News: Trelleborg bearings fitted to world’s largest container ship

Orkot Marine bearings manufactured by Trelleborg Sealing Solutions in Rotherham contribute to the build of the world's largest and most efficient container ships, the Maersk Triple E class family built by Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding.

Based at Templeborough, the Rotherham facility is part of the Swedish industrial group that is a world leader in engineered polymer solutions that seal, damp and protect critical applications in demanding environments. It develops and manufactures marine bearings that use synthetic composite materials incorporating solid lubricants rather than metal to provide exceptional wear resistance and virtually no swell in water, enabling stability even with the heaviest loads.

The Triple E name is derived from the class's three design principles - Economy of scale, Energy efficient and Environmentally improved. 400 metres long, 59 metres wide and 73 metres high, they are able to carry 18,000 containers, 2,500 more than the E class ships they replaced. Maersk Line has ordered a total of 20 of these vessels, which will be phased in gradually over the next couple of years.

The star of a six episode TV-series on the Discovery Channel, the ship sets new standards in the container industry, not just for size, but also of energy efficiency and environmental performance. With unique design features for slower speeds and maximum efficiency, this vessel will emit 50% less CO2 per container moved than the current average on the Asia-Europe route.

Barry Davies, general manager of the Trelleborg Sealing Solutions facility in Rotherham, said: "We embrace the design principles of Maersk and took on the challenge to deliver the bearings that are fundamental to the success of these ships.

"The larger the ship, the bigger the size of the rudder and the more demanding it is to develop a bearing to optimize performance. Orkot bearings are proven in thousands of ships to give maintenance free operation over many years."

The Rotherham made bearings can also be found on the The Royal Navy's Type 45 Destroyer and the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier.

Trelleborg website

Images: Trelleborg / Maersk

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News: Mecca offer for Rotherham bingo hall

Eyes down, look in. Investors are being given the chance to buy the Mecca Bingo site in Rotherham town centre when it goes up for sale at auction in London next month.

The freehold leisure investment on Corporation Street is being advertised with leading commercial property auctioneers, Acuitus and has been given a guide price of £730,000.

The 26,000 sq ft property comprises a substantial building currently used as a bingo hall providing reception area, gaming hall and ancillary and office accommodation over lower ground, ground, first and mezzanine floors.

The property is entirely let to Mecca Bingo Limited until 2021 at £111,870 per annum exclusive and the tenant has the option to extend the lease.

Originally opened as the Regal Cinema in 1934, with seating for 1,825, and fully equipped for stage performances with three dressing rooms, and a theatre organ, it became the Odeon in 1946. It was taken over by Rank in 1975 and renamed La Scala. It showed its last film in 1983. It opened up for bingo as the Ritz, but was then taken over by Mecca Bingo.

Mecca Bingo Ltd is owned by The Rank Group who published its latest financial result today. For the six months ended December 31, adjusted profit before tax was down 23% to £27.7m from £36.1m in the same period the previous year. Mecca's revenue of £113.7m from its 97 venues in the UK was down by 2% (down 7% on a like-for-like basis). Customer visits fell by 10% which Rank put down to "the general pressure on our customers' discretionary expenditures and the impact of the hot July weather."

The auction takes place at The Millennium Hotel, London on February 13.

Also up for sale at auction next month is the former council offices at 4-6 Moorgate Road across Rotherham town centre. Formerly occupied by the Rotherham Youth Offending Service, the offices were converted from two Victorian residential properties. It has been given a guide price of £195,000+ by local auctioneers, Mark Jenkinson & son, and goes under the hammer on February 25.

Mark Jenkinson & son recently sold the occupied commercial properties at 19 and 19a Wellgate in Rotherham town centre for £115,000. It follows on from a record 2013 where £50m worth of deals were done for commercial property in Rotherham town centre.

Acuitus website
Mark Jenkinson & son website

Images: Acuitus

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News: Prime Minister puts small businesses front and centre

In the year of its 40th anniversary and at its inaugural policy conference in London, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), the UK's largest business organisation representing around 200,000 small businesses, welcomed the Prime Minister to address one of its national events.

The FSB's Conference focused on setting the agenda on enterprise, skills and growth with the FSB saying that the time is right for small firms to seize opportunities and the moment to create a successful and vibrant Britain.

Mike Cherry, national policy chairman of the FSB, said: "Small firms are the backbone of the economy. We need to ensure the issues small and micro businesses face remain front and centre stage in policymakers' minds, not only up to the General Election, but beyond. 

"No longer should supporting small firms be a ‘nice to have' that comes as an afterthought to policymaking. Just as much as our world-class large businesses are vital for prosperity, small firms too are the lifeblood of our economic well-being and need a similar level of focus. We must hardwire the vital role they play in the economy into our thinking. The Government must focus on how they can support these businesses in job creation and growth while the UK's large businesses need to play their part too in supporting ambitious small businesses, for example through paying their smaller suppliers promptly."

At the event, David Cameron set out how the success of small businesses is central to the government's long term economic plan. He pledged his commitment to continue to make it easier for small businesses to thrive outlining policies such as business rate relief, growth vouchers, employment allowance and the reduction in business red tape.

Prime Minister, David Cameron, said: "The future of Britain's economy depends on Britain's small businesses - on those with the courage to strike out and start their own thing, who work all hours to succeed, who through love, sweat and tears make their business grow. We need you to keep on creating good private sector jobs, so that more people can earn a living for their families and have financial security for the future." 

The FSB has raised how business support is congested and confusing with research showing hundreds of support schemes to help small firms, yet with little take-up or effect.

FSB website

Images: Number 10

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News: Willmott Dixon Partnerships fit out Rotherham community centre

Staff from Willmott Dixon Partnerships have upgraded the facilities at a local community centre in Rotherham.

From a base at Templeborough, Willmott Dixon works with Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council to deliver a repairs and maintenance service to 10,500 homes in the areas of Wentworth South, Wentworth Valley, Rother Valley West and Rother Valley South.

A team of tradesmen for the repairs and maintenance company have fitted a new kitchen at the Oates Close Community Centre in Henley, to help improve the facilities for those that use the centre regularly.

The team spent a week refurbishing the kitchen, replacing the old units and work tops, laying a new floor and installing new plumbing fixtures.

The kitchen was recently re-opened to the community during a special ceremony which was attended by Councillor John Foden, Mayor of Rotherham and local Councillors Jahangir Akhtar and Kath Sims.

Michael Pearson, customer and community officer at Willmott Dixon Partnerships in Rotherham,said: "We were approach by Councillor Akhtar to see if there was anything we could do to help improve the facilities at Oates Close Community Centre. This centre means so much to so many people in the local area and is used very frequently. We were happy to step in and make a difference to the facilities here, and we hope that this kitchen will serve the community well."

Councillor Jahangir Akhtar, added: "I'm very pleased that Willmott Dixon were able to support the Henley Community Group with this kitchen refurbishment. It is a great example of our partnership working together in ways to benefit the local community."

Mick Williamson, managing director of Willmott Dixon Partnerships, said: "This is very much part of our ethos called Transforming Communities, which is about how we can make a real, positive difference to the lives of people living locally.

"We want to play an active part in delivering initiatives that leave real legacy and recently wrote a report, called Transforming Communities, to share ideas and help organisations deliver sustainable growth to help communities through these current austere times."

Wilmott Dixon website

Images: Wilmott Dixon

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News: Rotherham Council supports Meadowhall as HS2 station location

Rotherham Council is backing Meadowhall as the location for the South Yorkshire HS2 station and has echoed calls for more to be done to improve connectivity to the rest of the region.

