Part of the government's High Value Manufacturing Catapult, the centre helps to develop capability and competitiveness in the nuclear supply chain through process manufacturing innovation and R&D, driving up quality and reducing cost.

The extension is proposed to accommodate coordinate measuring machines (CMMs). As a research and development facility Nuclear AMRC has outgrown, and in need of an extension, which can be directly accessed from the main workshop. The expansion is set to take place in two phases, extending the 53,000 sq ft Nuclear AMRC building, that was completed in 2011, towards the recently acquired CTI buildings.

Due to the way the centre secures funding, the 2,600 sq ft phase 1 extension will be big enough for one CMM, with a larger, 7,850 sq ft, second phase to follow. The extension will require groundworks to the embankments.

Large components for the energy sector can measure tens of metres in size and weigh many tonnes, but they still need to be engineered to accuracies of a few tens of microns.

With Tier 1 partners like Nikon Metrology and Hexagon Metrology, the Nuclear AMRC is ensuring that components for the new generation of nuclear power stations are developed as efficiently and accurately as possible, reducing the time that the end user has to spend fitting them on site in potentially hazardous environments.

The Nuclear AMRC's DEA Delta Slant is believed to be the largest gantry CMM in any UK research centre. It can measure parts of six metre length and three metre width to accuracies of around 25 microns – a quarter of the width of an average human hair.

One on-going project is looking at more efficient techniques for deep hole boring. Metrology has been critical in this process for ensuring drill bits are in the right place. Another project investigating robotic machining involves tracking the tools and working heads of hexapod robots to fractions of a millimetre, as they operate over a space of up to 30 cubic metres.

Another project with Rotherham-based Newburgh Engineering helped them investigate new instruments and techniques to cut production costs by 30%. Good measurement helped validate these new techniques, which ultimately enabled Newburgh to secure a major global contract.

As the centre grows, so does the number of people it employs. Stuart Harrison has recently been appointed as a new business development director to help UK manufacturers win work in the civil nuclear sector.

Having worked in the nuclear sector since 1991, including 13 years with BNFL at Sellafield, Stuart will work closely with Nuclear AMRC chief executive Mike Tynan and the established business support and manufacturing research teams.

Stuart Harrison, business development director at Nuclear AMRC, said: "The Nuclear AMRC is all about working with the manufacturing sector to give companies access to very high quality manufacturing research, and help them improve their businesses to win work. My role is to help them make that happen."

Nuclear AMRC website

Images: Nuclear AMRC

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News: Political heavyweights plus referee added to YIBC lineup

Political heavyweights Michael Portillo and John Prescott will go head to head at this year's Yorkshire International Business Convention (YIBC) at Magna in Rotherham, with the world's best referee in attendance, in case it gets out of hand.

One of the leading business events in continental Europe, the convention began in 1995 and has attracted some of the biggest and most recognisable names from across the globe. In 2013, YIBC was held at Bridlington Spa, attracting 700 delegates and speakers. The next event will take place at The Magna Science Adventure Centre on May 16.

Michael and John will go head-to-head in a discussion about the current state of the economy, no doubt throwing in interesting anecdotes about their time in Westminster.

Former Conservative Party Cabinet Minister turned broadcaster, Michael, was a strong admirer of Margaret Thatcher while former Deputy Prime Minister and Labour Party MP, John, was a trade union activist, often seen as the political link to the working class. Prescott will have homefield advantage having been brought up in nearby Brinsworth.

Completing the speaker line-up for the event is football referee Howard Webb. As part of this appearance, he will reflect on, amongst other things, the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and his thoughts ahead of this summer's World Cup Finals in Brazil.

Previously announced speakers include Robert Peston, business editor at BBC News and former financial editor of the Financial Times, Rosie Swale-Pope MBE, Brian Blessed and Richard Noble OBE.

Mike Firth, founder of YIBC, said: "With the addition of John, Michael and Howard to the speaker programme in Rotherham we are sure that we'll provide a unique YIBC experience to the delegates.

"The vision is that the YIBC event will become an established annual event within Sheffield City Region, and in order to achieve this it is important that this inaugural event is of a calibre to kick-start this legacy."

YIBC website

Images: Magna / Facebook

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News: Iceland set to join Aldi at Parkgate

Iceland, one of Britain's fastest-growing retailers has agreed terms for a new store in Rotherham, at the recently approved 51,000 sq ft retail development at Parkgate.

Land owners, Ron Hull, the Rotherham recycling experts, teamed up with Leeds-based developers, Gregory Projects last year to bring forward a potential retail development on the site of a former car showroom at Great Eastern Way.

Planning permission was secured earlier this year for six units with Aldi taking the largest unit at 16,544 sq ft and Iceland taking the adjacent 7,000 sq ft unit.

A third unit, sized 7,500 sq ft, is already under offer with an unnamed national retailer. Work is expected to start on site in Autumn 2014 with completion in Spring 2015.

GVA is the agent for the scheme.

Iceland Foods, which started out in 1970 selling loose frozen food in Shropshire, opened its 800th UK store at the end of 2013 and have opened a total of 145 net new stores over the last four years, creating more than 4,000 new jobs. The operator, which has one Rotherham store already, at Eastwood, is on track to exceed a target of adding a further 40 new stores in the financial year.

