News: Businesses celebrate success at Chamber awards

More than 500 representatives from South Yorkshire's business community came together to celebrate the achievements of local businesses over the past twelve months at one of the most prestigious business events on the local calendar - the Barnsley and Rotherham Business Awards.

Taking place at Magna in Rotherham and hosted by TV and Radio Broadcaster Stephanie Hirst, the awards were sponsored by University Centre Rotherham and recognised the special achievements of local companies, charities and individuals for the outstanding contribution they have made.

The highly coveted title of "Business of the Year" was presented to Barnsley-based LNS Turbo UK (pictured) whilst Sheffield-based Molly's Fund was awarded the title of Chamber Charity of the Year and received £3,000 cash donation from Fortem.

Special recognition was also given to Julie Kenny CBE DL who was presented with the lifetime achievement award, whilst David Thackrah of IVS Materials Handling was awarded the Business Person of the Year.

The awards also recognised young individuals who are taking the first steps in their career and Katie Andrew of Liberty Speciality Steels won the Apprentice of the Year Award, with Armands Velavs of Code Green and Bryn Roberts of NPS Barnsley receiving highly commended.

Rotherham winners included the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust, MGB Plastics and Grimm & Co.

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Andrew Denniff, chief executive of Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber, said: "This year's awards has seen a record number of entries, culminating in a sell out event which proved to be a memorable evening which celebrated the achievements of businesses of all shapes and sizes based in the region.

"I would like to congratulate the winners on the evening, especially our newly crowned business of the year LNS Turbo. The success of the event illustrates some of the truly amazing work which is being undertaken in our region, from the new and promising companies who have a bright future ahead of them to established companies who are celebrating milestone anniversaries."

The winners:

Brook Corporate Developments Most Promising New Business Award
- Winner – Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust
- Highly Commended – CSP Systems Ltd
- Highly Commended – Knowledge Bank

SheelPhalt Harsco Business Community Impact Award
- Winner – De Hood CIC
- Highly Commended – Rejus Limited
- Highly Commended – XPO Logistics

Russell Richardson Environmental Commitment Award
- Winner – MGB Plastics
- Highly Commended – Bizspace (Ltd.) Rotherham
- Highly Commended – Free Running Buildings Ltd

Enzygo Apprentice of the Year Award
- Winner – Katie Andrews – Liberty Speciality Steels
- Highly Commended – Armands Velavs – Code Green
- Highly Commended – Bryn Roberts – NPS Barnsley

The Cloud Co. Marketing Campaign of the Year Award
- Winner – 0114 Marketing
- Highly Commended – Hallam FM's Cash for Kids
- Highly Commended – Pyronix Limited

Chamber Skills Solutions Skills Development Award
- Winner – MED-EL UK Ltd
- Highly Commended – Impelling Solutions Ltd
- Highly Commended – XPO Logistics

Finance For Enterprise Business Growth Award
- Winner – Enzygo Limited
- Highly Commended – Azzure IT
- Highly Commended – IVS Materials Handling

National Fluid Power Centre Innovation in Manufacturing Award
- Winner – LNS Turbo UK Ltd
- Highly Commended – CEAG Limited
- Highly Commended – MGS Plastics

Pyronix HikVision Excellence in Customer Service Award
- Winner – IT Desk (UK) Ltd
- Highly Commended – Brook Corporate Developments
- Highly Commended – DEB Chartered Accountants

Rotherham Together Partnership Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism Award
- Winner – Grimm & Co
- Highly Commended – MAGNA
- Highly Commended – TWESH – The Weddings Event Supplier Hub

Shorts Business Person of the Year Award
- Winner – David Thackrah – IVS Materials Handling
- Highly Commended – Andy Adams – T3 Training & Development
- Highly Commended – Ian Faulkner – Code Green

Chamber's Charity of the Year Award – In association with Fortem
- Winner – Molly's Fund
- Highly Commended – Grimm & Co
- Highly Commended – Royal British Legion

Salute to business:
- 15 years: Jeremy Neal Independent Funeral Directors
- 30 years: Morthyng Group Limited
- 40 years: Russell Richardson & Sons
- 50 years: Derek Hattersley & Son Printers

BR Chamber website

Images: BR Chamber

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News: Impelling expands with trio of appointments

Rotherham web development and IT company, Impelling Solutions Ltd, has strengthened its team with the appointment of three new members of staff.

The growing enterprise provides end to end support for the digital infrastructure of businesses and schools, encompassing everything from web development or IT support to wireless broadband provision and beyond.

Taking on the role of IT manager, Jamie Wilson is responsible for providing on-site support for schools, including network and server installation and maintenance, as well as sales and advising customers on the best products to meet their requirements.

Jamie previously worked at a Local Education Authority before starting his own IT support company, working within education and small to medium sized businesses.

Daniel and Tracey have joined the company as IT operatives, roles which involve regular IT visits to South Yorkshire schools to solve issues and provide technical support.

Tracey has worked in IT for 18 years, having held positions at local authorities, covering all aspects of ICT support in schools, whilst Daniel has achieved diplomas in Microsoft and CompTIA and has also worked as a history teacher.

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Jamie who lives in Thurcroft (pictured, right), said: "I have always loved working with technology and have been working in IT support for the last 17 years. Impelling is a fantastic company and it’s exciting to join at a time of growth and development.

"I am really enjoying working with Impelling, the team is great and I love the variety of work I see in my role as IT manager, no two days look the same."

Chris Foulstone, managing director of Impelling, added: "We are pleased to welcome Jamie, Daniel and Tracey to Impelling, between them they bring over 40 years of experience to the team.

