inBusiness Burnley issue 9

Sector Special

Oil and Gas Pipeline Industry pg34

In Focus

Boohoo invest further £10m in Burnley pg54

News

OBE for Burnley Entrepreneur pg4

InBusinessBurnley Issue 9

Claire Whelan

Championing Women in Engineering Burnley Council…supporting business growth

Burnley…

open for business Technology / industrial units from 2,500 - 10,000 sq ft.

Fully glazed Office ‘Tower’ and new build Adjacent global leading companies AMS Neve, Veka Plc, Velocity Composites

Quality 5 acre Business Park with prominent main road frontage Focus on advanced manufacturing and engineering; digital industries and business services Fast connectivity to M65, road, rail and digital pipeline

£100 million mixed use, heritage led waterside development offering contemporary mixed use space on a site of national importance

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Landmark public spaces, impressive and creative work space, living accommodation with a leisure and retail centre on the water’s edge

Over £800million investment in Burnley’s business, retail, leisure and education infrastructure FACT:

Burnley is ranked 8th in the UK for high growth prospects for its small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) and identified as an area where firms are driving economic recovery.

Source: Centre for Cities : Small Business Outlook 2014

70 acre business park - Grade A site off J9 M65 BREEAM ‘Very Good’ rated accomodation Immediate access to the national motorway network

Units from 2,500 90,000 sq.ft.

Unique Aerospace Supply Park, home to Safran Aircelle, Kaman, BCW Engineering, Hycrome, DHL Where components are created, machines are assembled and the future is made

Proactive business support environment offering: • Finance for growth • Relocation support • Commercial property and land search Most Enterprising Place in the UK 2013

For more information about investing in Burnley, email info@burnley.co.uk call 01282 477213 or visit www.burnley.co.uk 3

BURNLEY KNOWLEDGE QUARTER

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Vision Park represents an opportunity to relocate to the most exciting commercial development in the Lancashire region.

advanced business space OF F I C ES

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HI-TE CH

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MAN UFACT UR I NG

for more information...

www.visionparkburnley.co.uk Michael Cavannagh michael@tdawson.co.uk

Chris Cheap chris.cheap@gva.co.uk

Welcome from the Editor

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urnley is blazing a new business trail - with national statistics putting Burnley in the top ten for high growth prospects and economic think tanks identifying Burnley as an area where firms are driving economic recovery, these are exciting times for the town.

Such statistics are a reflection of the hard work in recent years by local bondholders and the local authority to transform our economic infrastructure and grow the economy through close partnership working.

UK Plc is getting back to a period of steady economic growth, and hopefully, back to normal! and Burnley’s small and medium sized businesses are engines for that growth.

It is a fantastic achievement for Burnley to feature in the top 10 of SME’s high growth list, and to be one of only two cities in the North West in the top 10, and to be spoken about in the same breath as economic powerhouses such as Cambridge and Edinburgh shows how far Burnley’s economy has come.

This edition of InBusiness features a diversity of businesses succeeding on a regional, national and global stage, and visionary work underway to create the skilled workforce of the future. InBusiness is also delighted to be championing women in engineering, with a feature on Claire Whelan, Finance Director at the helm of a fast growing engineering firm BCW Engineering, and she’s on a mission to attract more women into what she feels is a sector of great opportunity for women.

All a fantastic demonstration of why Burnley is topping the economic charts.

5 OBE for local entrepreneur

24 Women in Engineering

34 Field Joint Coating

Joanne Etherington Editor 01282 477315 jetherington@burnley.gov.uk

Design

Burnley Business Support

42 Manchester Showcase

For information on: finance for growth • relocation support • commercial property and land search • business directory • procurement support • international trade • manufacturing advice • and more MJ Hindman Graphic Designer graphics@burnley.gov.uk

Contact the Council’s Business Support Team on

01282 477213 burnley.gov.uk/business

Produced by Communications and Graphics, © Burnley Council 2014. [t] 01282 425011. Job_9758. www.creative-council.net Printed by Peter Scotts Printers [t] 01282 452221

54 £10m extention at Boohoo 5

News

AMS Neve ‘Mix’ with the Stars for BBC Music Launch The official new recording of the 1966 Beach Boys classic ‘God Only Knows’ was unveiled last month to mark the launch of BBC Music, which the corporation describes as “an ambitious wave of new programmes, innovative partnerships and groundbreaking music initiatives that amount to the BBC’s strongest commitment to music in 30 years”. The song will be released as a single to raise money for the BBC’s Children in Need appeal.

The orchestral score was recorded and mixed at Air Studios in London, who use the Neve 88R and also the AMS Neve DFC (Digital Film Console).

The song is accompanied by an incredible video filmed at the disused Alexandra Palace theatre in London, which hosted the first BBC broadcast more than 90 years ago. Dubbed ‘The Impossible Orchestra’, Brian Wilson, the song’s writer, was joined by an array of stars comprising of Sir Elton John, One Direction, Stevie Wonder, Pharrell Williams, Jake Bugg, Lorde, Emeli Sandé, Chris Martin,

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Kylie Minogue, Paloma Faith, Sam Smith, Florence Welch, Chrissie Hynde, Brian May, Dave Grohl, Alison Balsom, Martin James Bartlett, Danielle de Niese, Nicola Benedetti, Eliza Carthy, Baaba Maal, Jamie Cullum, Jaz Dhami, as well as the BBC’s Zane Lowe, Lauren Laverne, Katie Derham, Gareth Malone and Jools Holland.

They were also joined by the Tees Valley Youth Choir and the 80-piece BBC Concert Orchestra.

Mark Crabtree, Managing Director of AMS Neve said ”It’s at times like this it makes you proud to be British when our National Broadcaster can produce such a masterpiece of a music video – it was hard to top their “Perfect Day” production from a few years back, but they have certainly done that.”

“At AMS Neve in Burnley we are absolutely delighted that at all stages of the production, our equipment was chosen for the recording and mixing of the music, and at some of the world’s best studios”.

AMS Neve engineers have pioneered the greatest proportion of the groundbreaking techniques in the professional audio industry. Just a few examples of “world firsts” are moving fader automation, hard disk editing, digital console technology, digital audio for film, microprocessor controlled effects units and standards such as MADI. The most discerning artists,

producers and facility owners regard AMS Neve products as number one for desirability on their equipment list, and have done so for the past fifty years.

Recognised by all the premier bodies in the various fields of music, TV and film, the products and their designers have been honoured by two Scientific and Engineering Academy® Awards, an Emmy™ and a Grammy™ amongst many others.

Mark Crabtree, AMS Neve founder, receives OBE Oscar and Grammy winning Burnley businessman and Bondholder Mark Crabtree received his OBE from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace earlier this year.

Mark’s company, AMS Neve, is responsible for changing the sound of music, television and film around the world.

Their products are used in recording studios across the globe. In recent years the vast majority of Oscar-winning films have been recorded and/or mixed using products he created, transforming the sound of film and resulting in him receiving a second personal Oscar in 2000.

He established Advanced Music Systems in 1976 when early customers included Paul McCartney, EMI and Strawberry Studios.

He then went on to design the world’s first microprocessor controlled effects units and invented the use of recording sound to a solid state hard drive; thus inventing digital music.

The OBE was announced in the New Year’s Honours List When first told he was to receive the OBE he said: “It is a really heartwarming feeling to realise that your home country has decided that you are doing something really worthwhile and worthy of respect. I feel very privileged and grateful to be honoured.”

The OBE was presented to Mark by Prince Charles, himself a massive supporter of Burnley. The two chatted about the town.

Mark Crabtree attended the ceremony in London with wife Ann, son Joseph and daughter Anna.

Free support to boost your business.

Advice, mentoring and grants available for ambitious Lancashire businesses.

“The help and support received from our mentor has been invaluable as we strive to grow our business.”

Stephen Anderson | Pendle Doors Ltd Growing with Boost Business Lancashire’s support

• Boost is Lancashire’s £7.2 million business growth hub • We have a range of grants available and funded programmes, delivered by experienced advisers, for both start-ups and established businesses • Many of our grants and programmes are free • 1,300 businesses are already growing through Boost

Don’t miss out. Start the growth conversation today and find out what support is available for you and your business. Call 0800 488 0057 or visit www.boostbusinesslancashire.co.uk.

Supported by: EUROPEAN UNION Investing in Your Future

European Regional Development Fund 2007-13

Boost Business Lancashire is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and restrictions apply. To see if your business is eligible and qualifies for support from the Boost programme, please call 0800 488 0057 or visit www.boostbusinesslancashire.co.uk.

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News

The Great Burnley Bake-Off! Burnley Bakery celebrate taking a huge ‘slice’ of the cake market on their 30th anniversary

Cherrytree employee Martin Hargreaves crowned National Cupcake Champion Cherrytree have a winning baker on their experienced team.

Martin Hargreaves, was crowned National Cupcake Champion for his lemon and lime meringue cupcake last year.

The National Cupcake Championships is an annual competition held in Birmingham at the NEC Cake International. There are 4 categories Themed/Free-from/Classic/Made with alcohol. Martin entered the Classic category with a lemon & lime meringue cupcake. The initial stage of the entry process was to provide a paper entry with pictures & recipes – the judges then narrow the entries down to 15 finalists from each category. The next step was to make up 10 identical cupcakes and take them down on the day of the Competition. Martin was crowned the Winner of his Classic Category & then the overall National Champion!

A fantastic achievement and a great accolade for Cherrytree Bakery and for Burnley.

For more info visit at www.nationalcupcakeweek.co.uk.

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Cherrytree Bakery, an independent, family-run business, providing a range of both luxury and traditional cakes to the multiples and high street coffee shop chains, have grown dramatically since it was founded in 1984.

Huge investments have grown their business from their original products the Fruit Slice, a real regional favourite, and Chorley Cakes in 1986, to now making a range of cakes for well-known high street coffee shops including Costa and MCafe, and Supermarkets including Morrison’s, ASDA & Sainsbury’s - but the Chorley cakes are still a regional favourite!

Achievements worth celebrating on their 30th Birthday • Over £1m of investment since 2010 • Top line growth of 140% in the last 5 years • Customer Bases of Coffee Shops (Costa, MCafe) and Supermarkets (Morrison’s, ASDA & Sainsbury’s) • Number of employees 77 • Specialises in Coffee Shop Market. Hand-finished, artisanal products. Fillings, icings, toppings. Always pushing the boundaries of innovation and what is feasible for a large-scale manufacturer • Pride in working closely with customers to give them bespoke products • Sponsoring the new build of a school in Ethiopia • After a period of consolidation, they are looking to once more kick on their growth and expansion in 2015

Iconic New Canal Bridge Lowered Into Place – A Major Milestone And Feat Of Engineering At The Heart Of ‘On The Banks’ Development Barnfield Construction have lowered a new canal footbridge into position at the heart of the On The Banks development in the Weavers’ Triangle.

After several hours of preparation for the delicate manoeuvre, a 500 tonne crane lowered the new footbridge into position across the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, which was quite a feat of engineering.