Iceland's growth in store numbers is only topped by Aldi. The UK arm of the German retailer recently opened its 500th store, having not had any before 1990.

Along with the new store at Parkgate, Aldi recently submitted plans for a proposed new store on land currently occupied by lighting and conservatory retail units on Bawtry Road at Bramley.

A planning application has also recently been submitted for another Aldi store as part of a new mixed use regeneration scheme for the site of the council depot and Lantern Engineering Ltd at Muglet Lane in Maltby.

The new build, 10,700 sq ft, store is set to "deliver significant investment into the local economy and deliver approximately 40 new job opportunities within Maltby." It follows on from planning permission being secured for a new Aldi on council owned land at Swallownest.

Aldi website
Iceland website

Images: Gregory Projects

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News: Sheffield city region sizes up Siemens supply chain

The decision by Siemens to invest £160m in wind turbine production and installation facilities in Yorkshire is set to provide a boost for manufacturing and engineering firms in the region.

Alongside Associated British Ports (ABP), the £310m Green Port Hull project involves a construction, assembly and service facility and a new rotor blade manufacturing facility that will create up to 1,000 jobs directly, with additional jobs during construction and indirectly in the supply chain.

Richard Wright, executive director of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, said: "This major investment is good news for the Sheffield city region because the decision to source and assemble the manufacturing facility in the UK should benefit our engineering supply chains."

The UK offshore wind market is estimated to be worth more than £100bn over the next 20 years.

Mark O' Reilly, director of the Team Humber Marine Alliance, an industrial member organisation that has a key focus on the renewable energy sector, added: "This is another jolt of good news which we have all been waiting for and creates an atmosphere of industry excellence, and financial opportunity, from which we can all be benefit.

"In the months and years ahead, we are likely to see a positive and sustained impact on our member companies all along the offshore wind supply chain, potentially during construction and when operational."

One member of Team Humber Marine Alliance is Rotherham manufacturing specialist, MTL Group. One of the fastest growing project manufacturing specialists in the metals sector, MTL is a global supplier of secondary steelwork. As well as working with a global blue-chip customer base in the defence, construction equipment and rail sectors, a key area is the offshore wind energy sector.

With a 300,000 sq ft state of the art factory in Brinsworth, MTL laser cuts, bends, machines and fabricates steel to customers' requirements and uses state-of-the-art technology, including laser and waterjet cutting, manual and robotic press braking, manual and robotic welding and CNC machining.

Manufacturing boat landing systems, working platforms and plate beams for tier one suppliers to the offshore and renewable energy sector at Rotherham, and at its own dockside facility on the east coast, MTL has previously won contracts to supply secondary steelwork fabrications for the Ormonde and Nordsee Ost Offshore wind farms.

It's largest ever export order came after Team Humber Marine Alliance and Enterprise Europe Yorkshire attracted Windcluster Mid-Norway to the UK. MTL Group secured a contract to supply 97 boat landing systems to Aker Solutions, the Norwegian energy group, for Nordsee Ost, a German offshore wind farm.

And for those not already involved in the supply chain, services like GROW:OffshoreWind are available to help companies make the most of the opportunities. The £50m programme is backed by £20m from the Government's Regional Growth Fund.

The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing in Rotherham is playing a key part and leads on Process Technology Innovation support, providing a new route for companies to access its collaborative R&D capabilities and the large-scale manufacturing and process demonstration facilities at the Nuclear AMRC.

The programme offers up to 50 per cent match funding for manufacturers looking to benefit from Process Technology Innovation support and work on the industry's supply chain continues.

Dominic Brown, head of GROW:OffshoreWind, said: "The announcement from Siemens and UK Associated British Ports is a fantastic boost for our offshore wind sector and further evidence that international companies are confident in our ability to deliver capacity and green energy.

"Our service has been shaped by industry leaders to deliver the technical expertise, market intelligence and access to technology centres that can help SMEs take advantage of this growing opportunity.

"We can also provide grants of up to £500,000 to firms looking for upfront investment to get ready for entry into the offshore wind sector."

MTL Group website
GROW:OffshoreWind website

Images: RWE

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News: Payback for NHS Trust who chose Inditherm

A health trust using innovative patient warming products from Rotherham-based Inditherm has received payback on its investment in less than a year.

The Pennine Acute Trust operates four separate hospitals in the Greater Manchester region, with a total of 43 operating theatres covering a broad range of surgical specialties and is the largest non-teaching hospital trust in the UK. They had been spending over £100,000 per year on forced air warming disposable blankets prior to the introduction of Inditherm, warming approximately 50% of surgical patients.

AIM-listed Inditherm has developed products that use low voltage carbon polymer technology to provide heat and unlike other forms of heating, there are no hot spots. In addition, the systems ensure that every surgical patient can be warmed at the same running cost as a light-bulb.

By switching to products made by the Manvers firm, the Pennine Acute Trust has seen a payback on investment in less than a year, with projected savings of £300,000 over five years.

Inditherm was selected as the product of choice following exhaustive evaluations and it was decided to equip 31 operating theatres and 11 recovery beds across the Trust. The change of technology will allow nearly all patients undergoing surgery to be warmed automatically as soon as they are placed on the operating table, helping to improve clinical outcomes and reduce the risk of hypothermia.