"It's great to see the growth of our business and our team moving from strength-to-strength, meaning we can continue to provide our customers with an increased level of support. We are looking forward to seeing our new team members grow even further in their skills.

"Encouraging learning with the help of technology, Impelling Education combines our knowledge of the business IT sector with a skilled and friendly team who have years of experience supporting schools across South Yorkshire."

Drawing on his technical expertise and knowledge, Chris pioneered an idea to bring the superfast broadband speeds enjoyed in many areas of South Yorkshire to Treeton and launched Bliss Internet in 2015.

Impelling website

Images: Impelling

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News: Internet Bliss for Rotherham village

Local tech entrepreneur, Chris Foulstone, has shown his initiative and brought the entire Rotherham village of Treeton up to speed by creating its very own internet service provider (ISP).

Following the collapse of Digital Region in 2014, web developer Chris realised it could be many years before Treeton received the high speed internet connections promised by the project and was left with no other option but to relocate his business – sharing office space with Holbrook-based HA Hosting, which operates a data centre in the city.

During the time Chris spent working at the data centre, he began researching alternatives and following discussions with the owners, he realised it may be possible to give all residents and businesses in Treeton a chance to access superfast broadband for the first time.

Drawing on his technical expertise and knowledge, Chris pioneered an idea to bring the superfast broadband speeds enjoyed in many areas of South Yorkshire to Treeton. The idea was a simple one: build a direct link from the data centre, which could be shared wirelessly, allowing the superfast broadband speeds to be achieved.

For the past twelve months Chris has spent time developing his idea. He has invested profits from his web development company into building a new mast in Treeton, which connects to the data centre and following a successful trial, he has launched Bliss Internet.

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Available exclusively to residents and businesses living in Treeton, Bliss has already secured 250 customers, a figure which is growing by approximately ten new users each week.

When Digital Region was switched off, Treeton and many other small villages went from having speeds in excess of 40mbps to below 2mbps overnight. The result of Chris' innovative work has seen broadband speeds increase tenfold for Treeton residents and if the venture proves to be a success, Chris believes the service could be rolled out to other remote areas where superfast broadband connections can't currently be accessed.

To provide additional stability to the new network, Chris and HA Hosting have also successfully installed a dedicated fibre optic line in Treeton, which provides additional stability to the growing network.

Chris Foulstone, founder, Bliss Internet said: "Superfast broadband speeds are something which many of us take for granted, but in areas which aren't connected it can often be a very frustrating experience. The slow speeds were impacting on my own business and it meant that it was virtually impossible to work from Treeton.

"When I temporarily relocated my business to HA Hosting, I realised that with a little technical expertise and a bit of imagination, the problems could be solved and everyone in the community would benefit.

"The result is a genuine first which has not only meant that I'm able to continue running my business in Treeton, but we've created a solution where everyone in the village benefits. The solution we've developed is something which could be replicated in other areas which aren't connected to the UK's superfast broadband network and delivered at a fraction of the cost of upgrading the existing phone network."

Rory Delahoyde, director at HA Hosting, added: "Chris and his team have put in a tremendous amount of work over the last year or so to make this work for the people of Treeton. They have overcome many obstacles to provide a reliable, fast internet service to their customers. It is great to see more and more people from Treeton adopting the Bliss Internet Service."

Bliss Internet website
HA Hosting website
Impelling website

Images: Impelling / Bliss Internet

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News: Props for Tom as he's named Rotherham Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2012

Tom Jones, owner of Props Skate Store in Rotherham town centre, has been named as the Rotherham Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2012.

Rotherham Youth Enterprise (RYE), in association with UK Steel Enterprise, ran the awards for the seventh year running with the aim of celebrating and promoting the best businesses run by young people in the borough.

The entrepreneurs aged between 18 and 30, each received a cash prize and will benefit from publicity for their business. Each finalist will be featured on Rothbiz over the coming weeks.

The awards ceremony took place at Rotherham United's New York Stadium yesterday where the category winners, runners-up and overall winner were all announced.

Jackie Frost, project manager for Rotherham Youth Enterprise thanked the entrants and the sponsors. She said: "Our judges have been impressed with the vision, commitment and personal courage shown by all the entrants to these awards. All these qualities are required to successfully start up and run businesses in the present economy, but once again we have had a very high calibre of entries which has made the judges task extremely difficult."

Lucy Bennett of independent womenswear fashion label, Roc and Doll was named as the winner in the Best Established Business category, sponsored by Parkgate Shopping. Gavin Edley of specialist tea supplier, Vitalife was the runner-up.

In the Best New Start-up category, sponsored by RYE, Tom Jones of Props Skate store was the winner with Chris Foulstone of Impelling Web Design named as the runner up.

Gavin Edley impressed the judges with his innovative products to win the Most Innovative Business, sponsored by AESSEAL. Runner-up was Laura Bullock of Bitter Sweet Boutique in Rotherham town centre.

In the Business Most Determined to Succeed category, sponsored by Rotherham College of Arts & Technology, the winner was named as Chris Foulstone of Impelling Web Design and Adam Tinsley of unique racing simulator provider, F1 Showcars.

The sponsors also came together as judges and Alan Wood of UK Steel Enterprise stated that the standard of entries was the highest that he had ever seen.

Alan announced that Tom Jones of Props Skate Store was the overall winner, picking up a special trophy and a cheque for £1,000. He also received an iPad from Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber.

Tom's shocked reaction was summed up by his catchphrase - "Awesome!"

Rotherham Youth Enterprise provides self-employment support and advice for young adults in the area. Office and workshop provision is also available across the borough.

Props website

Rotherham Youth Enterprise website

Images: propsskatestore.co.uk

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