HS2 is the Government's £50 billion high speed rail project that aims to provide extra capacity to handle increasing demand. By 2033, a South Yorkshire station will be on the proposed route from London to Leeds via Birmingham and the East Midlands. With trains travelling at speeds of up to 250 mph, and each with up to 1,100 seats per train, passengers will be able to get from Leeds in 17 minutes, Birmingham in 38 minutes and from London in one hour and nine minutes.

Plans including the proposed location of a HS2 station at Meadowhall were announced last year with an expectation that it would support the creation of around 5,000 jobs in the station development regeneration areas around Meadowhall and the Lower Don Valley.

A report by KPMG recently estimated that HS2 could add between £0.5 billion and £0.9 billion each year to the economic output of South Yorkshire and increase output in Rotherham by as much as £272m each year.

In responding to the national consultation, Cllr. Roger Stone, leader of Rotherham Council, said: "Rotherham Council strongly supports the inclusion of the Sheffield city region (SCR) in the High Speed Two network because it will provide much needed capacity and significantly enhance journey times from SCR to London, and other core regional cities including Leeds, Nottingham, Derby and Birmingham.

"RMBC anticipates that the beneficial economic impact of the HS2 station at Meadowhall will not be confined solely to the immediate proximity of the station itself but, with improved connections from Rotherham and the other urban centres in the Sheffield city region, the development and economic growth impact will be seen across the SCR."

It follows on from the response by the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE), on behalf of the South Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority (ITA), that explained how improvements to connectivity and a masterplan for the area around Meadowhall would help the region harness the economic growth that the HS2 project could bring.

With Rotherham town centre just six minutes away by rail, the council believes that it is ideally placed to maximise the journey time savings and productivity benefits from HS2. For example a train journey to Leeds from Rotherham can currently take over an hour in peak times. This would be reduced to under 30 minutes using HS2.

The council also believes that HS2 can help increase the number of businesses and employment opportunities in Rotherham significantly, especially in areas such as the town centre, Parkgate and the Lower Don Valley. It is also expected to enhance the access to the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) from London and other regions and help enhance and stimulate much needed housing growth in the borough.

Some improvements between Rotherham and Meadowhall are already committed, such as the tram-train and the Bus Rapid Transit system, but Rotherham Council is calling on more to be done. This includes calls for dualling the Holmes Chord, the single rail track that restricts rail stops at Rotherham central; improving the current tram-trail trial and extending it through the Dearne Valley; and an investment fund for modifying the existing rail network.

The consultation response also urges the government to reconsider the route as it approaches Meadowhall from the South given that landowners, Harworth Estates estimates that it would affected 1,000 of the the 4,000 proposed homes on its important Waverley site.

Other commercial areas affected by the route include the Home Decor facility and development site on the former Laycast foundry and a number of commercial properties at Catcliffe including Boundary Mill, Morrisons and JTF Warehouse.

The route would have an even bigger impact on Waverley if Sheffield Council were to get its wish for the station to be located closer to the city centre at Victoria. That would also affect the newly built houses at Waverley, part of the AMP site, and the site outlined by Rolls-Royce for a new facility to support nuclear manufacturing.

Rotherham Council's response also discusses the impacts of HS2 on communities and housing in Catcliffe and Swallownest, the impact on the environment and the highways network.

It also urges the government to begin work on the project in the North jointly with work in the South and that the route through the region to Leeds should be constructed at the same time as the route to Manchester.

HS2 website

Images: SYPTE

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News: Macalloy fly the flag in Singapore

Rotherham exporters, Macalloy will join a delegation of local business leaders and members of the Sheffield city region (SCR) Inward Investment team and travel together to Singapore next month. They will promote the region's excellence in advanced manufacturing, particularly in the aerospace, oil and gas sectors for which Singapore is the most important market hub in Asia.

The mission is timed to coincide with the Singapore Air Show to explore export opportunities in the sector capitalising on the regions strength in manufacturing aerospace components whilst selling the region as an inward investment proposition.

Based in Dinnington, Macalloy are world leaders in design, manufacture and supply of threaded bar and cable systems to engineering and construction projects across the globe.

Macalloy 460 galvanised tie rods were supplied in a range of diameters to support the roof canopies along the bayfront of the $5.5bn Marina Bay Sands development in Singapore (pictured) that was constructed on land reclaimed from the sea.

Macalloy tie rods are also used to support the 35m high glass façade at the access to the MRT station at Singapore's Changi airport terminal.

William Beckett, MD of William Beckett Plastics and chairman of the South Yorkshire International Trade Forum (SYITF) and trade delegation lead said: "A major development in the city region has been the willingness of all the different trade support organisations to work together with the agreed aim of promoting the skills and expertise in the region and to focus on target market sectors having the greatest export growth potential.

"Singapore was identified as a perfect example of this strategy and in March last year I went there on behalf of the SYITF to explore the opportunities for both export trade and inward investment specifically in the aerospace, oil and gas sectors.

"Having subsequently conducted a significant market research exercise in mapping Singapore companies in these sectors, we are now able to match them with companies in the SCR.

"Companies on the mission will benefit from having this information, which will give them an excellent opportunity to increase their export trade to the region."

David Grey MBE and Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Board member overseeing Inward Investment, added: "The Singapore Airshow attracts decision makers in the aerospace sector, and we will hold pre-arranged meetings with companies who have expansion plans and are looking at the UK as a European base.

"The ability of the AMRC to design systems in order to machine aerospace components far faster and cheaper than is possible through traditional methods, has attracted world-wide attention.

"We want to capitalise on that and encourage companies to make the move and set up here, near that valued talent pool.

"The supply chain for the aerospace sector is well served by this City Region, and this is an added attraction to potential investors.

"The Inward Investment team will be making that compelling case in Singapore."

Macalloy website
SYITF website

Images: Macalloy

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News: Inspiring trainee teachers

100 initial teacher training students from Sheffield Hallam University have been given the inspiration for an enterprising approach to teaching and learning by Ready Unlimited, the award-winning Rotherham enterprise education programme.

Ready Unlimited develops teachers skills and confidence to create enterprising and entrepreneurial learning for all children, from as soon as they start school.

Evolving from Rotherham Ready and originally established as a council-run project by Rotherham Council in 2005, Ready Unlimited became an independent not-for-profit social enterprise last year.

In partnership with Sheffield Hallam University, Ready Unlimited has developed an ITT Enterprise Enhancement course which is now offered every year to trainee primary and early years teachers in order to develop an enterprising approach to teaching and learning.

The training sees all trainees experience a range of practical and theoretical activities which they can replicate in the classroom as part of their course placements. Throughout the day, trainees explored the definition of enterprise education, how enterprising skills and attitudes could be developed through the curriculum and took part in an entrepreneurial challenge.

Ready Unlimited has worked in partnership with the university for the last five years and worked with 700 trainee teachers, developing their skills, knowledge and confidence to integrate enterprise and entrepreneurship into the curriculum.

Naomi Cooper, senior lecturer in the Department of Teacher Education at Sheffield Hallam, said: "We wholeheartedly endorse the ITT enterprise enhancement course run by Ready Unlimited.

"Every year, we are proud to say that a full cohort of trainee teachers get to experience this training and go on to apply for their first teaching roles equipped with something truly innovative to make them stand out from the crowd. We are passionate about enterprise education at the university and therefore strongly believe that it should form part of our teacher education offer."