The new footbridge, which weighs 50 tonnes and spans over 50 metres, has been clad in glass and corten to align with the surrounding On The Banks development and to interact with the new public realm scheme which is currently underway.

The footbridge will incorporate LED lighting into the handrails, keeping with the mix of historic and modern features within the unique canalside mixed use development.

Although the new footbridge is now in situ, it won’t be open to the public until the completion of Sandygate Square, which will include a new amphitheatre and canalside terrace. Once opened the footbridge will truly open up the On The Banks development in line with the masterplan linking the area to the town centre.

Gareth Smith, Barnfield’s Project Director said: “This is another major milestone in a highly technical and difficult project that has delivered some fantastic outcomes in a difficult market.

“The aspirations for the On The Banks project were agreed at the outset of the project in a joint venture with Burnley Council.

The uncompromising approach to both quality and delivery has ensured that the more difficult parts of the development are delivered in a timely manner.

“The bridge signifies the ethos of the development coming together by opening up a once cut off part of Burnley.

The designs for the bridge were thought over for a long time but we are now confident that this is a fantastic addition to the ever growing On The Banks development. We worked closely with the Canals and Rivers Trust to ensure the design aligned with canal users and barges passing under the new bridge.”

Adding: “We are currently bringing forward plans for future phases and we are excited by a number of end uses we are bringing to the development which will include leisure, restaurants and some fantastic hotel and residential accommodation.”

Burnley Council’s Chief Executive, Steve Rumbelow said: “It is wonderful to see the

new bridge in position which signifies the second phase of works transforming the Weavers’ Triangle ‘On the Banks’.

“The public realm and highway improvements taking place in and around the Weavers’ Triangle will create a modern and welcoming gateway.

“High quality public realm works are proven to have wider economic value, including raised demand for land and buildings and increased property values, as well as creating places where people want to visit and enjoy their leisure time.”

Burnley Council Leader, Mark Townsend said “On The Banks is one of the largest heritage led regeneration schemes in the country and I’m so proud to see the transformations taking place, which will help put Burnley on the map as a place where enterprise and innovation are thriving.”

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News

Double Signing at Burnley Bridge

Eshton has secured two more tenants at the 70-acre Burnley Bridge Business Park just weeks after announcing its first occupier – YESSS Electrical.

Birchall Foodservice, a catering wholesaler currently based in Hapton, Burnley, has taken the 64,100 sq ft Cobalt Building and Lancashire-based Equinox Building Services Ltd, a general builder, electrical contractor and groundworks specialist, has taken a 3,500 sq ft unit at Magnesium Court.

Both the Cobalt Building and Magnesium Court are BREEAM

‘Very Good’ rated and have been constructed speculatively under phase one of the £50m development.

The Leeds-based development and investment firm’s scheme, located at Junction 9 of the M65, provides a high standard of industrial and logistics accommodation for businesses looking to relocate to Burnley, the most enterprising area of the UK according to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Delivered with the help of £3.85 million from the European Regional Development Fund

(ERDF) and support from Lancashire’s Growing Places, the business park is expected to create 1,400 sustainable jobs once fully occupied.

Justin Birchall, operations director at Birchall Foodservice, said: “Our company has enjoyed substantial growth in recent years to the extent that we have now outgrown our existing premises.

“As a business we are looking to extend our already substantial product lines and believe that the Cobalt Building will provide us with enough space to accommodate this expansion.

What More UK Ltd awarded the Queen’s Award for International Trade 2014 What More UK Ltd, brand and market leaders in the manufacture of plastic housewares, plastic storage and garden equipment, have been awarded the Queen’s Award for International Trade 2014.

Established in 1999, they now sell their products to 54 countries across the world.

They operate out of a 500,000sqft state of the art manufacturing and distribution centre on Burnley’s prestigious Shuttleworth Mead Business Park, employing 225 people.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “Companies that are growing, innovating and championing UK

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business overseas deserve the recognition that these awards bestow.”

This year 162 businesses have been recognised, with 110 winning awards for international trade; 39 for innovation and 13 for sustainable development.

Winners were presented with a crystal bowl and invited to a reception at Buckingham Palace.

What More can now use the Queen’s Award emblem in their advertising, marketing and on packaging for a period of five years, as a symbol of their quality and success.

Another flagship Burnley business proudly rewarded for their success.

“We operate across the whole of the north of England, as well as North Wales, so the location of Burnley Bridge Business Park, on the M65 corridor, is ideally suited to our needs, whilst still maintaining our strong position in the Burnley area.”

James Chapman, managing director of Eshton, added: “We’re thrilled to have attracted three landmark tenants in a short period of time. We’re in advanced talks with other local, regional and national operators and hope to make further announcements in the near future.”

Burnley’s “top of the shops” says latest research Burnley’s shopping centre is a star performer, according to research by a leading commercial agent.

A study by Colliers International found retail rents in the North West are recovering - with Burnley leading the way.

The news was welcomed by Councillor Shah Hussain, Burnley Council’s Executive Member responsible for town centres. He said: “This is excellent news and provides further evidence that Burnley is performing well when it comes to getting shoppers into our shops.

“Burnley has a strong shopping centre that attracts visitors from a wide area. We’ve seen major investment

by Addington Capital, the asset managers of Charter Walk, to redevelop the centre and national High Street names Next and River Island have increased the size of their stores to meet demand.

“Together with plans to redevelop the St James Street area, all this shows that Burnley is a thriving shopping centre with a bright future, and well worth a visit.”

Colliers International found that although retail rents across the North West were down for the fourth year running, Burnley was the region’s star performer with rents rising 7%, or £5, to £80 per sqft.

Government statistics show borough’s economy continues to grow Jobs growth in the professional, scientific and technical sectors, and in business administration and support services, lies behind a further growth in the number of jobs in Burnley.

The news has been welcomed as confirming the effectiveness of the strategy and partnership working developed by Burnley Bondholders and the local council.

Recent figures from the Office of National Statistics’ Business Register and Employment Survey show that the Lancashire town is sustaining a significant growth rate.

In 2012 and 2013 the total number of employees in Burnley has grown by 200, or 0.6 per cent, to 34 600 in total. That overall figure takes account of reductions in some sectors, and expansion in others.

The long term trend is more significant. Between 2009 and 2013, the jobs growth rate in Burnley has been 7.1%, well above both the North West average across those four years of 0.6 per cent, and the UK rate of growth of 2%.

Detailed analysis shows that

over 15% of Burnley employees work in the manufacturing sector.

This compares very well to the North West figure of 10%, and the figure across of the whole of Great Britain, which is 8.5%.

Mark Crabtree OBE, the Managing Director of the world leading Burnley firm AMS Neve, said the news was ‘very welcome’.

The concentrated strength of manufacturing in Burnley means there is a strong basis for attracting companies to the new sites being developed in the borough, such as Innovation Drive and the Vision Park.

A key development for the North West is that Manchester was the second highest local authority area in the country for jobs growth over 2012-13, with an increase of over 16,000 jobs in the city.

With most of the other authorities achieving such large increases being in London, the growth of Manchester’s economy underlines the importance of Burnley’s work in strengthening Pennine Lancashire’s links to the city.

Top Marks for Lanway’s Premier League Performance Leading IT Solutions Provider Lanway went straight to the top of the table in the eyes of the English Premier League after smoothly introducing an all-new IT system at Burnley Football Club despite challenging deadlines.

The Burnley-based business worked under a strict six week schedule over the summer to introduce a new IT infrastructure at Turf Moor to meet Premier League standards and the club’s aspirations.

And they have earned glowing reports about their work – which was put under a test straight away with the Clarets’ first games against giants Chelsea and Manchester United televised and beamed to millions of people

worldwide.

“The IT infrastructure we had put in place over the summer was tested to its limits in those early days but we had superb feedback from everyone we were involved with,” said Lanway Managing Director Andrew Henderson.

“We had Sky, BT, the BBC and ITV as well as other media outlets all plugged into our new network and thankfully it all passed without a hitch - as we knew it would.

“The Premier League stated that it was unusual for a new network at a newly promoted club to work so perfectly from day one – but we achieved ours, the club’s and the Premier League’s goals from the offset.”

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News

Burnley firm’s growth is set to go through the roof

Specialist roofing slate supplier JRC is targeting a turnover increase of 20% in the next 12 months after taking part in Boost Business Lancashire’s Growth Mentoring programme.

Burnley-based JRC was founded 14 years ago when owner Jason Connor spotted a gap in the market. The business now has a 12-strong workforce distributing from several depots nationwide and supplying business customers across the country.

Director Rosie Connor signed up for the Growth Mentoring programme, delivered

by Community & Business Partners, after completing a strategy plan that identified how the business could expand if a skills shortage was tackled.

Rosie commented: “We wanted to market our products to architects and specifiers, but had little knowledge of the specifying world and how to effectively access this market.

“We were introduced to Alan Varley, a director of Lynx Architects Ltd, as our mentor and he explained exactly what architects and specifiers need from a supplier.”

Alan also introduced JRC to networks in the North West so the business can target the right people with the right information.

Rosie continued: “It’s early days yet, but with an updated website, fresh literature and a clear picture of what we need to do, we envisage a growth in turnover of 20 per cent in the next 12 months and potentially the employment of a new member of sales staff linked to this growth.”

JRC is continuing to receive support from Community & Business Partners and has been made aware of other Boost programmes they could benefit from such as Access to Finance.

The firm is also looking into Boost’s Skills Assist workshops for key members of the team to address barriers to growth or capitalise on opportunities.

Rosie added: “The support we have received from our mentor Alan Varley has been fantastic. I have learned a huge amount and it will definitely fill a huge skill gap in the company, once everything is in place.”

Jane Houghton-Fenning, business

development director at Community & Business Partners, commented: “Alan was the ideal mentor to assist Rosie with the strategic planning. Given his experience in architecture, Alan continues to support Rosie even though the formal programme is complete, adding extra value to the business. It’s great to see the very healthy growth plans that are now in place.”

Boost Business Lancashire is the £7.2m Lancashire Business Growth Hub, offering free and part-funded business support to ambitious and growing businesses.

Delivered by Lancashire County Council and the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership, and supported by £3.6m from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), it aims to grow Lancashire’s economy by £20m and create at least 1,200 new jobs and safeguard 700 more by 2015.

To apply for support, complete our online form or call 0800 488 0057.

Barnfield win prestigious top contractor title Barnfield Construction won the Contractor of the Year Award at one of the most prestigious property awards in Manchester earlier this year.

The awards ceremony, which was held at Manchester Central, is regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the region’s property sector and

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attracted around 1,500 elite property professionals.

Barnfield won the Contractor of the Year Award for the versalitity of its submission and its overall excellence.

The judges said the company’s work on Burnley’s £10.4 million University

Technical College, OnTheBanks, caught their eye.

The winning submission also included details of a stunning £2 million five bedroom luxurious holiday lodge close to the shores of Lake Windermere.