The business case projected yearly budget savings over a five year period, based on buying the Inditherm systems up front. In practice, the budgeted savings for the first two years were exceeded in the first eight months with payback on the initial investment realised in just ten months.

Nick Bettles, chief executive of Inditherm, said: "It is very helpful to have this case study, documenting as it does the practical considerations and the cost savings actually achieved in a real life situation within the NHS. We hope it will prove of value to other hospitals considering change.

"Uptake of Inditherm patient warming is growing all the time, and an increasing number of Trusts are understanding and embracing the real benefits, both clinical and financial, that can be realised. In the current climate of budget pressure Inditherm offers NHS managers the opportunity to make a relatively simple change for the better, delivering a step change in cost reduction with additional benefits for clinical care.

"Although not used in this case, Inditherm also offer payment schemes that do not require up-front investment, allowing the use of existing revenue budgets and immediate savings. This case study certainly proves what can be achieved in practice."

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published guidance in 2011 advising that the Inditherm patient warming mattress should be considered for use in patients at risk of inadvertent hypothermia.

The NHS in England alone could save over £15m per annum if forced air warming was replaced by Inditherm's mattress for eligible procedures in most of the 3,030 operating theatres.

One problem for Inditherm is the time it takes to go through processes within the NHS. The Pennine Acute Trust project took two and a half years from start to finish.

Inditherm website

Images: Inditherm

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News: Redirack bought out of administration

Rotherham based RediRack, the creator of the world's first adjustable frame and beam pallet racking, has been acquired by Stakapal, the UK's leading supplier of pallet racking, cantilever racking and industrial storage equipment.

Redirack has an 100,000 sq ft manufacturing plant in Kilnhurst and was due to celebrate 40 years of continuous UK manufacturing in Mexborough in 2014. Instead, Lyn Vardy and Toby Underwood of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) were appointed as joint administrators in January.

Established in 1973, the firm underwent a management buy out from its former owners, the Norwegian based multinational Dexion Group Limited, in 2004. Since the takeover, Redirack has expanded its headquarters to accommodate the growing demand for its mezzanine floor product, Redifloor. It enjoyed a turnover of £11m for 2011 and secured backing from the Government's Regional Growth Fund in 2012 and Finance Yorkshire in 2013, putting plans into action to invest over £4m over the next five years.

The administrator's report shows that the company had been loss making for a number of months due to delays with two large contracts, a general downturn in business and significantly reduced profit margins.

Primarily financed by a £1.25m invoice discounting facility from Yorkshire Bank, PwC were brought in during December to assess viable options for the company. After a management buyout failed to materialise, attempts to sell the business began.

Following initial interest, a sale could not be agreed and following a winding up petition from trade creditors and a threat from the HMRC, Redirack directors, Andrew Forsythe and Jack Holden with Phil Culling as chairman, invited Yorkshire Bank to appoint the administrators.

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Following a review of the business, 87 redundancies were made after it was decided to cease trading immediately. Shortly after, the administrators sought offers for the business and the business and certain assets were sold in February for £150,000.

Redirack's address and contact numbers have since been changed to those of Stakapal in Cannock, Staffordshire.

At the time of appointment of PwC, Redirack had a large book of trade debtors and was still owed around £1.4m, against which the bank had lending of £744,000. So far £365,000 has been collected and paid directly to the bank.

With the bank holding a charge over Redirack's assets making them first in line for any recovered cash, and the difficulty in collecting the rest of the company's debts, the administrators state that whilst a preferential claim exists from the staff that were made redundant, "it is hard at this stage to estimate the level of book debts which will be recovered which will directly impact the ability to pay any preferential dividend."

One glimmer of hope is the prospect of the new owners taking on the staff at Kilnhurst. One of the key benefits for the administrators selecting the new owner was that it was predicated on the assets remaining in situ, whereas other offers involved removing cherry-picked assets from the site.

Redirack website

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News: Xeros cleaning up with investors

Shares in the Rotherham technology firm, Xeros, begin trading freely on the London Stock Exchange today, with savvy investors already snapping up a piece of the company that is commercialising the first real innovation in the laundry industry for 60 years.

The Leeds University spin-out, based on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, has developed a patented system using a unique method of special polymer beads rather than the usual large amounts of fresh water to clean clothes.

The Xeros cleaning system comprises a special washing machine designed to release the beads into the drum for cleaning, and which then removes the beads from the clothes once the cleaning is complete. With at least 70% less water, up to 50% less energy and approximately 50% less detergent, the Xeros system delivers superior cleaning results compared to conventional washing. The beads have a lifespan of hundreds of washes before being collected and recycled.

Admission to the AIM and the fundraising are expected to allow the group to accelerate roll-out in commercial laundry and to fund the research and development process through to commercialisation in other identified applications, not least in domestic laundry.

£27.580m (before expenses) has already been raised for the group through the placing of 22,422,579 new ordinary shares at 123 pence per share. 65,073,549, shares have been issued giving Xeros a market capitalisation of approximately £80m.

Before the admission, the largest shareholders include Invesco Asset Management Ltd at 27.1% and IP Group at 23.1%. To date, Xeros has raised in excess of £15m from investors. In 2013, it successfully completed a £10m funding round. Its investor partners include IP Group, Entrepreneurs Fund, EV, Invesco Perpetual and Parkwalk.