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has this week published its Skills and Employment Manifesto setting out ways to radically transform the systems that educate our young people. It includes calls for universities and chambers of commerce to promote enterprise among a wider range of students and for improvements to careers guidance and employability skills provision in schools.

Rotherham leads the way in enterprise education and has become internationally acclaimed for its approach to integrating enterprise into learning for all children aged 4-19. Professors and business people from Japan, Finland, Lithuania and Spain have visited Rotherham to find out more.

Ready Unlimited website

Images: Ready Unlimited

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News: U-turns in road plan

Motorists will need to be prepared to do a u-turn as plans for a £5m transport scheme to reduce congestion in Rotherham have been amended after surveys found that there has been a significant increase in traffic since 2010.

£3.4m was secured last year from the government's £190m Local Pinch Point Fund to convert Pool Green roundabout (Liquid roundabout) on the edge of the town centre into signalised crossroads. The junction of A630 Centenary Way and Main Street currently experiences significant congestion and the council has previously investigated options to improve the capacity of the junction in order to improve journey time reliability and reduce delay.

With £500k of funding from Local Transport Plan (LTP) and £1m of capital funding from the council, the scheme would also remove the barriers currently restricting the development at important sites such as the New York Stadium, the Guest & Chrimes site, Forge Island, Liquid nightclub and the wider town centre.

The improvements are also expected to have a significant impact on unlocking Rotherham's "urban extension" at Bassingthorpe Farm where the council hopes that 2,400 new residential homes will be located.

Development plots on the west side of the junction would also be created, which would be in the Council's ownership, and offer a future capital receipt, which initial views suggest could be worth up to £600k.

Subsequent traffic surveys have revealed a significant increase in flow at the junction since the previous surveys in 2010, which were used to develop the original design for the Pinch Point Scheme.

Now the plans have been amended with the widening of the busy Centenary Way to three lanes as it approaches the new junction.

However, to keep the traffic flowing, vehicles wishing to turn right from Centenary Way towards either Masbrough or the town centre will now need to go straight ahead at the crossroads, use the signal controlled U-Turn facilities within the wide central reservation to come back on themselves, and then turn left at the crossroads.

The right turn from Masbrough Street onto Centenary Way has been retained.

In a recent council report, Ian Ashmore, transportation and traffic manager at Rotherham Council, said: "The revised scheme has significant benefits in terms for both the free and safe flow of traffic on the highway network, and meets the DfT's main objectives in awarding grants under the Pinch Point Fund effectively freeing up the most constrained junction along Centenary Way between St. Anns and Ickles Roundabouts.

"From the traffic modelling exercise that has now been undertaken, it is considered that the scheme design now promoted can acceptably accommodate the predicted traffic growth up to the scheme design year 2030, whilst also accommodating pedestrians crossing from Masbrough into the Town Centre at-grade under signal control."

Work was due to start in June 2014 and must be completed in March 2015. Trade reports suggest that Eurovia Contracting UK (Ringway) has been appointed to carry out the work.

Images: WSP / RMBC

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News: Stafforce reports strong growth in Bradford

The Bradford branch of Rotherham recruitment specialist, Stafforce has reported significant growth in 2013.

With a head office on Percy Street in Rotherham town centre and over 150 staff in a UK-wide network of 27 sites, Stafforce offers a range of services to clients through its Stafforce Recruitment and Nicholas Associates brands.

Stafforce Recruitment continued its strategic development programme with the acquisition of Relay Recruitment, an award winning Bradford agency in 2011. The high street office won 28 new clients - nearly double its complement at the end of 2013 - and is forecast to be 20 per cent above budget for the year. It peaked at 203 staff.

Julie Bates, business manager at Stafforce (pictured), said: "The company's drive to be more than a recruiter, but a strategic partner that helps clients increase profitability, efficiency and sustainability is increasingly popular with Bradford employers.

"An example of this is how we have helped many SMEs unlock EU, regional and local grants that can see as much as £16,000 awarded for each new appointment. We have also conducted a very high profile marketing campaign, which has seen us visit the offices of existing and potential clients with impactful marketing material and leave-behinds."

Whilst Stafforce provides temporary and permanent recruitment, its sister company, Nicholas Associates, which has offices in Sheffield, offers recruitment, learning and talent development, robotics and automation, software development and Lean business services to its clients.

The town centre branch has recently taken on new staff and the South Bradford Hub has won ten clients since it was launched last August, providing them with 360 staff each day. The majority of its client base is made up of larger employers that require more focused, onsite support.

The Bradford team secured the opportunity to supply Jack Pennington Ltd, a distributor to mechanical and electrical contractors, with staff for one of their biggest projects to date; one which required 1,800 hours of labour.

Established in 1977, Stafforce has grown to a £60m business and is on track to becoming a £100m operation.

Stafforce website

Images: Stafforce

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News: Sheffield universities can get in the zone

Universities in Sheffield can bid for part of a £15m government fund to establish University Enterprise Zones and help to drive local growth plans and support entrepreneurship and innovation.

University Enterprise Zones will provide funding to locations across England and lead to the development of new business spaces within universities. These spaces will host a range of start up, high-tech companies, that can benefit best from universities' expert knowledge.

The government hopes that the zones will encourage universities to engage further with business and with Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in driving innovation and growth at a local level. In Sheffield, Professor Philip Jones, vice chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University, has a place on the LEP board.

There is also a hope that the zones will encourage businesses with innovation potential to engage with universities. The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing in Rotherham 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.

The zones could also address the issue that there is little or no appetite in the private sector to invest in buildings on science parks providing office, workshop and laboratory space for small firms (incubator and grow-on space).

Prime Minister David Cameron said: "As part of our long-term plan to help secure Britain’s economic future, I want to see higher education and enterprise work hand in glove to boost growth and create even more jobs. Our world-leading universities have historically been at the heart of innovation but we need to give them the tools to be even better at cultivating the seeds of growth as well as knowledge.

"University Enterprise Zones will unlock the potential of so many students who will be able to move into affordable business space and start to build their own business straight after their degree. I want to see University Enterprise Zones help create the next Yahoo or the next Microsoft – bringing jobs and prosperity to both the local and wider economy and helping us succeed in the global race."

Universities and Science Minister David Willetts said: "Our world class universities are the perfect places to drive innovation, support the growth of the local economy and keep the UK ahead in the global race. The expert knowledge base we have combined with new business ideas will make University Enterprise Zones powerful tools for local success."

Sheffield city region's enterprise zone is set to receive a cash injection of up to £14.2m to speed up delivery of vital infrastructure at Markham Vale, a leading business and industrial park near Chesterfield. The grant will generate a further £95.7m of private sector investment, create more than 2,100 jobs and build new access roads, around 16,720 sq m of commercial floorspace, and unlock a further 33 Ha of land for development.

The announcement follows on from £1.8m awarded to Sheffield Business Park (also in the enterprise zone) to improve local roads and drainage will help expand the business park, making it more attractive to new investors.

The Sheffield City Region Enterprise Zone is based on a series of key sites that will focus growth within the advanced engineering and technology sectors.

These include a number of key employment sites in Rotherham such as areas of the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) and Templeborough.

Companies located in the zone are benefiting from simplified planning rules and tax breaks for businesses. One of the main benefits that the zones will offer is a business rate discount worth up to £275,000 per eligible business over a five year period.

Companies within the zone could also take advantage of enhanced capital allowances (instead of business rate discounts) for plant and machinery.