Barnfield MD, Mr Tim Webber said “Winning this is an

absolute honour for all the team at Barnfield. We were really pleased to be shortlisted in our category never mind win. It was such a fantastic surprise to win the award and we’ll continue to work hard to grow our business whilst using this fantastic accolade to its full potential.”

VEKA - Two decades of investing in people Farrington Road-based PVC-U systems supplier, and major local employer, The VEKA UK Group is proud to have had its ‘Investors in People’ status confirmed once again, which means the company has now continuously held this accreditation for more than 20 years.

Head of Human Resources, Gabriela Hammond explains: “We have held the IIP accreditation since 1994 and we’re delighted to have had our status confirmed once again.

“The Assessor that visited us had some particularly complimentary things to say, commenting on the good practice, achievements and milestones reached considering the journey taken by the Company over the last few years.

“The company has grown and evolved significantly over recent years and we’re pleased to have been recognised for our unwavering dedication to the people here at VEKA, while we are going through an exciting period of change and expansion.

“On behalf of the whole team, I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone at the Burnley and Minworth Plants for all their hard work.”

Comments from the Assessor included: ‘..the review has illustrated strong commitment to people and the part they play in enabling VEKA UK Group to succeed’ ‘...excellent business performance being achieved in a challenging environment is to be applauded’ ‘The organisation has a strong strategic focus on Quality, Customer service and

Innovation and is integrating these across all areas of the recently expanded business’ ‘Clarity of purpose and clear aspiration to achieve excellence in terms of vision, values and objectives’ ‘A strong desire to continually improve evident at individual, team,departmental and organisational levels’.

St. Modwen to Regenerate Burnley Mill

Finsley Mill, Burnley - View 1 B8064_P106C

Date: 16.5.14

Drawn: JC

Checked: AL

Drawn: JC

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Finsley Mill, Burnley - View 1 B8064_P105C

Date: 16.5.14

St. Modwen, the UK’s leading regeneration specialist, has secured planning consent to deliver a major transformation to Finsley Gate Mill in Burnley.

Planning permission has been granted for the partial demolition and conversion of Finsley Gate Mill and the delivery of 18 new townhouses on the canalside aimed at young families. The plans also include a new public space linking to a footbridge over the Leeds Liverpool canal, providing a potential viewing platform and opening up the waterside to visitors and residents.

Work is due to start in the New Year with the removal of the mill extension and the retention and restoration of the original Finsley Gate Mill and landmark chimney for future commercial use. This could provide a new restaurant opportunity for the town.

The development, once complete, is expected to create 250 new jobs and significant future investment in the area.

Steven Knowles, Development Director at St. Modwen, said: “The planning consent is an important step forward for Burnley and will bring in new job opportunities and investment into the town. The scheme will bring forward new homes to Burnley and will act as a catalyst for the regeneration of the wider area.”

News Relocation of laser jet firm move creates 16 new jobs Sparta Ltd, a specialist in laser and water jet cutting, metal fabrication, casting and marine products- is in the process of moving into the former home of wrought ironwork firm Brian Rourke and Co, in Accrington Rd. Sparta is moving from its base in Rawtenstall, after outgrowing its unit in Hill End Lane and the new Burnley base will allow the firm to further expand.

Stephen Davenport, managing directors of Sparta said his company has created 12 new manufacturing jobs during the process of moving and has the capacity for another four positions.

“The business is going really well.

“We’ve got several good key accounts and everybody seems to be very supportive of what we’re doing. We’ve seen constant growrth while I’ve been at the company. It’s purely down to our relationships with our customers.

“We give them what they want through dealing with us, they cut out high manufacturing costs.

“We secured the building in March, buying it because we need bigger premises. It’s a big job. We’ve been refurbishing the property since we bought it and should be fully transferred over to the new site by the end of November.”

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Solar panels generate huge savings for leading aerospace company Bondholders, Velocity Composites and The Low Carbon Energy Company have worked to deliver significant energy and CO2 savings to Velocity’s rapidly expanding business.

The Low Carbon Energy Company have installed a 70 kw solar pv installation at Velocity’s facility on the AMS business park.

The system will generate around 56,000 kwh hours of electricity a year and save approximately 34 tonnes of Carbon a year.

Velocity director Gerry Johnson explained “Whilst we already occupy a modern energy efficient building we are always looking for ways to become more energy efficient and reduce our carbon footprint. Our aerospace clients rightly demand that we are constantly looking to improve efficiency.

“Solar PV matches those targets perfectly and during the summer months when our air conditioning is running at maximum we are generating large amounts of electricity to offset the cost. With the incentives currently in place, solar offers a fantastic return on investment for the next twenty years.

We chose fellow Bondholders the Low Carbon Energy Company because they came highly recommended. Simon the Commercial Sales manager has helped right through the process and we have seen not a minutes disruption to our business. It has been a pleasure working with them and Simon explained everything and was on hand at all stages.

Simon added “We’ve have a had a great experience working with the directors at Velocity Composites. They are clearly a company going places and the addition of this solar pv system will help them maintain their position as leading providers into the aerospace industry.”

Burnley firm set to expand with £100k finance

Burnley’s Holiday Inn wins another top award

Burnley’s Holiday Inn Express has been crowned this year’s ‘Developing People’ champion.

The award is given annually to the best ‘Holiday Inn’ team in Europe. Burnley’s hotel was recognised this year for its ‘outstanding’ commitment to the career development of its workforce.

The 102 bedroomed hotel has beaten off competition from over 600 hotels across Europe, including the Intercontinental hotels in London’s Park Lane and Budapest.

Manager, Kerian Barnes said: “We are absolutely thrilled to receive the Developing People award and bring the honours back to our team here in Burnley. It is so encouraging for them to know how their hard work and commitment has paid off.”

She added: “The hotel has had a very successful year and this could not have been achieved without the team’s passion for embracing training and development, or without the links with the community projects which enable them to practice their new skills. To be recognised in this way by the European hotel industry is amazing.

The Developing People award relates to the hotel’s commitment to the development and career progression of the team and how the hotel invests in individuals in terms of training.

The Holiday Inn also reached the final of the 2014 Lancashire Tourism Awards 2014, following their win as Large Hotel of the Year in 2013.

To book a stay in this award winning Burnley hotel visit www.hiexburnley.com

Connect Childcare, which has developed a software management system for the childcare sector, has secured a £100,000 loan from Lancashire County Council’s Rosebud Finance.

Connect Childcare’s system covers aspects of nursery school management from registering attendance and sending out bills to recording children’s development.

The funding will allow the company to roll out its new module, iConnect, which uses the latest touchscreen technology and was developed with a previous Rosebud loan. iConnect makes it easy for nursery staff using the technology to make observations, in line with the Government’s Early Years Foundation Stage framework, and provide parents with a full daily report on meals, sleep and activities – with links to photos and video.

Connect was set up in 2004 by the current CEO Chris Reid to provide time and attendance software for companies employing mobile workers.

However he soon spotted a gap in the market for nursery management software, which has proved the fastest growing part of the business.

Over 1,000 nurseries in the UK now use its system and the company has expanded from 10 to 32 staff in the past three years.

Chris said: “I am passionate

about creating more handson time between key workers and children, and bringing parents closer to their child’s development.

“By making everyday observations quick and simple, iConnect frees up staff time spent on paperwork. It also makes it easier for parents to share their child’s learning journey and become more involved.”

Rosebud is a finance package supporting Lancashire firms to grow and expand their business.

It is managed by Enterprise Ventures, on behalf of Lancashire County Developments Ltd (LCDL) – Lancashire County Council’s economic development company.

County Councillor Niki Penney, chair of LCDL, said: “This is the second time that Rosebud has been able to support Connect Childcare. Their team have been able to attract high-quality and talented staff, to drive forward their growth.

“We’re delighted that they’ve already had a lot of success and we’re backing them to help them grow further in the future.

“Rosebud provides finance to help your growth ambitions, as well as a complete financial package of customised business support and advice to suit you.

We’re aiming to bring new jobs to Lancashire and we want to hear from ambitious growing business.”

Contact LCDL on 01772 536605 or email sue.roberts@lancashire.gov.uk

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News Massive investment in Burnley’s road network will boost local economy A massive Government investment in Burnley’s road network has been welcomed by the leader of the council.

In total the Growth Deal will see £233.9 million invested in Lancashire to boost growth, create jobs and secure a bright economic future across the county. In Burnley it means major improvements to the town’s connectivity – better motorway junctions and improvements to the “ring road” that will help traffic flow and make the borough an even more attractive place to invest.

Council leader Mark Townsend said: “This is a massive vote of confidence in Burnley. The Growth Fund will see major improvements to the M65 and main routes around the town centre. That will open up our borough for more business growth and expansion.

“It will mean that Burnley will be better connected to do business and is a significant boost to our plans to develop the town even further as a centre of excellence and economic growth.

“This is all about opening up Burnley for business, creating and protecting jobs, and making our town more attractive as a place where people want to live, work and play.”

The money will help fund what’s been called the Burnley-Pendle Growth Corridor

and will target improvements to junctions on the M65, including J9 which serves Network 65 and Burnley Bridge business parks. It will help open up additional capacity for growth and enable faster movement of goods and services.

Funding will be made available for maintenance work on the Centenary Way flyover, which will support further town centre growth.

Coun. Townsend paid tribute to the work of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and its ongoing efforts in creating the right environment for businesses to thrive and grow. ““It’s the result of a lot of hard work by the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP). A strong partnership has been forged between the LEP and local authorities across the county, including our own, and this announcement is a brilliant example of how that hard work and joint approach pays off.

“I very much welcome the work of the LEP in achieving this marvelous result and I’m pleased that, on this occasion, the Government appears to have listened and invested in the regions outside of the south east, and particularly areas such as Burnley, where business growth is the key to a strong and vibrant future.

Burnley aerospace giant wins multi-million pound contract - securing 900 jobs Burnley aerospace giant Aircelle has won a multi-million pound contract to supply parts for a new passenger jet, securing 900 jobs.

Bosses confirmed that the company has been selected to provide engine housings for the newly-launched Airbus A330 ‘neo’ jetliner (new engine option).

Production work on the casings, called ‘nacelles’, which hold the engines, fuel or equipment on the new-generation craft, will be carried out at the company’s Burnley plant and at Le Havre,France, and Casablanca, Morocco.

And company chiefs say the deal should create even more jobs to add to the 900-strong workforce in Burnley as the new programme will run until 2030.

Aircelle is already the central partner in the new aerospace supplier village, known as Innovation Drive, on the former Michelin site, which is currently taking shape.

Steve Rumbelow, chief executive at Burnley Council, said: “A few years ago Airbus were considering consigning this plane to the scrap heap, but the airlines have said they liked it and Airbus have

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made improvements to it. That gives Aircelle the long-term boost and security now. It also shows that Burnley really is a manufacturing hub and it’s brilliant news for the area.”

Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle said: “They’ve got to virtually double production.

It’s fantastic news.

“Burnley is the centre of aerospace excellence and Aircelle is the leader of that.

They are a fantastic company, really hi-tech and forward thinking.”