John Samuel, chairman of Xeros, said: "We have been delighted with the investor response to the placing, which has had strong support from a number of our existing key investors as well as new investors. Joining AIM marks a milestone for Xeros and we look forward to growing the business using the proceeds of the Placing and creating value for all of our stakeholders."

Bill Westwater, CEO of Xeros (pictured), added: "Xeros's patented reusable and recyclable polymer bead cleaning systems have the potential to transform a number of industries globally. We are excited about the opportunity the placing and our admission to AIM brings to help accelerate our roll-out in commercial laundry and fund development through to commercialisation in other identified markets.

"I am very confident and enthusiastic about our future as we begin the next stage of significant growth as a public company and British university spin-out."

Xeros follows other Rotherham-based firms onto the AIM stock exchange - United Carpets, Inditherm and Crawshaws.

Xeros website

Images: Xeros

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News: Speakers announced for Global Manufacturing Festival 2014

Top level representatives from the world's leading manufacturers will be speaking at The Global Manufacturing Festival (GMF) 2014 in Rotherham in June.

The GMF has been running since 2011 and has grown in popularity each year with some of the world's biggest manufacturing and engineering companies attending. It was held for the first time at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) last year and will return with a trade show and conference, keynote speakers, workshops and 150 exhibitors set to form proceedings on June 24 - 25.

Part of the UK's International Festival for Business, GMF is being organised by Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, the University of Sheffield AMRC with Boeing and Marketing Sheffield.

Also taking place at several sites in the Sheffield city region, GMF is devised to connect hundreds of smaller companies to big firms and support networks with the aim of growing manufacturing capability in the region. The industry sectors covered this year are Automotive, Aerospace, Oil & Gas and Renewable Energy.

Colin Sirett, head of research and technology at Airbus, will explain his company's work on lightweighting, and how Airbus works within the Aerospace Growth Partnership to both grow UK aerospace manufacturing capability and assess the capability of suppliers.

Sirett said: " With the emerging infrastructure under the guidance of the Aerospace Growth Partnership, the Aerospace Technology Institute and the National Aerospace Technology Programme, the advice to be shared with SMEs at the Festival will be the future direction is for the Airbus Technology and Operational activities.

"In particular, I will outline how future demand is directing the Airbus product development, what mechanisms are available to support the whole industry in the development of their capabilities and how SMEs can best present their capabilities to gain a future position on the developing aircraft products.

"The UK aerospace industry is the second-largest in the world, after the United States, and employs more than 100,000 people across the country. We are starting from a position of strength, but we need the mechanisms in place to support the investment in metallic, composite, aerodynamics, aircraft systems and manufacturing technologies. Between the Aerospace Technology Institute and National Aerospace Technology Programme initiatives, this support covers both large companies and SMEs."

Mike Wright, executive director of Jaguar Land Rover, will present at the conference on his appointment by the Labour Party as a "supply chain investigator" for the automotive industry, tasked with assessing the capability of British automotive suppliers and their capacity to scale up to supply more car plants in Britain.

Simon Kirby, recently appointed as Chief Executive – Construction to work on the HS2 project is also confirmed. As are Lukas Jiranek, Beckett MIM Ltd; Dirk Aderhold, Automising Systems Ltd; Dominic M'Benga, 4 Navitas Ltd and Mike Maddock of PES Ltd.

Paul Houghton, partner at global accounting organisation, Grant Thornton, said: "Grant Thornton is proud to sponsor the 2014 Global Manufacturing Festival. Generating one sixth of the UK’s overall wealth, two thirds of its exports and 3 million jobs, manufacturing plays an absolutely vital role in the Sheffield City Region and the greater UK economy.

"The Global Manufacturing Festival is an important event, bringing industry experts from high growth market sectors together, encouraging collaboration and allowing businesses to exploit opportunities and thrive."

GMF website

Images: GMF

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News: HS2: Sheffield not ready

The Sheffield city region's readiness to take advantage of the £50 billion high speed rail project (HS2) is potentially being held back because of a lack of local consensus regarding where the station should go.

The HS2 Growth Taskforce has outlined how HS2 could be an exciting and transformational opportunity for cities in the North to invest in future economic growth and enable them to compete with cities around the world.

The Taskforce, which brings together figures from across the political spectrum and the private and public sectors, recently published the "HS2: Get Ready" report calling for action now to simplify and join up funding to deliver construction fast around HS2 stations sites. By accelerating regeneration and development of brownfield land on the route the report argues that big benefits will be seen in just a few years.

The report also calls for city regions to work together to integrate local transport networks, recommending that city regions both on and off the HS2 route, make detailed, long-term, local and regional transport plans that fully consider HS2 opportunities.

The project aims to provide extra capacity to handle increasing demand on the rail network. By 2033, a South Yorkshire station will be on the proposed route from London to Leeds via Birmingham and the East Midlands. The new chairman of HS2 Ltd, David Higgins, recently proposed bringing forward completion from 2033 to 2030.

Plans including the proposed location of a HS2 station at Meadowhall were announced last year. The location is backed by the South Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority (SYITA) - the precursor to a Sheffield city region combined authority, Rotherham Council and Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber.

In response to the government's consultation, Sheffield City Council said that it is strongly opposed to the proposed route and believes that the current preferred station location chosen by Government is a mistake. Instead, a vision for an HS2 station at Victoria, closer to Sheffield city centre, is being put forward.