Sheffield City Region Enterprise Zone website

Images: The AMRC

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News: Templeborough steelworkers reunite at Magna

20 years after production ended at the massive steelworks at Templeborough, all former steelworkers and their families are being invited to a reunion event to celebrate the life, culture and history of the steelworks.

The shortage of steel to make shells during the First World War led to the construction of the Templeborough Steelworks that was completed in 1916. The works had 11 open-hearth furnaces, and three more were added later. Templeborough's 14 chimneys became known as the "Fourteen Sisters," a famous Rotherham landmark.

The works became known as "Steelos" after the owners Steel, Peech and Tozer. It was the largest open-hearth melting shop in Europe and being so vast, it stretched for a mile on both sides of the road. Navigation was by landmarks and the steelmaking process started at the "Sheffield End" and the finishing took place at the "Rotherham End."

At its peak, the works employed 10,000 people and during the Second World War Steelos produced almost four million tons of ingots.

Electric Arc Furnaces were introduced in the early 1960s to replace the open-hearth furnaces that were both lower in efficiency and productivity. At one time the steelworks produced almost 25% of the UK's electrically melted steel and was the world's largest steel plant producing up to 18 million tonnes of steel a year.

No longer as labour intensive and increasingly computerised, the number of employees at the steelworks dramatically dropped. In 1993 due to a poor market, and high raw material and power costs, the works ceased production.

In 2001 Magna opened as the UK's first science adventure centre, set in the former steelworks. One of the arc furnaces is now a giant pyrotechnic display in the visitor centre called "The Big Melt." The centre is a family attraction with more than 100 hands-on exhibits designed to explore the four elements of air, water, earth and fire. It also hosts regular school trips and has event space that can cater for anything from 30 people up to 3,000.

Now Magna is hosting the free reunion event on February 8 with a pie and peas lunch, a brass band, access to the visitor attraction and beer at the price it was when the steelworks closed – just £1.30 a pint.

John Silker, general manager of Magna, said: "We know that this building is a massive part of the history of the area. Although it is now a visitor attraction, education resource and corporate events venue, it is very much rooted in the steel industry and is a valued asset to South Yorkshire.

"By inviting former steelworkers back to Magna, we are marking the living history of this remarkable building. We hope they will enjoy meeting old colleagues and reminiscing about their days in what must have been an amazing place to work."

The event is all-ticket, with tickets available by emailing events@magnatrust.co.uk or contacting 01709 723102.

Magna website

Images: Hearts of Steel project/ Rotherham Archives

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News: Newburgh Engineering to hit MACH 14

Rotherham precision engineering company, Newburgh, has signed up to exhibit at the UK's premier engineering & manufacturing event this spring and companies from across the Sheffield city region are being encouraged to do the same.

With a state of the art facility at Templeborough, Newburgh is a specialist contract manufacturer of high specification component parts and assemblies for the nuclear, defence, oil and gas, petrochemical, aerospace and power generation industries.

It will be on show at MACH 2014 which runs from the April 7 - 11 2014 at the Birmingham NEC and typically attracts over 21,500 visitors and provides a platform for almost 500 exhibitors to demonstrate their latest technologies and innovations.

Newburgh will be part of a joint pavilion hosted by Rotherham Investment & Development Office (RiDO) and the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (SCR LEP) that will also include a full size model of the BLOODHOUND SSC supercar and the University of Sheffield AMRC's MANTRA vehicle.

Newburgh is a project sponsor of BLOODHOUND, that aims to break the world land speed record by achieving the supersonic speed of 1,000mph, and is providing vital design for manufacture advice and CNC machining services to support the project.

Matthew Jewitt, sales director at Newburgh Engineering, said: "We're delighted to be attending as part of the Sheffield City Region (SCR) Pavilion. Newburgh provides an exceptional manufacturing capability that supports key global projects and supply chains. There are real opportunities for businesses such as ourselves to exploit, and this joint approach provides an ideal forum to promote the collective strength and innovation in our region."

Ellen Cutler, director of inward investment for the Sheffield city region, added: "Mach gives the Sheffield City Region a great opportunity to showcase the world-class offer we have for investors.

"By co-exhibiting with companies like Newburgh Engineering we can demonstrate the quality of businesses that already benefit from this excellent location.

"A critical mass of engineering skills, globally renowned advanced manufacturing research institutions and an Enterprise Zone offering attractive incentives means we have a compelling offer for companies in this space with expansion plans."

RiDO are supporting South Yorkshire small and medium sized companies via their South Yorkshire Sector Growth Enhancement Programme that is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. Companies wishing to exhibit at the show can be part of the City Region's joint pavilion for less than 50% of the cost of exhibiting at Mach independently. The package includes the use of the café networking space on the pavilion with free refreshments, a company biography in the SCR event brochure, and free PR support throughout.

Andrew Klinkenberg, sector growth manager at RiDO, said: "MACH is the number one show for innovation in engineering and manufacturing in the UK.

"We hope that through our ERDF business support programme and the joint approach with the Local Enterprise Partnership, we can offer real opportunities to both Newburgh Engineering and other innovative companies in the region."

Newburgh Engineering website
RiDO website
SCR Invest website

Images: AMRC

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News: Next warehouse is a big deal

The 2013 acquisition of the massive Next distribution centre in Manvers, Rotherham by Legal & General Property was the largest deal for a single property in what was a record year for distribution warehouse investment.

Investment fund managers, Tritax sold the two units at Brookfield's Park, which total 1.1m sq ft, in a deal worth £87m and secured a yield of 5.5%.

According to research from Savills, 2013 was a record year for distribution warehouse investment with approximately £2.5 billion transacted, which is an increase of nearly 50% on 2012. The international real estate advisor notes that this rise was driven by a continued growth in demand for the sector from an increasingly diverse investor group from the UK and overseas.

James Williams, investment director at Savills, said: "Interest from investors in the logistics sector has gained incredible momentum over the last 12 months. While UK funds and REITs have dominated the market, we are also seeing increasing interest on a global platform from a diverse range of buyers from the USA, Russia, the Middle East and South Africa.

"This rise in demand has inevitably generated strong yield compression and resulted in distribution warehouses outperforming all other property sub-sectors in 2013, according to IPD, with returns of 15.2% being delivered."

Key deals that also took place in 2013 include: ProLogis' acquisition of a £247m portfolio from London Metric, Gazeley Properties' funding of John Lewis at Magna Park in Milton Keynes to Aviva Investors for £76.5m; Henderson's acquisition of RD Park, Hoddesdon for £74.5m; and the purchase of Marks & Spencer Distribution Centre in Castle Donnington by Tritax Big Box REIT for £82.57m.

Andrew Bull, industrial director at Savills, said: "Looking forward we anticipate investor demand will remain strong for the logistics sector, buoyed by a continuing improvement and confidence in the occupational markets. In addition, the absence of a loosening in supply of suitable investment stock will ensure yields remain robust during 2014. Further yield hardening is possible over the short term however we do not expect to see it on the same scale as 2013."

Developed by St Paul's Developments and opened in 2008, Next's Rotherham operation is home to around 450 employees. The two buildings can handle 110,000 pallets and includes the largest warehouse in Next's 13-site distribution network that handles a total 315 million units each year. The network makes 88,000 deliveries every year to 500 Next stores across the UK and 2.6 million active internet and Next Directory catalogue customers.

Savills website

Images: LSH

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News: BT switched on in Rotherham

BT continues to invest in superfast fibre broadband in Rotherham as the uncertainty continues over the future of the collapsed Digital Region project.