Coun Mark Townsend, leader of Burnley Councill, said: “‘It’s wonderful news for the town. Anything that secures jobs, and high-level manufacturing jobs at that, is excellent.

“It can only help cement Burnley’s place as a centre of excellence when it comes to advanced manufacturing.

“Hopefully this can also have knock-on effects down the supply chain and at Innovation Drive, which will boost the wider economy as well.”

Aircelle chairman Martin Sion said: “This is another endorsement of our company’s role as a world-leading engine nacelle

supplier and provides an important addition to our product line, which covers everything from business jets and regional passenger aircraft to jetliners.”

The company has long been an Airbus partner, providing nearly 1,400 nacelles, including thrust reversers, for a range of A330 models with Rolls Royce Trent 700 engines since the 1990s.

One major deal signed for the Airbus A330 neo should see 50 liners delivered to low-cost specialists Air Asia X, with the first deliveries expected in 2018.

Management at Rolls Royce, which has a 1,000-strong operation at Barnoldswick, also welcomed the Air Asia deal, which will use their Trent 700 engines.

Rolls Royce officials said no decision had been taken yet on whether the work would be allocated to their Bankfield or Ghyll Brow sites in West Craven.

Other provisional deals for the A330 neo include an order for 25 from Los Angeles based Air Lease Corporation and a further 15 from Dublin’s Avolon, another leasing company.

Taking instant messaging in Asia to the next level New Call Telecom announces an agreement to acquire mobile messaging powerhouse Nimbuzz with 200 million registered users and growing fast. Deal marks one of the first big successes, outside of ecommerce, in the India Internet space New Delhi, October, 2014.

New Call Telecom, the fast growing International telecom company with a growing presence in India has announced an agreement to acquire the leading global mobile technology brand Nimbuzz. The acquisition marks one of the first pure mobile Internet based successes out of India and signals the emergence of Internet technology based global consumer brands coming out of the country. Nimbuzz has a significant niche and loyal subscriber base in Asia, particularly in India and the Middle East Currently similar to Whatsapp and LINE, with this deal Nimbuzz has entered a new era of accelerated and differentiated growth as part of the ‘my digital life’ platform New Call are assembling.

Nimbuzz has rapidly

growing revenues, that have doubled every year for the last 3 years and has a current run rate revenue of $15 million per annum. It offers a range of award winning mobile messaging, voice over IP and mobile advertising services. The Company today has over 200 million users across the globe, in 210 countries with a significant and rapidly growing user base in India, throughout South Asia and MENA. Dutch based Nimbuzz processes over 1 Billion VoIP call minutes per month, 100+ billion messages per month and operates one of the largest mobile advertising platforms in South Asia and MENA region. In most recent industry recognition, Nimbuzz was awarded by Mobile Marketing Association’s (MMA) The Smarties 2014 as the ‘Enabling Technology Company

of the Year on Mobile’.

Announcing the acquisition, Mr. Nigel Eastwood, CEO, New Call Telecom said, I am extremely excited to welcome Nimbuzz to the growing New Call International family, the business will become a key part of our ‘my digital life’ ecosystem.

Nimbuzz’ significant loyal userbase allows for a rapid adoption of OTT/Apps relating to Wi-Fi and Home Broadband in India and eventually in other parts of the world. Its technology and advertiser connect will be key to monetization of any Wi-Fi network getting rolled out in India.”

Chairman Dr Jerome Booth commented “ We see huge potential in India’s nascent Internet, broadband, instant messaging/data sharing markets.

With e-commerce newly arrived

in India and Government focus on broadband access, we hope to generate and expand a number of new/traditional revenue streams across our growing International telecoms business.”

According to Mr Vikas Saxena, CEO, Nimbuzz. “We are excited to be part of the New Call group which is quickly building a global telecom conglomerate based on promising new technologies that the Smartphone era is bringing.

Nimbuzz has played a pioneering role in shaping consumer habits on messaging and voice services in a smartphone and data centric telecom world. It’s a great opportunity for us to play the central role in New Call’s vision of building and monetizing Asia’s smartest Wi-Fi based data network, starting from India.”

News

Aircelle focuses on pride and well-being Aircelle, Burnley’s largest business celebrate their sixth annual Dignity at Work Day, with an event that included recognition for the company’s “unsung heroes”, as well as a series of stalls and presentations from colleagues and local businesses.

“Dignity at Work” day has become a significant fixture in Aircelle’s calendar of annual activities, as the company seeks to build on its reputation as a healthy and respectful workplace.

Stephane Cuille, Aircelle’s MD, said: “Over the years we’ve focussed on a number of issues for Dignity at Work Day, such as respect in the workplace, health and safety, and instilling great pride in our business. During this time we’ve worked closely

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with Unite the Union and our Employee Representatives to ensure that the principles of “Dignity at Work” are a basic right for every employee within Aircelle, here in the UK.” Keith Brenkley Unite’s Senior Convenor at Aircelle in Burnley added: “The first ever Dignity at Work Day was a joint CompanyUnite initiative and we’re delighted that it has become established as an annual event at Aircelle. It reminds us that we have a zero tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, but it also ensures that we keep progressing to ensure that we create a great place to work where all employees are respected and valued.”

Last week’s event focussed on pride and well-being, so

there were a number of stalls on site that also included local businesses and charities such as Pendleside Hospice, Burnley Football Club and Help for Heroes.

However, the theme of pride was very much to the fore as Aircelle took the opportunity to recognise the efforts of its “unsung heroes” – employees who have gone above and beyond what is required to support Aircelle’s commitment to its community.

The first group of employees recognised as unsung heroes included Steve Dyer, who mentors young people; supply chain apprentice Holly Ireland, who won the Gold Crest Award from British Science Association; Michelle Baker who ran the Paris marathon

for Macmillan; Terry O‘ Leary and Chris Halpin, who completed the Great North Run for Pendleside Hospice; Andy Bennett who completed a cycle challenge for Derian House Children’s Hospice; Andrew Carruthers and Tanya Marshall organised Food Bank charity donations; transplant survivor Alan Schofield competes in transplant games and recently won five medals at the European Games; Jim Geoghegan is a football coach; and Matt Stobbs completed Tough Mudder for Help for heroes.

During the course of the day hundreds of employees got involved in the event – held in the firm’s Runways Restaurant – and all the unsung heroes were interviewed live on the Sally Naden Show on Radio Lancashire.

New venture and historic dry dock restoration a real labour of love A unique piece of Burnley’s waterway history ‘Birley’s Dock’, once an important working dock at the heart of the North West canal transportation network at the height of the coal and textile era, has been lovingly restored to its former glory and will once again be used to paint and repair canal boats.

The restoration to bring the dry dock back to its former glory has been a real labour of love by two couples who’ve had a passion for canal boats and the canal for many years.

Semi-retired couples Les and Angela White, and Brian Dennison and Jane Garnett, who have a wonderful knowledge about Burnley’s working canal history approached the council, who own the site, with their ideas to bring the derelict site back to life as a working dry dock for canal boat painting and repair.

Following several discussions and the development of a business plan for the new venture, the

council agreed to lease the site for their new venture, and the hard work began.

The ‘Bank Hall Dry Dock’ which sits on the edge of the former Bank Hall Coal Pit hasn’t been used in over 50 years but is once again a hub of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal system, under the business name for the new venture of Feather & Gaskell Ltd. Les White, Joint Partner, Feather & Gaskell Limited said: “After months of blood, sweat and tears, and personal financial investment we have lovingly restored the dry dock brick by brick, cobble by cobble. We recycled cobbles and bricks from the local area, including some of the bricks from the former Barden Mill.

“We’ve had support and advice on restoring the dock from the engineers at the Canal & River Trust, who are delighted with our restoration works.”

“It has been a real labour of love. We’ve all had a passion

for canal boats for many years and have our own boats. It was a wonderful sight to fill the dock for the first time and to steer in a barge to repair for the first time.”

Joint Partner, Brian Dennison added: “With the expanding Reedley Marina close by and the rise in popularity of canal leisure boating we saw a real opportunity. The nearest dry docks for the paint and repair of barges are a 4 day sail away in either direction, Skipton and Wigan, so it would take almost 2 weeks to get a boat serviced.”

“Now we can serve the local marina and east Lancashire area in a much shorter time. We’ve already got a list of boats waiting to be serviced and painted.

“We are really proud of our achievement and feel we have created a legacy for future boat

users and for Burnley.”

“More work to complete the cover for all weather works and to clean up the yard area is in the pipeline as the business grows.

We are now open for business and will be looking to officially launch the site in the Autumn.”

Carl West, technical manager from Canal & River Trust said: “The Trust is delighted to see the restoration of the dry dock completed to such a high standard of workmanship. The waterways contain many gems and it is extremely satisfying to work with private investors in realising their potential. We look forward to working with Feather & Gaskell Ltd in developing the wider site to support the dry dock operations.”

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News Terrace Hill acquires strategic site in Burnley for major leisure development Experienced leisure and retail developers, Terrace Hill, part of Urban&Civic plc, has acquired a major town centre site from Burnley Borough Council for a new leisure based scheme.

The site, off Active Way and adjacent to Charter Walk Shopping Centre, is currently a surface car park but has been earmarked for development for a number of years since the former Pioneer Cooperative building was demolished. The sale of the council’s holding to Terrace Hill will trigger a planned multi million pound leisure development.

According to Andy Lavin, Development Executive at Terrace Hill, a planning application for the site will be submitted by the end of the year, and it is anticipated that the final designs totalling c43,000 sq ft will include space for six restaurants and a coffee shop in addition to a new nine screen cinema.

Adjacent to the Charter Walk shopping area, the scheme will provide a draw for visitors to this side of the town. An undercroft car-park with a capacity for 287 vehicles will offset any loss of spaces caused by the development of the site.

This latest acquisition by Terrace Hill follows on from the success it has had in Darlington, on a very similar scheme, where construction will start next month.

Over the last few years a number of high profile developments have been successfully delivered by the developer for Asda, Sainsbury’s and other major companies.

Terrace Hill and the council will be working closely to ensure the project is delivered by summer 2016.

Andy Lavin said: “The land around the old Pioneer building has been undeveloped for a number of years now. With the other revitalisation schemes taking place across the town this site really stands out as being in need of some attention.

Duncan McEwan, Head of Retail Development at the company, further added: “The requirement for alternative developments in town centres is clear as shopping habits have changed, and leisure is the obvious addition that will help to improve the dwell times of shoppers. A scheme such as this will bring in families and will provide vibrancy in the evenings and at weekends.

We are extremely pleased to have reached an agreement with Burnley Borough Council, and are confident that our strong track record in delivering this new offer will add real value to the town, its residents and visitors.”

Burnley Council leader Mark Townsend said: “This is excellent news and we will work closely with Terrace Hill to make this happen as quickly as possible. It’s part of a far bigger picture of investment in Burnley town centre which will transform the way it looks and make it even more attractive to shoppers and visitors.