The Sheffield City Region (SCR) Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has declined to commit to backing a specific site for a South Yorkshire station and instead reiterated its stance that the location should be based on achieving the greatest economic benefit.

Consultants at Atkins have been commissioned by the HS2 Growth Taskforce to undertake research on how HS2 can connect markets, businesses and people and unlock regeneration and development. Its research assesses the readiness of each station location to reach its potential.

The readiness of the region's businesses and skill levels in the workforce are assessed, as are the physical constraints and opportunities of locating a station at Meadowhall. It also looks at the package of £1.5 billion worth of connectivity improvements called for by the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) to ensure that the station and the region reaches its full economic potential.

The main worry for the consultants is the discord amongst policy makers in the city region.

The report states that: "In the case of Sheffield, and despite the current HS2 Ltd proposal for a station at Meadowhall, HS2 policy-readiness at the city region level is potentially being held back because of a lack of local consensus regarding the optimal station location for maximising economic growth and regeneration.

"Moves towards the establishment of a Combined Authority for the SCR will provide a sound platform for the governance and delivery of economic growth and regeneration plans focused on a new HS2 station in Sheffield. Again, the maturity of these structures will be held back until greater certainty and consensus over the issue of station location is achieved.

"The key challenge to governance arrangements will be the achievement of consensus over which station location option will deliver the greatest overall net economic benefit for the city region. More detailed, objective assessments will be required to inform this decision should HS2 Ltd open up the possibility of reconsidering both the Meadowhall and Victoria options."

HS2 Ltd website

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News: CMD celebrates 30 years of growth in Rotherham

Rotherham manufacturing firm CMD Ltd is celebrating its 30th Anniversary throughout 2014.

Based at Eastwood, the office solutions company has a product range offering underfloor power systems, lighting and power busbars, lighting control systems, together with office power, cable management and ergonomic solutions.


CMD, who specialise in the design of ergonomic monitor arms, has a worldwide market and is ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified, the globally recognised quality standards awarded to companies that meet a high standard for their internal business solutions and who meet and exceed environmental legislation and regulations. They also have many of their products certified by the British Standards Institution.

Established in Rotherham in 1984 and the subject of a management buyout in 2008, the company now turns over £16m, employing over 170 people, and is proud of its roots in the town and the way in which it has continued to grow and prosper through the recession.

CMD recently integrated its manufacturing and warehousing operation and expanded its operations further by bringing its Preston based technical and sales staff to its head office in Rotherham.

In addition to its Rotherham base, the company has a state-of-the-art showroom in Clerkenwell, London, along with an on-site design studio to provide a quick response to all client requirements and aid them in visualising what might be possible using the range of CMD products.

In its 30th Anniversary year there are plans for celebration events in both Rotherham and London, reflecting the way CMD has continued to grow despite the economic crisis of the past few years.

Steve Cole, managing director at CMD (pictured), said: "CMD is a market driven company that encourages and values the feedback provided by customers. We are delighted to now be able to say that we have been trading successfully in the UK for 30 years.

"I put this down to constantly reading the market and adapting our products accordingly, alongside utilising the manufacturing skills and experience of people who live in and around our local community. We have proved this is a powerful combination!

"The lessons we have learnt over the years have helped us to create a ‘can do’ culture supported by clearly defined vision and values, and a single promise – to place our customers, our colleagues and our business at the heart of everything we do."

CMD website

Images: CMD Ltd

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News: Rotherham pub is welcomed with open arms

The Cutler's Arms, one of Rotherham town centre's historic pubs, has been given a new lease of life, thanks to the directors of Rotherham's Chantry Brewery.

Chantry Brewery opened in 2012 after significant investment in the latest brewing technology installed at its Parkgate facility. The first beers were officially launched at the New York Beer Festival at Rotherham United's New York Stadium and award-winning ales include New York Pale, Iron & Steel Bitter, Diamond Black Stout and Mighty Millers, brewed to celebrate the football team's promotion last season.

Directors, Sean Page and Mick Warburton, have set up a new company to take on operating a real ale pub which follows on from their acquisition of an empty pub, also on Westgate, last year which they gave a new lease of life as The New York Tavern. The pub has recently been named as the Winter pub of the season by the Rotherham branch of CAMRA.

The openings come as the latest CGA-CAMRA Pub Tracker, which covers the period of April - December 2013, shows that the number of net pub closures in the UK has risen from 26 to 28 per week.

The Grade 2 listed Cutlers Arms on Westgate is one of the few surviving Edwardian buildings in the town centre. There was a previous Cutler's Arms on the site before the current building, the first appearing in a directory of 1825. The pub was rebuilt in 1866, when it became a Stones tied house. The 1907 rebuilding was part of a general rebuilding in Westgate to provide a broader highway into the town to relieve traffic congestion.

The building, which was recently listed as an asset of community value, has been restored inside and out. The new owners have kept the very traditional public house model - with the bar serving beers, by means of hand pumps, in three rooms. Traditional furniture, in keeping with the age and traditional nature of the premises, has been sourced, and elements such as a stained glass window and etched glass windows damaged after the pub closed last year have been replaced to their original specification.

Sean Page, director of Chantry Brewery, said: "We are providing an offer that is significantly different to that currently available in the Town Centre and that would be a destination venue for real ale enthusiasts from outside Rotherham.