Thrybergh and Wath upon Dearne are the latest areas to receive the broadband boost with a further 9,000 businesses and homes expected to have access to the infrastructure as BT engineers complete the local upgrade in the weeks ahead.

Thrybergh and Wath follow many other locations across Rotherham including Aston Common, Dinnington, Maltby and Wickersley where fibre broadband is already available. By the end of Spring 2014 more than 82,500 homes and businesses in the Rotherham district will be able to benefit from BT's £2.5 billion fibre programme.

The aim of the Digital Region project was to bring continuous 25mb+ broadband to over 97% of South Yorkshire, including 550,000 homes and 1.3 million people. Work on installing the network started in 2009, and by 2012, completion of phase one of the project saw 80 percent of homes and businesses within South Yorkshire able to be linked to the network.

The £90m project includes £30m from the European Regional Development Fund and the project was wholly owned by the now defunct Yorkshire Forward and the four local authorities of South Yorkshire. Last year the remaining shareholders agreed to halt their search for a private sector partner and begin a managed closure of the fibre optic network.

The network is expected to be decommissioned by August 2014. Rotherham Council expects its share of the overall cost to be contained within the total budget provision made in 2011/12 and 2012/13 of £7.6m.

Auditors, KPMG recently recommended that Rotherham Council should ensure that it carries out a review of the Digital Region Project to identify the lessons that should be learned from the initial decision to invest up to the final decision to close the company.

Last year, the Minister of State for Business and Enterprise, Michael Fallon, described the project as "deeply flawed" as it had failed to attract customers. It was also revealed that the government would have to provide at least 45% of the funding to cover a significant proportion of the repayment of the European Regional Development Fund grant which has to be paid back to Brussels, because the original conditions were not fulfilled. It will also pay a proportion of the contract due to the original operator, Thales.

Many believe that it will be BT that will take over the fibre network installed by the project. Ironic given that the project was ahead of its time as BT had no plans to invest in South Yorkshire when it began.

Also since the project began, the government established Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) with the goal of delivering a fibre point in every community in the UK by the end of 2015.

Tom Keeney, regional director for Yorkshire and the Humber at BT, said: "Our roll-out of fibre broadband continues at a world class pace with Thrybergh and Wath upon Dearne the latest places to benefit. More than two million homes and businesses across the UK are already using our new fibre network. Local residents now have the opportunity to join them and find out for themselves why there's such a buzz about fibre broadband.

"Businesses working better with fibre tell us it's helping them in a wealth of ways, from day to day activities like downloading software, collaborating with clients and moving large data files around to big business decisions like expanding the workforce or introducing better quality IT services at less cost."

BT also announced that it will invest a further £50m into its commercial fibre broadband programme over the next three years. The focus is on enabling city cabinets that weren't part of BT's original commercial plans; deploying fibre to cabinets to serve multi-dwelling units such as apartment blocks; and laying further fibre – including Fibre-to-the-Premises technology – to new build sites in cities.

BT Openreach website

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News: Marquis opens flagship dealership in Rotherham

Marquis Motorhomes, the largest multi site dealership in the UK, has acquired a new site in Rotherham as it continues to expand.

The six acre retail site at Rotherham Road, Dinnington was formerly occupied by South Yorkshire Motorhomes and Caravans. Marquis South Yorkshire becomes the eleventh branch in its retail portfolio.

Marquis Motorhomes was established in 1973 and following a Management Buy Out, Marquis became privately owned together with Auto-Sleepers Ltd and form the Auto-Sleepers Group. The retail and manufacturing divisions work closely together to bring some of the best motorhomes and caravans to the UK market.

Geoff Scott, CEO of the Auto-Sleepers Group said: "Following on from the huge success of Marquis Durham, which was established in September 2012, Marquis South Yorkshire represents another significant and sound financial investment for the business and further consolidates the Marquis brand as the market leader.

"The business acquisition is a strategic opportunity for Marquis to further increase its national sales volumes into the Central regions of the UK and significantly raise the presence of the Auto-Sleepers brand."

Alongside the retail site is a secure customer storage facility for over 1,100 motorhomes and caravans and Marquis believes that it is all set to become a flagship dealership.

Mike Crouch, managing director of the Auto-Sleeper Group, said: "Marquis South Yorkshire has the perfect platform on which to launch an immediate impact in the area.

"Marquis has again seen a record increase in its market share of new motorhome registrations during 2013 despite difficult trading conditions. The expectation for further growth in 2014 remains positive even in a flat market."

Marquis Motorhomes website

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News: City region chambers are well connected

Chambers of Commerce across the Sheffield city region (SCR) are launching a joint initiative to help their members grow.

The City Region Networking Breakfasts are a joint initiative between The Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber of Commerce, Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, Doncaster Chamber of Commerce and Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce.

The bi-monthly breakfast events will take place on the third Tuesday of the month and will be held at Tankersley Manor Hotel in Barnsley. The first event is scheduled for February 18 at 7:30am.

The aim is for attendees to meet new businesses and make new contacts and there will also be a Business Card Draw offering some attendees the opportunity to promote their company by making a two-minute presentation on their business to all assembled guests.

Mark Hannigan, operations manager at Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber of Commerce, said: "The City Region Chambers of Commerce have come together to organise a regular breakfast networking event for all our members. Events of this nature allow businesses from a cross the city region to come together to further increase their business contact and develop potential revenues streams from across the area with other Chamber members."

Other upcoming events from Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber include the Rotherham United Business Club lunch with Millers chairman Tony Stewart, the Rotherham Titans Networking Event and the Chamber Race Day at Doncaster Racecourse.

Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber website

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News: AMRC Training Centre provides the human interest story on the AMP

The latest investment on the pioneering Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham was officially launched this week, but rather than new factories or facilities, the focus was on the investment in young people and the manufacturing workforce of the future.

The recently completed £20.5m AMRC Training Centre is part of the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing, where the focus is on providing the skills that manufacturing companies need to compete globally.

Supported by the Regional Growth Fund and European Regional Development Fund, 250 students a year, aged from 16 upwards, will be taken on paid apprenticeships with opportunities to progress on to postgraduate courses.

The training is employer-led which ensures that the apprentices gain a tailored set of skills and hands on experience that employers require. The first class of apprentices come from businesses including Tata Steel, Rolls-Royce, Sheffield Forgemasters, AESSEAL, MTL Group, AMG Superalloys and Newburgh Engineering, and from the AMRC group itself.

More than 200 local employers visited the state-of-the-art centre at an open day to showcase the facilities and to hear from the first batch of 150 advanced apprentices.

Alison Bettac, director of training at The AMRC, said that because businesses have been involved alongside the university from the start, the benefits work both ways. She said: "Throughout this experience, employers are drawing on the developing skills of a highly trained workforce who have been exposed to the very best in high-value manufacturing – skills which are vital to their own business success. And as a University, we are developing the expertise of the next generation of manufacturing who are so essential to the region's SMEs and our economic strength."

Paul White, acting Vice-Chancellor at the University of Sheffield, described the regeneration of the former Orgreave open cast site as "education meeting business on an area where the past meets the future," adding: "It is a perfect example of the university responding to the needs of the region's industry, as it did when it was first founded.

"Founded with an explicit mission to provide both economic benefits and educational opportunity to local people, we are deeply proud of the fact that the AMRC Training Centre is a national leader in how young people might access training and employment opportunities in ways which also directly offer progression into a higher education of the highest quality."

