Business Matters Spring 2018
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President’s Welcome Chamber Members, Welcome to the Spring edition of Business Matters magazine, which I trust will be an enjoyable and informative read. Firstly, on behalf of your Chamber I am delighted to welcome four new directors who were elected at our recent AGM. They are: Alison Hazel (Finance Director at the Jaw Brewery ltd), Victoria Ross (Business Enabler, The Royal Bank Of Scotland), Derek McNab (Managing Director, Mabbett & Associates ltd) and finally Craig Leslie (Managing Director, Gordon Leslie Group). The skills and experience our new directors bring compliments our already strong board and I believe demonstrates the depth of business talent that we enjoy within the chamber membership. I very much look forward to working with our new Directors and indeed all our Directors as we endeavour to help Renfrewshire grow and prosper. On the subject of welcomes I must congratulate Derek Provan, as the new Chief Executive Officer of AGS and Managing Director of Glasgow Airport. Derek joins us from Heathrow as Chief Operating Officer, having previously served 3 years as Managing Director of Aberdeen International Airport. Derek started his aviation career in 1998 at Glasgow Airport, where he held a number of senior positions. He is also a former Director of Renfrewshire Chamber and we are delighted to see him come home to take charge of one of the region’s most valuable economic assets. As I have said previously, there are potentially exiting times for Renfrewshire’s economy. In all my years as your President, I have never known the level of opportunity and investment available to us adeptly demonstrated by external investors purchasing the industrial complexes of Hillington Park and WestWay for a purchase of £137 million and £40 million respectively.
The Medical device firm Vascutek have recently announced a £33 million investment to scale up its facilities at Inchinnan. These committed investments together with the National Manufacturing Institute of Scotland (NMIS) to be based close to Glasgow Airport, demonstrates the faith and confidence that local and international companies have in our region. The foregoing initiatives together with the City Region Deal will it is hoped, create thousands of new jobs and it is vital therefore that the workforce can easily access these new and extended facilities. For some time, I and my co-directors have been concerned over the surface access to Renfrewshire. The M8 and surrounding roads continue to get more and more congested. We must collectively act to ensure we find suitable solutions to an ever-worsening problem. With this in mind, I arranged to meet with the Transport Minister and an official from Transport Scotland at the Scottish Parliament to discuss this issue first hand. I thereafter invited Humza Yousaf MSP to visit Renfrewshire to hear from several local companies directly about existing and anticipated problems they are experiencing accessing our region. The meeting was kindly hosted at the Donald Malcolm Heritage Centre by Andrew Malcolm. In addition to ten of our member companies, Transport Scotland and our local MSP George Adam were in attendance. The Minister found the meeting very useful especially with us highlighting the real challenges our companies face. We also took the opportunity of shining a spotlight on the quality of the companies located in the region and the investment opportunities coming to Renfrewshire. Hopefully he left with the message forcefully made that it is vital that our transport and infrastructure strategy keeps pace with the anticipated increase in jobs and population growth and ensures that poor connectivity
does not inhibit our future ambitions. A few days ago, I attended the launch of the excellent new destination brand Paisley.Is and website that highlights everything good and interesting to do in Paisley and Renfrewshire. The brand which has been developed will I believe highlight the attributes of our area and assist in attracting investors to the Paisley and Renfrewshire region. At the launch I was also encouraged to learn of the continuing investment of around £100 million committed by Renfrewshire Council to improve the arts and leisure facilities around Paisley. The cash investment is designed to leave a lasting legacy derived from the PR success of the 2021 campaign. Finally let me draw your attention to the prestigious annual Business Matters in Renfrewshire (B2B) event which will take place at the Lagoon Leisure Centre in Paisley on Thursday 10th of May. This is a free event and is the largest of its type in the area. The event is open to all businesses, schools and students to attend. Comprising of six informative free seminars, offering invaluable advice, learning and networking opportunities for you and your business. This event is always well attended, and I would urge you to register as soon as possible. I look forward to welcoming you on the day! Support your Chamber and Your Chamber Will Support you.
Tom Johnston, President Renfrewshire Chamber