“That includes investment by Addington Capital in refurbishing Charter Walk and creating larger stores, the development of town centre student accommodation proposed in the former Burnley College building, new apartments being created in the former courthouse next to the Pioneer site, and the investment in improving the pedestrianised area of St James Street and beyond.”

Burnley Council Chief Executive Steve Rumbelow, said: “This is a positive move which would further boost the town centre. This agreement is a statement of intent by the developers that shows they have exciting plans for the site.

“The proposed development of the former Pioneer site is another sign of confidence in Burnley’s future and, a boost for the local economy.”

Retail agents Brady & Co and Trevor Dawson have been appointed to market the scheme to leisure and restaurant occupiers.

1st European Celebrates 5th Birthday with Continued Growth Lancashire based Freight Forwarders First European celebrate their 5th birthday of trading and on the cusp of reaching their first £1 million turnover.

Director Jenna Tattersall opened the road cargo haulage business in September 2009. It was clear she was destined for success, immediately winning the regional ‘Highly Commended New Start Business of the Year Award’. Since then, Jenna has led the company to year on year growth and more recently added several new services to their growing portfolio.

Jenna explained “To have grown as a business through the global economic recession is particularly pleasing. Last year I was reading in the sector press about the benefits of having a Business Mentor and contacted our local providers Orvia who deliver the Growth Mentoring programme, part of Boost Business Lancashire. They matched me with Richard Singleton of whY-us? and having Richard as my Mentor has worked really well for me. We recognised the need to innovate our processes and it gave me the confidence to successfully develop new products and services, which naturally benefits both us and our customers.”

“This year alone we’ve seen growth in our Groupage services, integrated a new Waste Management service, invested in a comprehensive and bespoke CRM (Customer Relationship Management system), developed a Cargo Insurance service and will be launching our new website in October”.

“We are now on the cusp of breaking the £1 million turnover barrier and have more new ideas in the pipeline for 2015”.

Ann Holcroft, Operations Manager at Orvia said ‘It is great to see 1st European is moving forward with their expansion plans and that they were able to benefit from the Growth Mentoring programme.”

Jenna was also keen to point out the important role of her team. “I’m really proud of our staff. We have a great team spirit that has enabled us to integrate the new services and grow the business year on year. Our customers tell us they work with us because of our reliability and friendly customer service and that is what’s most important to us at First European and down to our team.

First European offices are based in Burnley Lancashire and at their distribution centre in Feltham Middlesex.

They operate road cargo services to over 62 areas across Europe, including key freight routes through France, Germany, Italy, and Hungary and into Scandinavia.

Whether you have an initial one-off consignment or require regular freight service needs, their aim is to give you confidence that when you book with First European, you know we will safely collect and deliver your goods in a way that you’ll always book us with confidence, again and again.

Crow Wood increases sales, doubles staff and continues to invest Crow Wood Leisure’s year-end figures demonstrated a hugely successful period for the Burnley based business.

The business has seen sales increase by 47% up to its year-end, following last year’s launch of the £4.5million Woodland Spa, which won UK Day Spa of the Year at this year’s prestigious Professional Beauty Awards.

The business expects this year’s sales of £4.5 million to increase to over £5million in 2014/15. The Woodland Spa alone has seen sales of over £1million in its first year of operating – having proved to be a major draw, since the investment and redevelopment which includes one of Europe’s largest hydro therapy pools, a unique serenity pool and a heated outdoor pool and hot tubs.

Crow Wood’s performance represents a huge endorsement of the company’s vision, as the impact of start-up costs relating to the new Spa and Bertram’s restaurant saw the group post a loss of £27,000 in 2012/13. This has been converted to a net profit in 2013/14 in excess of £300,000, with EBITDA estimated at £850,000.

Amongst the highlights of Crow Wood’s performance have been the Food and Beverage operation, which has grown by 158% and is still growing. The site’s two restaurants and four bars are serving over 7,500 covers per month, with Bertram’s receiving acclaim as a destination restaurant

and significant feature of the North West’s culinary and social scene.

Crow Wood’s 5-a-side football centre Soccer Burnley, now in its third year of operation, has seen sales rise 25%. The centre is home to five outdoor, all-weather, floodlit pitches with state-of-the-art 3G pitches – a further expansion of the facility will see two 7-a-side floodlit pitches come on stream this year.

Andrew Brown, the Managing Director of Crow Wood Leisure, said: “We’re very proud of what we have achieved over the last 18 months. It’s been very tough at points, but the progress we’ve made is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our wonderful team. We’ve doubled our work force to 150 people in a tough economic climate and we’re continuing to invest this year with a capital spend of over £500,000.

This will see a garden terrace extension to The Woodland Spa and the addition of further on-site accommodation.”

“We’re also set to deliver a whole range of upgrades to our Health & Fitness club facilities which will include lots of brand new state-of-the-art CV equipment; and new spinning bikes, with docking stations, so you can listen to your music or use social media whilst you train. Most importantly we’ve invested in an AlterG anti-gravity treadmill, which will be a hugely important for people who have health issues or are in rehabilitation

following a sports injury.”

“It gives us a great deal of pride to be one of Burnley’s success stories and to contribute to the town’s economy in the way we do. We’re offering affordable quality and sophistication in a stunning setting that can rival anywhere in the country!”

Statistics Sales increase by 47% in 2013 Number of staff DOUBLED to 150 Follows last year’s £4.5million investment in Woodland Spa Won UK Day Spa of the Year at this year’s prestigious Professional Beauty Awards This year’s sales of £4.5 million set to increase to over £5million in 2014/15 Woodland Spa has seen sales of over £1million in its first year of operating Loss of £27,000 in 12/13 converted to a net profit in 13/14 in excess of £300,000, with EBITDA at £850,000 Food and Beverage operation has grown by 158% serving over 7500 customers every month

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News

Lancashire Skills Support for the Workforce Burnley-based IT Solutions firm, Lanway Corporate Business Systems, will further enhance its provision for first class customer solutions and services by accessing free training as part of the Lancashire Skills Support for the Workforce (LSS) fund, which aims to support thousands of employees across Lancashire.

Lanway, with over 25 years’ experience of providing first class, comprehensive IT infrastructure and support services, was keen to further invest in the training and development of each member of its workforce.

The training programme built momentum four months ago with the recruitment of the organisation’s new Commercial Manager, Jain Smith. Her initial brief was to set up a Training and Development Academy for the business to ensure that the workforce received relevant, rolespecific training.

Historically Lanway has always prided itself on producing home-grown talent; recruiting new employees at grass roots level and providing them with the opportunity to work through the ranks was commonplace – Lanway’s Managing Director Andrew Henderson is testament to this ethos starting his career at Lanway in the warehouse 18 years ago.

Jain’s ambitious plan was to host a number of employee engagement workshops, allowing everyone in the business to provide honest and open feedback as to their thoughts on ‘life at Lanway’.

It became abundantly clear throughout those sessions that employees love Lanway and enjoy working for such a dynamic and entrepreneurial business, however, they all felt they would like to have further training and development opportunities to help them grow and develop within their specific roles and ultimately give more back to the business.

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Jain made initial contact with Burnley College, following a period of research into local training providers that could meet Lanway’s needs - an indepth training needs analysis was then carried out on site at Lanway by Maureen Kelly, Project Manager at Burnley College.

The training needs analysis was then transformed into a bespoke training plan by Jain and Maureen.

Bespoke training and skills workshops were then built around Microsoft Office Stack, Sales techniques, Customer Services and team-building, most of which carry recognized industry accreditations. Each member of staff also received an individual tailored development plan.

The programme is progressing well with Jain commenting: “We are pleased with the excellent service we

have received from the dedicated projects team at Burnley College. They have an excellent understanding of the pressures that high performing businesses encounter and have developed a high quality training package that not only meets our needs but minimises disruption to the business. Whilst it’s important to ensure that all of our businesses have access to the workshops, Lanway is a sales-led organisation and Burnley College have done a brilliant job in factoring this into the workshop delivery and totally understand our business needs.

What is massively encouraging, is the response from our people – everyone within Lanway is embracing the opportunity to learn and develop and more importantly they all understand the huge commitment made by Lanway to ensure our people

have the necessary training and development within their specific roles” Simon Jordan, Assistant Principal at Burnley College commented: “The Skills Support for the Workforce programme gives us a strong opportunity to support local employers with their current and future workforce training. This initiative will help businesses to grow by having the right skills in place to fulfil their development needs.”

LSS will run until July 2015 – with funding allocated to businesses on a first- come firstserved basis.

Organisations interested in taking advantage of LSS funding should contact Maureen Kelly, Burnley College.

For more information call Maureen on 01282 711279 or email m.kelly@burnley.ac.uk.

£5.6m workforce training programme launched for Lancashire businesses Thousands of businesses and employees across Lancashire are set to benefit from free workforce training after Lancashire County Council launched a new £5.6 million programme which will be delivered by some of the county’s leading training providers.

Lancashire Skills Support for the Workforce (LSS) aims to support 3,817 employees aged 19 and over who are working in the county’s small and medium sized businesses.

Businesses qualifying for the £5.6m scheme will receive a free training needs analysis. Eligible employees within the business can then access free accredited training from leading providers based on their skills requirements.

Training available through the scheme will include a mix of basic and higher level skills, leadership and management skills, as well as technical and industry specialist qualifications.

Whilst all small or medium enterprises are eligible to apply, the programme, which is funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and aligned to the growth ambitions of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP), is particularly keen to attract businesses in: • Aerospace • Advanced engineering & manufacturing • Energy, environment and low carbon • Financial and professional services • Creative and digital • Leisure, tourism and visitor economy • Health occupations • Professional, scientific and technical occupations Owen McLaughlin, chair of the Lancashire Skills Board and vice chair of the LEP said: “The need for skilled staff is shared by all businesses regardless of their

sector. This ambitious programme allows us to help the county’s businesses to address any ‘skills gaps’ that could be holding back their growth potential.

“We are committed to ensuring that Lancashire residents are fully equipped to succeed in the workplace and have the skills to help our local businesses to be profitable and competitive on a national and global scale.”

County Councillor Jennifer Mein, Leader of Lancashire County Council, said: “We’ve already seen with Boost Business Lancashire that there is an appetite for growth among the county’s businesses.

For growth to be achieved, our businesses need access to a highly-trained and motivated workforce.

“We’re listening to businesses and they often tell us that workforce training is a priority.

By bringing together ambitious businesses and leading training

providers we can provide fantastic development opportunities for the county’s workforce.”

The LSS delivery partnership currently comprises Accrington and Rossendale College, Age UK Lancashire, Blackburn College, Blackpool and the Fylde College, Burnley College, Joint Learning, Lancashire Adult Learning, Lancaster and Morecambe College, Myerscough College, Nelson and Colne College, Preston College, West Lancashire College, and VIA Partnership.

LSS will support 3,817 employees aged 19 and over who are working in small or medium sized businesses and have a workforce of up to 250 employees.

It will run until July 2015 – with places allocated to businesses on a first-come, first-served basis.

Businesses looking to benefit from the programme can find further information or apply at lancashireskillssupport.co.uk.