Delegates also heard from the minister for local growth, cities and regeneration, Kris Hopkins MP, and the Mayor of Rotherham, John Foden.

Hamid Mughal, global vice president of manufacturing for Rolls-Royce, Tim Wheeler, industrial engagement manager for Boeing, and James Selka, production director at Rotherham-based AESSEAL, all took the opportunity to explain how important apprentices have been in creating the foundation for success in their respective companies.

Mughal said: "The potential of The AMRC is enormous. When you combine the very best in technology, processes and skills, it equals success, what I call knowledge based manufacturing excellence. And then combine that with passion. I see that passion for manufacturing here in Rotherham."

Adrian Allen OBE, commercial director at The AMRC, a Rotherham-born businessman who worked with Professor Keith Ridgway CBE to launch the AMRC with Boeing in 2001, closed the event. He said: "To think of the first centre, built on derelict wasteland ten years ago, compared to what we have now - the highest-tech facilities that I know of - you'd say we were crazy."

Thanking those involved, Allen concluded: "You'll do our region and our country proud when we have 1,000 apprentices coming through here to support the inward investment that we all desire."

AMRC Training Centre website

Images: University of Sheffield

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News: Green Group invest in new fleet

Rotherham logistics firm, The Green Group has placed one of the biggest orders yet for low-emission trucks from Mercedes-Benz as it signs up to Pall-Ex, the European palletised freight network.

With over 25-years experience in the logistics sector, Maltby's The Green Group is a member of the Freight Transport Association. The company also offers warehousing facilities, construction and civil engineering work, and has a number of other business interests in the commercial property market.

The company has left UK Pallets to join the Pall-Ex network and will take control of coverage for part of the S and part of the DN postcode areas.

Steven Reed, network development director at Pall-Ex, said: "The Green Group is a leading name in UK haulage and we are more than happy to welcome them to the network."

Mark Steventon, depot principal at The Green Group, added: "Pall-Ex is considered to be the leading brand in the European palletised freight sector and is well known for its service levels. As a company, it very much matches all of the values that we emphasise here at The Green Group."

The Green Group has also announced that it will take delivery of 50 low-emission Euro VI trucks supplied by local dealer, Northside Truck & Van. The new 50 Actros tractor units follow on from the 30 new trucks that went into operation last year.

Rebecca Wharmsby, assistant managing director at The Green Group, said: "We strive as a business to do all that we can to reduce our carbon footprint, not least because customers invariably ask us when conducting their own annual reviews, what we're doing to cut emissions.

"By investing before we needed to do so in clean, Euro VI technology from Mercedes-Benz, we've proved that not only are we Green by name, we're also green by nature."

The Green Group website

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News: Moorhead Savage toast the future with Beer Festival sponsorship

Rotherham insolvency expert Paul Moorhead and the team at Moorhead Savage will be raising a glass to signs of economic recovery at the Rotherham Real Ale and Music Festival on Wednesday March 5.

Based in RiDO's Moorgate Crofts business centre, the award-winning insolvency practice offers high quality, professional, impartial and ethical help and debt advice to both companies and individuals.

As part of the Real Ale and Music Festival, held at the Magna Science Adventure Centre, the firm will be hosting a special networking evening and sponsoring one of the bars.

Paul Moorhead, managing director at Moorhead Savage, said: "The festival is the biggest in the north of England and it's the perfect place to relax and enjoy some informal networking with our friends after a day at work.

"We are particularly pleased this year to have strengthened our ties with the festival by becoming one of their bar sponsors."

As part of the networking event, master brewer Alex Barlow, of Sheffield company All Beer, will be selecting a choice of three fine hand pulled ales for guests and presenting a tutorial tasting session.

The Rotherham Real Ale and Music Festival is now in its 22nd year and runs at Magna from March 5 to 8, serving more than 200 real ales and also supporting Rotherham Hospice, Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice, Weston Park Hospital and MAGNA Trust.

Last year's festival raised £40,000 for local good causes and organisers are still looking for volunteers and sponsors.

To find out more about the Moorhead Savage networking event call 01709 331300

Moorhead Savage website
Rotherham Real Ale and Music Festival website

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News: United Carpets no longer part of OFT investigation

Rotherham-based United Carpets, the UK's largest franchised carpet retailer, has changed its pricing practices following an investigation by the Office of Fair Treading (OFT).

The Bramley-based group operates from 60 stores and specialises in carpets, flooring, wood floor, laminate and vinyl flooring plus beds and mattress.

In an update to the stock exchange, the AIM-listed firm said that it has signed undertakings that commit it to ensuring that its advertised recommended retail prices are genuine and are those at which the products are typically sold throughout the year. It also said that it is committed to refraining from using time-sensitive promotions such as "closing down sale" or "closing down for refurbishment" without giving consumers clear information and an explanation of the circumstances of the promotion.

United Carpets said in a statement: "The OFT has been looking into the pricing practices of a number of retailers in the home furniture, beds and flooring sector of the market including United Carpets. As a result, the Company can confirm that it has signed up to two additional retailing principles agreed with the OFT to ensure even greater transparency to our pricing practices.

"While the OFT's investigation into the sector is ongoing, United Carpets is no longer a part of it."

Gaucho Rasmussen, director of the Goods and Consumer Group at the OFT, said: "Shoppers rely upon clear, honest and upfront advertising of prices. When retailers advertise misleading prices or promotions, consumers often make different purchases - or spend more money - than they otherwise might have done. We therefore welcome the changes that United Carpets have made, and agreed to make, to their pricing and marketing strategies."

United Carpets was readmitted to the AIM stock exchange last year after delivering its delayed final results for the period ended October 5 2012. In its financial update for the six month period ended September 30 2013, the group reported sales across the group of £28m with profit before tax of £452,000, an increase from £113,000 seen in the same period last year.

United Carpets website

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News: Martek launch latest product

Rotherham company, Martek Marine, one of the world leaders in the supply of safety and environmental monitoring systems for the shipping industry, has launched its latest product - a world-first, network-connected chart system.

Based in Manvers, Martek has been working on a new electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS), a navigation information system that keeps up-to-date charts and can be used as an alternative to paper nautical charts.

The iECDIS is the first of its kind to implement a GSM modem, meaning that the downloading and installation of charts and updates will be automatic, without any administrative pressures needed through CD updates. The GSM modem will use a mobile network signal, being able to download changeable weather forecasts and warnings instantly.

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) approved amendments to the international convention in June 2009 which made it compulsory to fit an ECDIS. All large passenger liners, tankers and cargo ships will be obliged to fit an ECDIS over the coming years.

Bentley Strafford-Stephenson, ECDIS product specialist at Martek Marine, said: "We've created a market-leading solution which combines cutting-edge technology with a very lucrative commercial proposition and a system which mariners will want to use and ship managers will find easy to adopt."

The Martek product uses military spec hardware and offers features such as radar, ice-chart overlays, weather, piracy and route planning, all available within minutes of uploading.

Exporting to over 80 countries, Martek has a turnover of around £10m and recently sailed through the £1m profit barrier. Other innovative products include defibrillators, monitoring systems, electronic chart displays and a gas callibration system. Recent product launches include the potable water testing kit, Drinksafe.

Martek Marine website

Images: Martek Marine

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News: Xercise4Less at new Rotherham gym

Yorkshire property developers, the Oakgate Group, has signed up budget gym operator, Xercise4Less for 15 years at a rent of £201,500 a year for its new Rotherham gym.