"The five core beers at the Cutlers will be sourced from our Chantry Brewery and will be typically be supplemented by a further five guest beers. We only use the finest ingredients available, including Yorkshire Malt to produce our range of premium beers."

Bernadette Rushton of the Council's Town Centre Retail Investment Team, added: "We, and colleagues in other departments, have been happy to advise and support Sean and his fellow directors in bringing this project forward. It is great news that Chantry Brewery have decided to reinvigorate the Cutlers Arms, not only in terms of increasing the options for the town centre's night-time economy, but also by bringing a historic empty unit back into use on Westgate; one of the main routes for visitors into the town centre retail area."

Chantry Brewery website

Images: RMBC

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News: Home Décor slides in on rival

Home Décor GB has completed its first acquisition since moving into a new state-of-the-art factory in Rotherham by purchasing rival, Portico (Midlands) Ltd.

Home Décor is one of the leading suppliers of floor-to-ceiling sliding doors and associated storage systems in Europe and Portico is a supplier of similar products within the new build sector.

The deal was arranged after Home Décor secured multi-million pound funding facilities from Santander Corporate & Commercial. Funding for the acquisition was arranged by Duff & Phelps Debt Advisory.


With around 120 staff, Home Décor made the move last year from Drakehouse in Sheffield to a purpose built 110,000 sq ft factory at JF Finnegan's Woodhouse Link development on the site of the former Laycast Foundry at Fence.

Originally formed as Acmetrack in England in 1975, the business was acquired by The Stanley Works, Inc in 1987, and then subsequently sold in 2004, at which time it was renamed Home Décor GB Ltd.

The firm, whose parent company is part of the Cerberus investment group, currently manufactures over three hundred thousand doors per year, predominantly to the DIY and Builders Merchants sector, and supplies hardware to manufacture a further one million doors to its strategic partners throughout the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Its products are available through major retailers including B&Q, Wickes, Focus and Homebase in Europe, and suppliers to the construction industry.

The strategic acquisition is expected to see the combined entity – to be branded Home Décor – to have annual sales reach £30m, up from £22m for the financial year 2013. Portico currently sells and supplies a range of similar products, including floor-to-ceiling sliding doors and storage systems into the new build sector and online, which opens up new delivery channels to Home Décor.

Max Crosby-Browne, CEO for Home Décor GB, said: "Home Décor has benefited from strong demand for its products and services both in the UK and in Europe, and I'm delighted that the company is able to make this strategically significant acquisition to capitalise on this momentum. We see strong opportunities for the business going forward, and continue to be very optimistic about our potential for growth."

Craig Williams, relationship director for Santander Corporate & Commercial, added: "Home Décor is one of the strongest businesses in its sector and I'm delighted that we have been able to support the company as it looks to take itself to the next level. We have been thoroughly impressed with the management team in Sheffield and look forward to a successful working relationship."

Home Décor website

Images: Home Décor

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News: Laing O'Rourke acquires Dinnington construction specialist

Rotherham-based Glass Reinforced Concrete (UK) (GRC UK) has been acquired by Laing O'Rourke, the multinational construction company.

Based at Redwood Court in Dinnington, Rotherham, GRC UK are a specialist manufacturer and supplier of Glass Reinforced Concrete (GRC) construction products for use in architectural dressing, cladding, and rain screen applications.

Laing O'Rourke became the UK's largest privately owned construction company following the acquisition of the construction arm of John Laing Plc by R O'Rourke & Son in 2001. It operates various engineering activities including concrete products, joinery and specialist services companies.

The acquisition is expected to further strengthen Laing O' Rourke's manufacturing portfolio, allowing the group to deliver specialist engineering contracts that require complex spray process glass reinforced concrete to meet the demanding quality and performance characteristics on large building and infrastructure projects.

GRC is used by many of the world's leading building designers with internationally renowned architects such as Fosters & Partners and Zaha Hadid regularly specifying the material. In the UK, the Olympic Village has featured extensive use of GRC (GRC UK manufactured 5,500 elements for one apartment block, pictured) and the material will feature on all the new stations being constructed as part of the massive Crossrail development. It has significant benefits over traditional pre-cast concrete including reduction in dead load weight, more environmentally friendly to manufacture and transport, faster and easier to install, and greater design optionality.

Russell Kellett, head of manufacturing at Laing O'Rourke, said: "The addition of GRCUK is a step forward in our Design for Manufacture and Assembly approach, giving Laing O’Rourke a well structured and financed organisation that is positioned strongly in the UK market to secure a large proportion of the GRC-specified work currently being tendered and awarded.

"As an established business with a proven record, a good order book, fully equipped factory with great transport links, and a committed workforce, I believe this acquisition will enable us to tap into new areas of the market to develop a lightweight cladding product. With the financial resources of the Laing O’Rourke Group behind it, there is considerable scope for increasing the profitability of the business through the significant operating synergies we see with our core construction and infrastructure delivery business units."

GRC UK employs 38 full-time staff at its facility in Dinnington. All staff will transfer with the acquisition and be retained in the business.

GRC UK website
Laing O'Rourke website

Images: GRC UK

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News: Marussia Manor Racing reveal new GP3 driver line-up

Whilst the Banbury-based big boys began the F1 season in Australia last weekend, Marussia's GP3 team is gearing up for the start of the new season.