In association with

Free accredited workforce training for Lancashire businesses Lancashire Skills Support is a new

Hundreds of accredited courses are

The training is delivered by leading

£5.6million programme available

available in basic and higher level

colleges and training providers

for businesses to fund the training

skills, leadership and management

across the county.

and development of their staff.

plus industry specific training.

The programme runs until July 2015. Don’t miss out, to apply go to www.lancashireskillssupport.co.uk or call Boost Business Lancashire on 0800 488 0057.

Eligibility rules apply, visit the website for more details.

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News

New Burnley business “flying high” after grant support A new Burnley business has secured non-repayable grant funding to help purchase new machinery and take on staff.

Formed in 2011, Aeroxcraft Ltd manufactures aerial photography equipment, specifically electronically stabilised camera gimbals.

They applied for a grant of £17,000 from Fuse Fund, part of a total investment of £68,000, to purchase new equipment that will allow them to develop a new range of products. The products will enable the company to target a higher professional

market and compete with imports from China.

Commenting on the awarding of the grant, managing director Robert Green said: “Receiving the funding has meant we have not only been able to buy this new state of the art machinery but we’ve managed to secure two existing jobs at Aeroxcraft, and are looking to take on two more.

“We have purchased a Fanuc Robodrill Machining Centre. This machine enables us to produce very high quality aluminium parts for our products in large quantities.”

“The machines capabilities have

opened up new design possibilities for our future products. In a growing and quickly developing market it is essential to keep ahead of the competition and the grant we received from FUSE is helping us to achieve this.”

Fuse Fund is delivered by Regenerate Pennine Lancashire and Lancashire Business View magazine and is supported by the Government’s Regional Growth Fund. Businesses can find out more at www.fusefund.co.uk

Burnley Business Survey reports positive figures for growth Burnley’s seventh annual business survey, which is conducted by Burnley Council’s business support team, highlighted some positive and encouraging stats, confirming the growth of many local businesses. The results mirrored the positive stats reported by the economic think-tank, Centre for Cities, who recently ranked Burnley 8th out of 64 key towns and cities across the UK for economic growth prospects.

The results of the survey helps the council steer the delivery of support for local businesses, and highlights areas where businesses need additional support to help them grow their busines. Whilst most of the survey results were very

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positive there are still some areas that need more work to ensure our companies have the skills and labour market to grow.

The survey highlighted an increase in profits, sales and cash flow in most responding businesses which was a significant improvement from the 2011 survey. Cash flow has also significantly improved since the 2011 survey but does still remain an issue for some businesses.

A staggering 92% said they’d invested in their business in the last year, which is a major indicator that businesses are coming out of the recent recession and investing in growth. Businesses reported investment in training,

equipment, ICT and marketing, and many indicated they intend to make additional investments in the coming year.

Most businesses reported a rise in turnover and profitability and expected this to continue to grow, another promising indicator.

The survey did highlight that there was still much more scope for our businesses to grow through export and that more support and encouragement needed to be offered to help them see the opportunities for growth in the export markets.

Speed of Broadband was felt to be adequate, but many businesses reported a disparity of internet speeds in different locations across the town.

Many businesses also reported a shortages of skills in the labour market, which was higher than the level identified in 2011, and the council is working closely with local HE and FE providers to improve and develop the skills base.

One of the council’s key priorities is to support the growth of its local businesses, and recognises the success of our businesses is linked to the success of the town. So the results of the survey are an important gauge of what’s happening in Burnley’s economy.

If you’d like to discuss business support opportunities available for your business contact the Council’s Business Support Team on 01282 477213.

Sponsorship Opportunities The Burnley Business Awards provide an opportunity for sponsors to promote a professional image to a wide business audience.

Companies sponsoring the awards will have an unrivalled opportunity to raise their profile among major decision makers across Pennine Lancashire. As the largest event of its kind in Burnley, the Awards offer unique branding and sponsorship opportunities, including profile raising through advertising, prior to the event, at the glittering awards ceremony itself and in the post event publicity.

Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, the prestigious Burnley Business Awards evening is firmly established as a biennial event, rewarding business individuals and companies that have made a real impact in Burnley and the global business stage.

Sponsors of the event will reach senior business leaders and receive costeffective branding and promotion.

The sponsorship funded event attracts a wide range of influential people from business sectors across Burnley and Pennine Lancashire.

The awards ceremony is organised

by Burnley Council to reward and celebrate the entrepreneurship and achievements of Burnley businesses.

To discuss sponsorship opportunities call Joanne Etherington on 01282 477315

This is a highly regarded event in the business calendar, raising the profile of Burnley as a successful business location, which has resulted in the town being awarded the title of Most Enterprising Area in the UK for its enterprise and innovation and being ranked 8th in the UK for business growth prospects.

If your business is looking for brand awareness, association with success, lead generation, press profile, PR opportunities, networking or hospitality opportunities, our sponsorship packages Open can offer all of these.

for entries February 2015 25

Feature : Women in Engineering

Championing women in engineering InBusiness editor talks to Claire Whelan about her demanding but rewarding role as Finance Director at rapidly growing engineering firm BCW Engineering There aren’t enough women in engineering. This is a fact that Claire Whelan, Finance Director, of rapidly expanding Burnley business, BCW Engineering, feels very passionate about, but she’s hoping to have an impact on that statement.

Claire, originally a law graduate, is currently the only woman on the BCW board but is keen to attract more women into the engineering sector.

She is a leading light in what can be perceived as a male dominated industry, but Claire tells InBusiness about her role at the top of a high growth business serving blue chip companies in the automotive and aerospace sector, supplying to top names including Aston Martin, Jaguar, Wesco and Aircelle.

Claire wants to highlight the opportunities women should be aware of in the engineering sector today. Claire is pretty hot property at the moment with the InBusiness editor speaking with her the day after an interview with the Financial Times.

Women in engineering is currently a key topic and Claire’s success in contributing to BCW’s rapid growth is causing quite a stir.

On a tour of BCW’s brand new 32,000 sq.ft facility on Innovation Drive, Burnley’s new aerospace supply park, Claire tells us of her work to understand and grow the business.

Standing in their new facility, Claire uses an Aston Martin chassis to demonstrate the parts BCW produce for this high end car and explains that this tool is often used in staff training. BCW make approximately 80% of the structural components, and Claire explained that these are being manufactured at the new site.

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Feature : Women in Engineering

Claire talks about BCW, her background and the story behind her move into the engineering sector “For the majority of our customer base, we are a Tier 1 supplier, meaning we manage the supply chain and deliver the end product directly to our customers.

“One of our main aims is growth in our key sectors whilst diversifying the product range that we manufacture. Whilst the majority of our work is within the Aerospace and Automotive industry, our machining capabilities and experience allow us to produce for numerous other sectors including Nuclear and Oil & Gas to name a few.

“The fact that BCW has a multi industry customer base helped balance the negative effects felt by the recession. BCW continued to buy the latest machines when others were nervous about investing. When the financial climate meant funders were unable to lend, the likes of Close Asset Finance helped us to grow by financing machines through this period and enabled us to be ahead of the competition. Coming out of the recession this investment allowed us to secure some major new contracts.

“I’ve been with the company four and a half years, starting in 2010. I grew up in Oldham where I went to Hulme Grammar School, and I always wanted to be a solicitor.

I went on to Hull University and studied law, but as I was going through the law degree I wondered if it was really for me and questioned what other careers were out there with a commercial application, as I had enjoyed business law. In my third year at university I was approached by the BCW board with a challenging 5 year progression plan which has turned out pretty true to form to be honest. I think this demonstrates

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the impressive business acumen our board has in strategic planning; knowing at that time that they needed a person such as myself to grow with the company into a responsible role.

“After speaking to the MD Alec Cassie, I realised it wouldn’t be easy, it was a fast growing company, working a little nosedown-tail-up, but experiencing aggressive growth. I could see there were some key challenges but that’s exactly what I wanted, I wanted a real challenge. I decided to move back to Lancashire and joined BCW as a commercial manager. It was important to me that I came in with the aim of becoming a Director but I wanted to work my way up to gain an understanding of every aspect of the business.

“Being new to the whole industry was a steep learning curve as I didn’t know much about the manufacturing and engineering sector, but it certainly ticked my box as a progressive role which would give me lots of challenges. The company needed legal support too, so I could still practice my legal skills gained at degree level.

“Soon after joining BCW, I had to cover maternity leave in finance which lead me to where I am today and I’ve never left.

The department required attention and I found my niche. My initial focus was getting processes in place almost from scratch which entailed recruitment of staff, producing our own accounts and enhancing banking facilities. In essence, updating and changing all the structural facilities to run alongside the companys progression. If I reflect on the role I really enjoy the different aspects that my job covers as finance tends to touch multiple departments and relish the decision making responsibilities that I have.

I love it”.

“Manufacturing and engineering was not considered a natural option at school and never pushed a career path. The more traditional roles such as doctors, teachers, lawyers received more focus etc. At that age you can understand how hard it is for young people to decide on their future.

The importance of the UK manufacturing industry wasn’t something that was highlighted in school and I still feel it is something which remains shrouded in ignorance.

Although this is a future risk in terms of a skills gap, I feel handled the correct way, it also presents itself as an opportunity to change. The recent efforts by the government to reignite the emphasis on UK manufacturing needs to be reflected within the education system.

Proudly representing engineering excellence and women in engineering on a regional and national platform Claire sits on the board of the East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, where she is an influencing voice in engineering and what the area needs to attract more investment. She also represents women as a regular speaker on manufacturing forums and conferences across the country, championing the UK’s engineering expertise and the opportunities for women in the industry. Claire also takes the message that Burnley is a great place to do business.

“The importance of the UK manufacturing industry wasn’t something that was highlighted in school and I still feel it is something which remains shrouded in ignorance. Although this is a future risk in terms of a skills gap, I feel handled the correct way, it also presents itself as an opportunity to change. The recent efforts by the government to reignite the emphasis on UK manufacturing needs to be reflected within the education system.

We have five women who work on the shopfloor but we are keen to attract more as their quality of work is excellent and on a par with their male counterparts.

“People don’t seem to recognise there are lots of support jobs in manufacturing, in areas such as finance, human resources, public relations etc. Working with OEM’s such as Jaguar and Aston Martin needs all these things to function to the highest standard, but when you are looking at your career options it’s not blindingly obvious to look at this sector sector. Most of what we use on a daily basis is manufactured: cars, elevators, mobile phones, kettles, televisions, the list is endless, and so therefore are its applications and subsequently, opportunities within this sector. I think it is imperative we champion these opportunities in manufacturing for women whenever and wherever we can “Advancements in technology make this a clean, highly skilled industry, when often it can be mistaken as a dark and dirty one.. This is not the case and we need to challenge these misconceptions.”

“I’m on the front line of the business, meeting our blue chip clients and working across departments, to ensure opportunities are fed into the business plan.

“I like to be involved in going out promoting the business and discovering the development opportunities open to BCW. I am proud to be a female representative of the company and customers react really well to me. It is important that OEMs know you have a skilled workforce on the shop floor but it is also crucial that we have a capable professional team to manage the business processes.