Opened at the beginning of the year in the former B&Q premises on Greasborough Street, the 31,000 sq ft gym includes over 400 pieces of high tech fitness equipment, a full sized boxing ring and a large free weights area. The gym, like all other Xercise4Less branches, also has a women's only area and a fitness studio hosting more than 40 free classes per week.

Known as "The People's Gym", Xercise4Less aims to offer the largest facilities in the area at the lowest cost, with various membership types and levels.

The former B&Q site has been vacant since the DIY chain moved to a new Rotherham store at Henry Boot's Northfield development in 2009.

John Grantham, managing director of Oakgate, said: "This is a very significant letting in a challenging retail and leisure market in South Yorkshire.

"Xercise4Less is one of the most successful, up-and-coming young companies in Yorkshire and I am sure their new gym in Rotherham will prove extremely popular. It is very good news for the town of Rotherham and will provide an important boost to the local economy."

Xercise4Less has been expanding its portfolio by taking on former retail and warehouse space in prominent locations. Recent openings include Doncaster and Hull and the company recently signed a deal with Tesco to open state of the art gyms in stores at a number of sites throughout the UK.

Founded as Xercise Health and Fitness Club in 2006, it rebranded as Xercise4less in January 2009 and now has 14 gyms. The company plans to open another 100 gyms in the next three years, investing £25m and creating over 1,000 jobs. It recently secured £5m investment from the Business Growth Fund (BGF) to support its expansion plans.

Xercise4less website
Oakgate Group website

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News: Broadsword signs for Rotherham United

Rotherham United has formally announced local partners, Broadsword UK, as the club's official print and signage partner.

The agreement will see the Europa Link firm look after the Millers branding for the rest of the current campaign and the following 2014-2015 season.

Broadsword are currently heading up an ongoing project to review the signage and branding around New York Stadium. The external glass frontage, the Red & White Shop and the external area around the gantry are just some of the areas where they have made significant improvements. With planned internal work on the tunnel area and stadium interior in the pipeline, the improvements are set to continue into 2014.

Steve Coakley, commercial director at Rotherham United (pictured, left), said: "The club and Community Sports Trust have worked alongside Broadsword successfully over a long period of time, and we are very excited to continue the partnership with a number of projects planned for the New York Stadium.

"Supporters I am sure will have seen recent visual improvements to areas of the stadium, which include the club shop, and there is more to come over the next 18 months and hopefully beyond.

"The managing director at Broadsword, Dave Race and a number of his team are huge Millers fans, and they are as excited as we are at formalising a commercial partnership."

Dave Race, Broadsword Managing Director, added: "I know I speak for everyone at Broadsword when I say we are proud to be a part of Rotherham United at this exciting period in the clubs history. The New York Stadium is an icon for Rotherham and we are honoured to be able to play our part."

Broadsword is a leading print management and display print provider and specialise in signage, displays and stand graphics.

Rotherham United website
Broadsword UK website

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News: Talent Match funding boost

Talent Match, a major new jobs initiative that aims to help young unemployed people aged between 18-24 in the Sheffield City Region, has secured £9.8m from the Big Lottery Fund.

A local voluntary / community partnership led by independent charity, Sheffield Futures, Talent Match aims to reach young people from across the city region and provide them with the necessary skills to secure jobs in their local area.

Using the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) vision to create sustainable jobs right across a number of key investment sites, Talent Match will cover areas that will include Sheffield city centre, the Dearne Valley and the Markham Vale / Meden Valley former colliery sites.

It was announced last year that in Rotherham, Voluntary Action Rotherham would act as local management / delivery agent with the Children and Young People Consortium leading on the project that will be delivered between now and 2017.

Nat Sloane, England Chair of the Big Lottery Fund, said: "Youth unemployment is an issue that threatens the hopes of an entire generation as well as our whole economic wellbeing. Talent Match promises to help the very hardest to reach young people to make the most of their skills and ambitions, not just as an end goal, but by giving them a say in how the programme itself is designed and put into practice.

"The funding announced today is a key step on a very exciting journey as it means the real work can now begin. By bringing together employers and the knowledge of key charities, Talent Match will help ensure today's young people have the maximum help and support they need to find a fulfilling and rewarding career."

Announcing the project last year, Andy Barrs, chief executive of Sheffield Futures, said: "Talent Match is a tremendously exciting opportunity for local young people to develop the confidence and skills necessary to secure long-term employment in what is now an increasingly competitive labour market.

"The project aims to support longer-term unemployed young people who need extra help to develop the skills that employers typically require."

21 partnerships in unemployment hotspots across England have secured funding. The number of young people aged between 18-24 claiming jobseekers allowance (JSA) in the Sheffield city region has been steadily declining but still stood at 11,865 in November 2013. There were 2,850 young people aged 24 and under that have been claiming JSA for more than a year.

Sheffield Futures website

Images: Big Lottery Fund

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News: UKTI targets Yorkshire's "mittelstand"

Mid-sized businesses in Yorkshire will be some of the first to be personally offered tailored trade advice and an intensive programme of support to help them start exporting or break into new markets.

Recently appointed Trade Minister, Lord Livingston, will personally write to all the UK's 8,900 mid-sized businesses by this summer to ask them if they would like trade support from national business support organisation, UK Trade & Investment (UKTI).

A pilot study will be conducted in Yorkshire and the South East followed by a full national roll out.

The government sees mid-sized businesses as vital to its economic plan to reduce the deficit and create more jobs. The CBI estimates that, if they reach their full potential, it would be worth £20 to £50 billion to the UK economy. Currently mid-sized businesses make up just 0.5% of all businesses but contribute around a fifth of employment and turnover in the UK.

Germans use the word "mittelstand" for the millions of middle-sized companies that form the backbone of their booming economy. Only 17% of UK mid-sized businesses generate revenues outside of the EU compared to 25% in Germany and 30% in Italy.

Lord Livingston said: "Mid-sized businesses have the potential to be economic powerhouses for the UK economy, creating jobs and growth for all regions of the UK.

"Their success is dependant on expanding beyond domestic markets so we will be making personal contact with all mid-sized businesses to find out what we can do to help them go up a gear and compete with the best the rest of the world has to offer.

"Businesses excel with UKTI's support and we want to make sure that they are not just trading abroad, but thriving there."

The UKTI believe that, with its help, mid-sized businesses can increase their sales by £1.8m. Support includes international trade advisers, assessments of export readiness, trade visits and communications reviews.

UKTI website

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News: Irwin Mitchell advises on Iceotope’s "deal of the century"

Law firm Irwin Mitchell, which has offices in Sheffield, played a key role in Iceotope, the hi-tech firm based on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, recently completing a $10m round of fundraising.

Working with the University of Leeds, the enterprise is developing a new system that reduces the power consumed in data centres by using liquid rather than air to provide cooling, eliminating the need for power-hungry fans.

Iceotope described the investment as the "deal of the century" and said that it is planning to use the investment, which has been provided by Aster Capial and Ombu Group, to expand its global reach, build its product range and target larger supercomputing projects.

Jean-Marc Bally, managing partner at Aster Capital, said: "Iceotope can deliver breakthrough energy efficient solutions into the area of data centres infrastructure.

"We have been impressed by the effort and the progress made by the Iceotope team in the last couple of years and we envision that, thanks to our corporate sponsors, especially Schneider Electric and Solvay, we will be able to strongly support Iceotope development and make it the future liquid cooling market leader within HPC and data centre markets."