Rotherham's Manor Grand Prix was an unlikely name on the line up for the 2010 F1 season. The Rotherham team became Virgin Racing when they announced a link up with Richard Branson in December 2009. Russian company Marussia Motors acquired a significant shareholding in 2010 and the team became Marussia Virgin Racing. For the 2012 season, the team became Marussia F1.

The Marussia F1 team moved from Rotherham to Banbury in Oxfordshire to be closer to McLaren, their technical partners for the 2012 season. Rotherham-born John Booth remains as the team principal and the team's former headquarters at Dinnington is now home to the Marussia Manor GP3 team.

The GP3 series follows the Formula One European calendar and the emphasis is on developing driver skills, with all teams using the same chassis, engine and tyre suppliers.

The GP3 team, which is the primary vehicle for the Marussia F1 Team's Driver Development Programme, is now in its fifth season of competition. Having won races last season, the team is targeting the Championship title in 2014.

Ryan Cullen, 22 years old and from Ireland, remains with the team for a second season and will be joined by Finnish youngster, 17 year old Patrick Kujala and British ace, 23 year old Dean Stoneman.

The Marussia F1 Team will again offer the most successful Marussia Manor Racing driver of the GP3 season the opportunity to test its Formula 1 car. Tio Ellinas benefited from a day in the F1 car at last season's Young Driver Test and will again return to test in 2014 as the top placed driver in 2013.

The team has achieved great success in Formula 3 and Formula Renault. Former F1 champions Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton both graduated from the John Booth "school of excellence."

Pete Sliwinski, team principal at Marussia Manor Racing, said: "Once again we head into the GP3 season with great optimism. This series is the best place for a young driver to prove themselves; highly competitive, with a great car and engine package and running alongside the F1 schedule, which certainly puts their talent in the spotlight."

Marussia F1 website

Images: gp3series.com

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News: PMS Diecasting set to increase Rotherham workforce

PMS Diecasting is enjoying significant growth in Rotherham with the use of innovative technology and is set to further expand its workforce.

PMS Diecasting has been producing high quality zinc diecastings for more than three decades and is one of Europe's leading diecasters. It produces more than 36 million castings annually for the global manufacturer, Gripple.

Moving to a larger facility in Hellaby last year, the firm plans to increase staff numbers, from the current 53, during the first half of 2014 to meet expectations that the business will grow by 50% during the next three years.

The move is backed by £600,000 in funding support from Yorkshire Bank. The deal was conducted by Chris Blanksby from Yorkshire Bank's Business and Private Banking Centre in Sheffield.

The new factory is regarded within the industry as one of Europe's best equipped facilities, boasting 12 fully automated diecasting machines, each with six-axis robots which enables the company to manufacture its products cost effectively. The Frech machines are equipped with ABB 6 axis robots and work continuously around the clock manufacturing over 43 million castings per year.

The company's introduction of cutting-edge laser scanning technology has generated a significant surge in new business. The innovative technology allows almost any item to be scanned and reverse engineered.

Gordon Panter, managing director of PMS Diecasting, took over the business in 2000 and has overseen a period of sustained growth for the employee owned company. He said: "Our attention to detail and dedication to delivering what customers want, when they need it, has played a key role in growing our business to what it is today.

"Our reputation coupled with the use of leading technology has put us in a position to take our business to the next level and with the support of Yorkshire Bank we are taking that opportunity. We've been with Yorkshire bank for ten years and during that time the team there has developed a great knowledge and understanding of our business."

Kevin Elliott, head of business and private banking for South Yorkshire at Yorkshire Bank, added: "PMS Diecasting is a strong, local manufacturing business which South Yorkshire can be proud of. It already plays an important role in the supply chain of a number of key industries but still has ambitions to grow further.

"Our team of relationship managers have the local knowledge and deep business expertise needed to support the future growth of PMS Diecasting and other growing businesses in the region, and will continue to play our part in helping the local economy to prosper."

Founded in 1975, PMS developed a precision manufacturing process to produce handsaws that proved so successful that every DIY retail outlet and most handtool distributors sold an "own brand" saw which was made and branded by PMS in Rotherham. In just five years PMS became the largest volume manufacturer of handaws in the UK.

PMS Diecasting now supplies the UK's agricultural, automotive, hardware and retail industries with high-quality, bespoke metal fixtures, fittings and components. These include wire suspension systems for lighting rigs in shops and cold touch components for inclusion in the driver consoles of luxury cars.

Customers for the newest technology include museums which are scanning their exhibits in order to produce replicas. The technology allows accurate scale models of any item to be made and the CAD (computer-aided design) files it produces can then be used in conjunction with 3D printers to generate perfect scale models of any size.

The firm has recently set up two new companies to further support their customers. It includes GoTools Ltd, a precision tool engineering and toolmaking company that designs and manufactures performance tooling.

PMS Diecasting website

Images: PMS Diecasting

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News: The Budget 2014

The Government is "taking decisions that will support businesses to invest, export, and create jobs – laying the foundations for sustainable economic growth." Rothbiz editor, Tom Austen looks at what this week's Budget announcements might mean for businesses in Rotherham.

With manufacturing the cornerstone of a successful Rotherham economy, one of the first soundbites from chancellor George Osbourne's speech yesterday was that the government backs manufacturers across the entire country.