“When delivering 1st tier into OEMs you’ve got to have the management overheads to cope with external pressures including, supply chain management, risk management, and global fluctuations.

“Internally I direct finance and IT along with dealing with the companies legal issues and dabble in other areas such as HR and commercial. I certainly have a lot of strings to my bow! I find that I am very busy but I find the work rewarding and I am thankful that I have a career where I come into contact with a lot of situations- no day is ever the same.

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Feature : Women in Engineering Burnley’s impressive statistics surrounding job creation (10th in the country) and in particular in manufacturing (1st) mean that working in Burnley is also a very important element of my career. Being successful in a manufacturing strong hold that has low cost base and key links with the council is a big plus and has meant we have been able to ‘get things done’. The fact there is a commutable link to the surrounding cities I find a personal plus for my social life.

“It’s difficult to pin down BCW’s success to one thing. People is definitely key, people who technically bring everything together. We have quite a young team who have progressed into senior positions.

There is a long term attitude to growth - it’s not a lifestyle business, we reinvest and forsake profits to invest in people, machinery and buildings. We hope this attitude will bring sustainability for the future.”

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“We also have to be structured this way to ensure the business stays lean and keep its costs down. I would encourage those people who are looking for hands on experience with potential to directly influence a company, to consider SME’s. Due to their organisation, you may end up doing more than one role, but I have found it offers a progressive environment for a self starter. We have many examples of personnel at BCW who have joined in one role but progressed into different roles as they have developed as a person and the company had changed. I would argue they have done this faster in an SME than they would have done in a more rigid corporate environment.

“BCW has grown from zero to £16million in the twelve years it has been in operation. It is phenomenal growth and makes for a fast paced place of work- you need to be on top of what’s going on and always looking to the future.

“An element of research and development which involved changes to our engineering processes in the manufacture of safety critical parts, led to us securing a new contract with Jaguar - as we achieved the required tolerances.

“For this work we were awarded Deal of the Year at Burnley Business Awards 2013. It is a fair reflection of the attitude we adopt, using our experience to work on progressive solutions for the future as we see engineering method and materials develop.

BCW are meeting the challenges head on producing parts the industry needs to move forward and keep improving “I’m often asked ‘what challenges do I face working in a male dominated environment?’ and ‘how do I feel being the only woman on a board of men?’ Well, I’ve always been encouraged and supported at BCW and we are all respectful of each others job roles. Gender is not relevant and I for one want to achieve a solid career based on my personal capabilities and attributes; not my gender. I refuse to be treated any differently due to my gender and therefore I intend to walk through the glass ceiling blissfully unaware and without injury! I’ve no children of my own yet, but we’ve brought in female orientated benefits, such as flexible working hours, to make the roles more attractive to women, so we are flexible around school hours and holidays, and we provide child care vouchers. To ensure we attract and keep women in engineering we need to offer that support. “ I think we need to take responsibility for this challenge. BCW have been successful in the past in social inclusion and have an apprentice programme ongoing. Its of key importance that the engineering sector and the education authorities speak and progress this in whatever form we can. I I would love for example to go back to my school and speak to students and teachers about my experiences of the sector in an effort to encourage girls to think about this career direction.

“I came in as a fresh pair of eyes to streamline the business, transformed the way the business was running and I’m passionate about encouraging more women into the industry to add their flair to this sector.”

For anyone looking for a job, job security, job prospects, the opportunities in manufacturing and engineering are global, with opportunities to travel, nationally and globally.

The engineering sector offers good salaries, plenty of opportunities to progress up the chain, and the opportunities to progress into positions they might not have thought of.

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Burnley is our business

‌make it yours 32

Envy of the Northwest

Unite. Influence. Achieve.

Enquiries have been made to the Burnley Bondholder Scheme from across the Northwest as towns have sought to emulate Burnley’s model for public and private sector partnership working. Established in 2009, the Burnley Bondholder Scheme was the first of its kind in the North West and the first in the UK to direct all private sector contributions to promote the town across the UK and encourage new investment.

With over 150 members in 2014 the confidence which the scheme has created to date has been highly infectious. A key aim for the bondholders scheme is strength in numbers to influence agendas.

This united voice is transforming the future of Burnley.

For more information visit burnley.co.uk

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Sector Special :

PIPELINE INDUCTION HEAT LTD:

A WORLD LEADER IN FIELD JOINT COATING TO THE GLOBAL OIL AND GAS PIPELINE INDUSTRY 34

Oil and Gas Pipeline Industry

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Sector Special :

Huge investment doubles the turnover of this multi-million dollar business who is leading the world in field joint coating technologies

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Oil and Gas Pipeline Industry The World’s No.1 Field Joint Coating Contractor of choice

Y

ou might expect to find specialists in the oil and gas pipeline coating technologies in the US, Russia or China, and might be surprised to hear that one of the world’s largest pipeline ‘field joint coating’ (FJC) contractors is based in Burnley, Lancashire, but Pipeline Induction Heat Ltd (PIH) leading global pipeline coatings contractors, have their world class manufacturing, test, R&D and demonstration facility on one of Burnley’s most established flagship business parks, from where they support the global pipeline industry.

The pipeline industry is continuing to grow worldwide, and the need to provide increased security of energy supply in some of the worlds most hostile environmental conditions means the pipeline protection market is continuously expanding to meet these challenges and PIH is leading the way in this field.

PIH is part of the CRC Evans Group which was acquired by Stanley Black and Decker in 2010 and is now part of a multinational global organisation. Since the acquisition in 2010 Stanley’s huge investment has enabled PIH to log record growth.

Paul McShane, Director of Operations & Service Delivery for Pipeline Induction Heat Ltd (PIH) tells us the story behind the company’s rapid growth and the team’s plans for its future: Under the leadership of Adam Wynne Hughes, Managing Director of PIH and President of CRC Offshore, we grew the business by 70% in 2013, which is a remarkable achievement and we predict another record year in 2014, with new pipelines, new customers, additional revenue, and more services to clients.

We have a fixed amount of customers in the world - there are only so many companies in the world that can build pipelines! But we are continuing to enhance our strong reputation with these companies.

PIH is a Burnley based division of Stanley Oil and Gas, a diverse pipeline business offering welding and field joint coating and inspection. PIH’s core activites protect pipelines from corrosion, heat loss and damage. We were established in 1980 and have over 30 years’ experience in this specialist industry.

From our site here in Burnley we run a leading research & development centre, we manufacture our own equipment and we co-ordinate shipping and materials, training, project management and all the administration support.

PIH didnt originate in Burnley, it actually started in High Wycombe, and in 1988 the company was approached by Burnley Council who were actively seeking to attract inward investment and promoting the opportunities in Burnley for growing businesses. The approach worked, PIH was offered a grant to move to Burnley, the relocation took place and here we are today and we plan to continue to grow PIH in Burnley and create further employment for the long term future.

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Sector Special : In 1988 we only had a handful of employees but today we employ over 130 people here on the Burnley site, plus 250 people working globally out in the field.

PIH merged with CRC Evans in 1990 and with a continuing desire for Research and Development we’ve developed several patents along the way.

Some of our first major projects were secured as far back as 1985 and we were acquired by Stanley Black and Decker in 2010.

In 2013 PIH recorded our highest ever revenue and this year we’ve secured the largest pipeline projects in our history.

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Oil and Gas Pipeline Industry

PIH work offshore and onshore in extreme hot and cold climates, in -40 and +40 temperatures. Their field work takes them to some of the worlds most dangerous places. Their field employees go to as many dangerous places as the army, so it takes a special dedicated team to work for PIH.

Turnover for 2014 will exceed $104million, almost double the revenues that were being achieved in 2012. Equally the new projects we are securing for 2015 and beyond are landmark projects for PIH, both in value and prestige within the industry; the team at PIH understand the scope of these new contracts is going to be an exciting challenge and we are confident we will deliver.

PIH is passionate about training and bringing in young employees, we are very proud of our apprenticeship scheme and currently employ 11 young engineering apprentices.

We work very closely with Burnley College to secure the apprenticeship placements for us. In 2014 we also launched a Field Supervisor development program aimed at bringing the next generation of project managers through the business.

Over the last couple of years we have engaged in building out our teams at Burnley and across the globe to strengthen our service offering to our clients. We now proudly have regional teams based in Malayasis; Brazil; Gulf of Mexico; Angola; Middle East and Australia. These strategic locations ensure we are ready and able to serve our clients within timescales that provide competitive advantages to our business.

FJC is a hugely specialist and very niche business, we have 40 active projects in several countries around the world at the moment and we have experienced real evolution from 1980’s all the way up to 2014.

Our focus is now on continuing to build a platform for growth that is driven by investment in technology and people to ensure we remain no.1 in the field.

The support of Stanley has helped us achieve this growth, our workforce is second to none, there’s a real commitment and a passion from our employees - you either love it or hate it working in our industry! It’s not a nine to five job, we can ask people to be on a flight to Africa tomorrow to try and fix any issues. We put a lot of focus on teamwork and we’ve got a good skill base built over many years, good experience in the equipment, and we’ve built a young enthusiastic team in our R&D department.

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Sector Special : PIH has grown the business by 70% since 2012 and enters 2015 with the strongest order book in its history.

Our aim is to be the No. 1 FJC Contractor of Choice in the world. We have some of the best Field Personnel in the industry delivering against high expectations across the globe on a daily basis.

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Oil and Gas Pipeline Industry

Field Joint Coating Since the early 1980’s, Pipeline Induction Heat has been providing Field Joint Coating services to the pipeline construction industry; onshore, offshore and spool base activities.

The principles adopted by Pipeline Induction Heat are to ensure the highest possible quality of application, to achieve the long term performance and integrity of the field joint coating system.

The PIH automated, field joint coating equipment offers highly repeatable installation processes, capable of achieving high coating production rates, allowing for faster commissioning and reduced pipeline construction costs.

The equipment and processes are designed to minimise any effects to the environment, whilst assuring the health and safety of the operator.

The PIH operatives are highly skilled, following years of in-house training and field experience.

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Feature : Manchester Showcase

Sir Howard Bernstein tops the bill at Burnley’s Investment & Property Breakfast Sir Howard praises Burnley’s resilience, regeneration and economic growth

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Sir Howard Bernstein topped the bill at Burnley’s Investment and Property Breakfast held earlier this year in the magnificent Bridgewater Hall at the heart of Manchester.

Business and property industry professionals from across the North West attended the event to hear from key speakers about the latest property developments, economic trends and investment opportunities in Burnley and the benefits and opportunities that can be gained from its close proximity to Manchester.

It was a great networking event for senior developers, investors and lenders who are active in the market, to hear first-hand about the investment and development opportunities in Burnley, and the transformations taking place.

Sir Howard, Chief Executive of Manchester City Council, renowned for transforming Manchester’s fortunes and development in the city, talked about how improved connections can transform local economies.