Andrea Cropley, partner and Head of Irwin Mitchell's Corporate team in the North of England, advised Investment Partners, Iceotope's existing investor, in relation to the funding deal.

Andrea said: "I'm delighted to have advised on this deal as it represents a significant investment for the business and should provide a major boost for its international expansion plans.

"Iceotope is extremely innovative and demonstrates what the Yorkshire business community can offer. It clearly has huge potential and I look forward to seeing it develop during this exciting phase of its expansion."

Iceotope website
Irwin Mitchell website

Images: Iceotope

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News: Maltby powers strong trading for Alkane

Alkane Energy, one of the UK's fastest growing independent power generators, has reported strong trading performance for 2013, the year it began 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. It raised £6m in equity funding to complete a £7.5m deal to buy coal mine methane (CMM) assets at Maltby last year.

Now the UK's largest generator of electricity from CMM, Alkane posted a trading update for the six months ended December 31 2013 showing that performance has remained strong with output increasing 15% year on year. For the period, the group said that it expects to deliver electricity of circa 192 GWh, compared to 167 GWh in 2012.

The boost in output was due to the 11MW Maltby operations which Alkane said is performing ahead of plan.

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 & safety, geological, and financial grounds.

Neil O'Brien, chief executive officer at Alkane, said: "Alkane continues to invest in new facilities as the UK Electricity market faces an increased risk of an energy gap over the coming years. 

"2013 has seen the successful integration of the Maltby acquisition and improved performance from our Power Response sites. It has been our 10th successive year of output growth and we remain confident of future prospects."

The board at Alkane expect that the financial results for the year ended December 31 2013 will be in line with market expectations. In the six months ended 30 June 2013, Alkane reported that revenues more than doubled compared with the same period in the previous year from £5.3m to £11.1m. EBITDA (earnings before tax) rose to £3.3m from £2.1m.

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 December, Alkane commenced generation at a new site on the Prince of Wales Colliery in Pontefract. It represented the fourth collaboration with Harworth Estates who are a regular partner to Alkane.

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.

Alkane Energy website

Images: Alkane Energy

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News: USC to open Rotherham store

Fashion retailer, USC is set to open a new store at Parkgate Shopping in Rotherham.

Owned by Sports Direct, USC is a premier destination for branded clothing, footwear and accessories and is home to an extensive collection of mainstream and independent footwear and apparel brands including G Star, Diesel, Firetrap and Vero Moda.

Recruitment began at the end of last year and the new store looks set to take over the unit vacated by troubled retailer, HMV in 2012.

The move follows the recent openings of a Nike Factory Store and fashion retailer, Blue Inc on the popular park. 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.

USC is part of the "premium lifestyle" division of Sports Direct, the FTSE 100 Index company which is controlled by the Newcastle United owner, Mike Ashley.

Sports Direct bought fashion chain USC in 2011 as part of a move to take the retailer more upmarket. Other acquisitions included Cruise, Van Mildert, Flannels and Republic. Sports Direct bought the Republic chain out of administration last year and has converted 43 Republic stores into USC stores while a further 44 Republic stores were closed and the Republic warehouse and head office in Leeds were transferred to USC facilities. The group expects a continued evolution of its USC format.

For the 26 weeks ended October 27, Sports Direct's premium lifestyle division enjoyed sales of £103m and adjusted earnings of £12m.

Last year at Parkgate, Sports Direct itself expanded into the former JJB Sports unit next door. As the turnaround continues at the park, the large unit vacated when electrical retailer, Comet, went into liquidation, has recently gone under offer.
Parkgate Shopping website

Images: USC / Four by Two

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News: Council contract for Signs Express

Signs Express (Sheffield) has been awarded a further four year contract as the preferred supplier of general signage to Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council.

Following a tender process, the Templeborough franchise was delighted to receive the contract which will take them into their seventh year of working with the council.

Carol Morris, owner of Signs Express (Sheffield), said: "We are so pleased to have won this contract again, our continued work with the council as their preferred supplier goes to show that hard work, dedication and understanding complex requirements goes a long way to building a successful relationship with your client."

The Sheffield centre provides a wide range of signage solutions for the council ranging from health & safety to bespoke signage. As with all councils, budget needs to be carefully considered and so Signs Express (Sheffield) work closely with the local authority to offer advice and ensure cost effective solutions are provided.

Steve and Carol Morris opened their centre in February 2004 and work with a variety of customers, covering areas such as Rotherham, Sheffield and Barnsley.

Signs Express (Sheffield) website

Images: Signs Express 

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News: Aldi shops around for another Rotherham store

Aldi, Britain's fastest growing grocer, has outlined a site in Bramley for a new Rotherham store.

The 1,000 sq m store is proposed on land currently occupied by lighting and conservatory retail units on Bawtry Road. A planning application has yet to be submitted but local residents are already being consulted on their views.

Aldi said that the store could create 40 jobs and that the "proposal will enable the investment that is required to redevelop the site and meet the Council's aspirations to deliver growth and environmental improvements in Bramley centre through a provision of a foodstore which is promoted in the Council's emerging planning policy."

Replacing the current buildings, draft plans show a custom built discount food store with 82 parking spaces and access from both Bawtry Road, next to the King Henry pub, and Main Street.

The UK arm of Germany-based Aldi was reported to have made a pretax profit of £157.9m in the year to December 31 2012, up from £70.5m in 2011, as sales increased 40.6% to £3.89 billion.

Aldi announced last year that it is planning to invest £181m in the opening of 40 new stores by the end of 2013 and recently opened its 500th UK store. Recent openings in Rotherham include Manvers, Dinnington and Eastwood.

Across Rotherham, new Aldi stores are already proposed at Parkgate and Swallownest.

A public exhibition is to be held for Bramley residents to find out more at Bramley Working Mens Club, Cross Street on January 23 between 3pm and 7pm.

Aldi website

Images: Aldi

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News: OCS acquires business and assets of EDS

OCS, the UK-based total facilities management provider with global revenues of £840m, has acquired certain business and assets of Euro Dismantling Services, EDS Plant Solutions and EDS Group Holdings from Joint Administrators at BDO.

The acquired business units are subsidiaries of Silverdell plc and comprise the Decontamination, Access & Insulation and Nuclear trading divisions operated by EDS. It is unclear what will happen to the construction and property development divisions which have played a significant part in the regeneration of the site of the former Templeborough Rolling Mills in Rotherham.

Silverdell encountered financial problems when a subsidiary went into administration in summer 2013. Shares were suspended from AIM in July and cancelled on 2 January 2014. When the shares were suspended in July, Silverdell Plc was valued at over £40m.

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In December, turnaround investor Rcapital acquired the company's £16m debt and OCS said that it was made aware of the opportunity on 23 December and worked over Christmas to undertake due diligence and close the deal. Financial terms were not disclosed.

In 2004, Euro Dismantling Services and developer Jaguar Estates were appointed by Corus (now Tata Steel) as joint developers for the former Mayer Parry and Rolling Mills sites on Sheffield Road in Templeborough, Rotherham.

EDS undertook large scale decontamination, groundworks break out and land remediation to create development plots on the sites. It resulted in the successful Magna 34 development that is now home to Royal Mail, HS Atec and Grayson Fixings.

Following remediation, EDS established Loxley Land and Property to take the schemes forward.

Silverdell acquired Sheffield-based EDS in 2012 for £18m. Its founder, Andrew McGee has since established the WRD Group which took over the waste processing site at Templeborough last year after previous operators, Sterecycle went in administration.

Silverdell website

Images: EDS Group

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