Key announcements attempting to boost business include doubling the annual investment allowance to £500,000 until the end of 2015 and manufacturers will be looking closely at the proposed sharp reductions in the cost of energy and the "£7bn package to cut energy bills for British manufacturers."

Karl Koehler, CEO of Tata Steel's European operations has been leading the call for the government to create a level playing field when it comes to energy policy. Energy costs remain a significant element of the costs of the Foundation Industries such as steelmaking with evidence that they are higher than those facing competitors operating in other countries.

The government accepts the need to compensate these industries and announced plans to extend the compensation for energy intensive industries for the cost of the Carbon Price Floor (CPF) (a carbon tax) and EU emissions trading system to 2019-20. It is also set to introduce a new compensation scheme, to help energy intensive industries with higher electricity costs resulting from the renewables obligation and small-scale feed in tariffs for renewable generation, from 2016-17.

Dr Craig Berry, of the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI), believes that the measures don't go far enough and called for bank lending and offering incentives for institutional investors to invest in manufacturing.

For businesses hoping to grow, the Budget confirmed that the government will raise the rate of the R&D tax credit payable to loss making small and medium sized companies from 11% to 14.5% from April 2014. Over the next five years this increase is expected to support £1.3 billion of investment in innovation.

The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) is being made permanent in a bid to help more start-ups raise equity finance. SEIS offers a range of tax reliefs to individual investors who purchase new shares in those companies.

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Firms are also being encouraged to grow through exporting, with the doubling of the UK's Export Finance direct lending programme to £3 billion, coupled with low interest rates.

Long-haul flights are set to carry a lower rate of air duty and Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield will be interested in the extended Regional Air Connectivity Fund to include start-up aid for new routes from regional airports, worth £20m a year.

Businesses are being encouraged to grow by taking on new apprentices. The Apprenticeship Grants for Employers (AGE) scheme, is being providing with an extra £85m in both 2014-15 and 2015-16 for over 100,000 grants to employers.

For companies looking to invest, the announcement regarding Enterprise Zones will be welcomed, as it will be by regeneration teams in the Sheffield city region. The business rate discounts and Enhanced Capital Allowances will each be extended by three years as an incentive for new and expanding businesses to locate in Enterprise Zones. Areas such as Waverley, Templeborough and Dinnington will be able to offer business rate discounts for five years, with the offer extending until March 2018 and businesses will now have until March 2020 to make a qualifying investment, and can then write off up to £100m against corporation tax.

Even after a committee of MPs deemed the current business rates system not fit for purpose, property professionals will be disappointed that there was no announcements regarding any changes to the revaluation system or the way rates are calculated.

Compared to last year, retail was hardly mentioned. Changes to planning guidelines may have an impact with consultation on what development can be permitted under a much wider "retail" use class, excluding betting shops and payday loan shops. Bingo duty will be halved to 10% as the number of premises shrinks and the duty on fixed-odds betting terminals increased to 25%.

Other key announcements include the raising of the point at which people start paying income tax to £10,500 and raising the higher rate 40p income tax band from its current level of £41,450 to £41,865 from next month and then by a further 1 per cent to £42,285 from next April.

In response to the Chancellor's speech where he said that the Government's long-term economic plan has protected the economy through a period of uncertainty, provided the foundations for the recovery with the economy growing faster than predicted, John Healey, MP for Wentworth and Dearne and a former Treasury minister said that "the chancellor's "recovery" has barely reached Rotherham or Barnsley."

HM Treasury website

Images: HM Treasury

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News: AMRC in demand

Increasing demand at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing means it has now expanded to operate on two shift patterns.

Based on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, the AMRC is a world class centre for advanced machining and materials research for aerospace and other high-value manufacturing sectors. The multimillion pound partnership between industry and academia has become a model for collaborative research centres worldwide and now boasts 75 partners, including Boeing and Rolls-Royce.

The centre has helped the University of Sheffield to overtake the University of Cambridge for engineering research income and in turn, the University is making significant investment into capital projects which will create new jobs and secure future growth.

Last month, the University announced it had signed a deal to secure 50 acres of land at Sheffield Business Park just over the Parkway from its AMP site – a move which will support the progress of plans to create a critical mass of hi-tech, advanced manufacturing businesses.

The first development will be Factory 2050 (pictured), a circular building which will combine a range of technologies, including advanced robotics, off-line printing from flexible automated systems and 3D printing.

An independent survey of the economic benefits has shown that, during construction, the building will directly contribute £6.4m to the local economy and create 162 jobs – and once operational, it will directly contribute £2m annually and employ 75 people.

The decision to expand comes after increasing demand at the AMRC means it has now expanded to operate on two shift patterns.

Professor Keith Ridgway, executive dean of the AMRC, said: "We are seeing a definite upturn in high value manufacturing in the region.

"This is reflected in our need to run a second shift to meet the industrial demand for our machining research and development and the production of demonstration parts using the novel techniques developed.

"Factory 2050 will put us in an even stronger position in terms of translating the research carried out by the University of Sheffield into practical applications which offer high tech solutions across the manufacturing sector."

The University recently saw staff numbers pass the 7,000 mark. The AMRC employs over 250 people.

AMRC website

Images: AMRC / Bond Bryan

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