Sir Howard highlighted the benefits to both the Burnley and Manchester economies when the new direct rail link from Burnley to Manchester opens at the end of 2014.

Other key speakers included Chris Cheap, Director of GVA Grimley, Manchester, and Bob Tattrie, Managing Director, Trebor Developments.

Chris talked about what occupiers are looking for in the regional property markets and how Burnley is positioned to meet the needs of occupiers.

Chris predicted a healthy rise in occupier demand over the next few years, and believes the economic outlook for UK regional markets is highly positive across all sectors.

He reinforced occupiers are looking for a skilled and diverse labour pool, FE and HE, good transport infrastructure, areas with growth potential, good value, and local authority assistance, which he said placed Burnley in an excellent position to attract investment with the impressive range of what he described as ‘oven ready sites’ including the Vision Park, Burnley Bridge Business Park, OnTheBanks, Innovation Drive and the AMS Technology Park.

“Burnley’s impressive ‘oven-ready’ sites, its reputation as a world class aerospace cluster, its improving infrastructure, new college, universities and UTC, and the award for Most Enterprising Area in the UK last year, puts Burnley in an excellent position to attract the investors, ticking all their requirement boxes.”

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Feature : Manchester Showcase

The event also included the launch of a visionary new commercial development in Burnley ‘Vision Park – Burnley Knowledge Quarter’ and guests at the event were the first to hear and see the unveiling of what has been described as the most exciting commercial development in the Lancashire Region.

The high quality 5 acre (2.02 hectare) development, providing high quality mixeduse business space was launched at the breakfast event by Bob Tattrie, Managing Director for Trebor Developments LLP.

“We were delighted when Burnley Council selected Trebor as development partner for this site. The unique location made the site of particular interest to us, not only does it sit at the heart of the Knowledge Quarter, it also sits close to excellent transport links, and has stunning countryside views across to the famous Lancashire landmark Pendle Hill.

Burnley has a growing reputation as a centre for manufacturing excellence with several world class advanced manufacturing businesses located in the town, who work in partnership to promote the town’s superb infrastructure and the proactive business support environment. So companies looking at Vision Park would be in good company.

Phase I of the park will see the development of an Innovation Centre, which will offer flexible space for advanced manufacturing, R&D and offices from 500 sq.ft. to 10,000 sq.ft. on flexible terms, allowing occupiers the opportunity to thrive in a high quality working environment with like-minded businesses.

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Council Leader, Mark Townsend said: “Our aim behind holding events such as these is to get Burnley noticed in the right places, and we are taking Burnley to the cities. This is the second of such events the first being a trade mission to London last year.

“We have developed sites to rival those of the big cities and these events are a fantastic opportunity to showcase Burnley’s economic growth and investment opportunities to intermediaries who influence major business decisions.

“The Manchester event was a great morning, the guests enjoyed the speakers and it was a great opportunity to showcase Burnley. All the guests received ‘Burnley’ goody bags as they left, to leave them with some tasters of Burnley and what it has to offer.

“The aim now is to keep in touch with the contacts we’ve made to keep Burnley high on their list when talking to key decision makers.”

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Sector Special : Making It In Burnley Successful Burnley businessman and entrepreneur launches

Making it in Burnley

Creating the engineers of the future Mark Crabtree, OBE, Managing Director and founder of Burnley’s world leading sound engineering firm AMS Neve, is the mastermind behind a new project in Burnley ‘Making it in Burnley’ developed to teach thousands of Burnley primary school pupils ground-breaking engineering skills to create a skilled workforce for the future

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Young Engineers –

Mark’s vision to give every primary-aged child in the town the chance to develop vital skills to help nurture the next generation of world class engineers is underway.

All 30 primary schools in the borough are now taking part in the pioneering ‘Making it in Burnley’ scheme which will see youngsters learning hands-on skills in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), alongside industry professionals in the classroom.

Mark is passionate about ensuring our local highly skilled industries have the workforce of the future. He isn’t a man to just talk about his ideas, he is well known for putting his ideas into practice and getting things done, and he’s done just that, with ‘Making it in Burnley’ being rolled out in classrooms this term.

In the early stages of developing the vision Mark spoke to several people in the industry and in education, but soon realised the funding wasn’t available to deliver the project, but this didn’t deter Mark who decided to fund the initial stages of the project himself to make it happen. Mark hasn’t done this alone he has been supported with several hours of in-kind support from many Burnley business who are offering their engineering expertise in the classroom and with the teacher training, it has been a real team effort of businesses who recognise the value of such a programme to the long term growth of their business.

Several bondholders and Burnley businesses supporting the scheme were involved in preparing the course details in the early stages. When developing the course they came across an organisation called Primary Engineer, a not for profit organisation established to encourage young people to consider careers in STEM, which matched Mark’s plans perfectly. Mark and the businesses soon recognised that Primary Engineer would be the perfect organisation to deliver the ‘Making it in Burnley’ vision and they are now firmly ensconced in Burnley delivering the course programme.

Primary Engineer were so impressed with Burnley’s vision for continued manufacturing excellence they have relocated their national head office to Burnley on the state of the art AMS Technology Park.

We are very excited about this.

I had a great education in Burnley and I grew my business here and I know this will be great for pupils in Burnley.

We need people who know what it takes to fire the enthusiasm of a child.

I am one of those people – I know why I was inspired to do what I did as a kid. If I hadn’t then AMS Neve would not have been here. We have provided 5,000 person-years of employment in the town and I would love to see a whole raft of AMS Neves bubbling up from children that are rooted in Burnley.

If we plant the seeds now we can grow businesses in Burnley. We hope to inspire the next Steve Jobs or Mark Crabtree.

It is learning through play but they will pick up a dramatic amount of engineering know-how. If they don’t do it by primary age it will be too late at secondary age to pick up basic engineering skills when you are 13 or 14.

Burnley – The World

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Sector Special : Making It In Burnley Burnley and Padiham pupils will get the chance to design and build everything from yachts and moving vehicles to levers and pulleys in the handson “Making It in Burnley”.

Teachers at each school have been specially trained to deliver the lessons to pupils alongside professional engineers and industry figures from firms around Burnley.

An organisation called Primary Engineer, which has ready-made courses, training and materials for teachers and pupils, has been brought in to work with the 30 schools.

Mr Crabtree, who masterminded the project with members of the Burnley Bondholders and the Prince’s Charities, wanted to put the focus on youngsters at the crucial formative stage instead of during secondary school or apprenticeships.

This is an exciting opportunity to link with engineers and to use their knowledge and expertise to develop vital engineering skills for our children.

Engineering is a big part of Burnley and it is exciting for the town that so many schools are interested in developing these skills. The activities are all hands-on and creative, and lots of fun, but will also support us in developing skills across the curriculum, especially maths and science.

We hope that our children will be inspired by the engineers they work with and that we may develop future engineers through this project.

Sarah Bell, Springfield Primary School headteacher, who helped launch the scheme,

Engineering and technology are where it’s at.

What other fields give you as many opportunities to design, create, and build things that could have a huge positive impact on the world?

Burnley has a strong manufacturing base making parts for the world’s largest planes and fastest cars. Our aim is to make Burnley

a regionally significant centre for advanced manufacturing, engineering, and digital technologies to attract new businesses to move here and tap into our knowledge and skills. To achieve this it is important we provide the opportunities for Burnley’s younger generation to gain the skills needed to grow our advanced manufacturing and

technology sectors, and the ‘Making it in Burnley’ programme will do just that.

Often our younger generation don’t see the opportunities in engineering and manufacturing as ‘cool’ but the opportunities in engineering are vast.

PRIMARY ENGINEER RELOCATE TO AMS TECHNOLOGY PARK Primary Engineer, who are delivering the ‘Make it in Burnley’ training for teachers, were so impressed with Burnley’s can do attitude and the manufacturing excellence here in the town, they have relocated the Primary Engineer offices to Burnley.

They have taken a whole floor within the impressive, glass fronted AMS Office Tower, on the AMS Technology Park, and they’ll deliver their services across the UK from the Burnley site.

Primary Engineer, are backed by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, so it’s a major coup for Burnley for them to relocate here, and another reinforcement of the towns ambition to become the regional centre for manufacturing and engineering excellent.

Primary Engineer is a not-for-profit organisation established in 2005 to encourage young people to consider

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careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

They sincerely believe that Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics are key subjects in securing positive opportunities and career paths for future generations, and that this begins in Primary school.

‘STEM by stealth’ was coined by a teacher after attending a Primary Engineer course. It summarises their work exactly: practically applying Mathematics and Science to design and make activities, leaving both children and teachers inspired.

Our work is supported by Tomorrow’s Engineers and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Susan Scurlock heads up Primary Engineer said: “Our vision is that children, both girls and boys, will aspire to become designers and makers from a very early age.

The engineers of the future.

“We offer Primary schools a way to deliver practical Mathematics and Science to Design Technology activities. The class projects are aimed at each year group, mapped to the curriculum, and designed to inspire and enthuse. Programmes include teacher training, interactive and paperbased resources, and regional and national competitions. All projects are linked to practicing engineers to provide a real-world context to the project.

“I’m delighted to be here in Burnley, which is well recognised for its manufacturing excellence, and we want this success to continue, not just here in Burnley but across the UK, and developing the skills and passion for engineering from a young age will stand the country in good stead for the future.

TRAINING UP THE TEACHERS TO DELIVER THE ‘MAKE IT IN BURNLEY’ PROGRAM The InBusiness editor went along to the teacher training day to see the teachers receiving the relevant training to roll out the programme in the classroom, and you could see the passion they had for the project. They are embracing this opportunity and are excited about creating the next generation of engineers.

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Feature : BALMERS GM Ltd

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‘ACE’ new showroom

for leading golf course maintenance machinery specialists!

Leading specialists in new and used compact tractors and turfcare machinery, Balmers GM Ltd, have moved into their magnificent new showroom and service centre in Burnley.

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Feature : BALMERS GM Ltd

The new state of the art dealership showroom and service centre puts some leading high end car showrooms in the shade, and the views across the countryside from their new Dunnockshaw site are breathtaking - a far cry from where they started in a yard behind Towneley Garden centre in 1979 where they started repairing home machinery!

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Balmers GM Ltd have grown their commercial and domestic business year on year since it started back in 1979, and today they are one of the largest new and used groundcare businesses of its kind in the North of England.

Their impressive new showroom houses one of the largest collections of new and second hand tractors in Lancashire. They are a main dealership for John Deere but stock many other brands in the large showroom.

Joanne Balmer-Smith, daughter of founder David Balmer, and a key partner in running the business today said: “We have been in business in Burnley for over thirty years, providing sales, spares, service and hire to local authorities, golf clubs, football clubs, contractors, leisure Industry, equestrian and caravan parks. We take pride in our reputation of delivering a first class service to all of our customers.”

“We have been looking to move from our Trafalgar Street base for some time, we were rapidly out-growing the building and logistically the old building wasn’t offering efficiency of processes. After a long search the Dunnockshaw site came onto the market and we could see how the site would suit our growth needs perfectly. Our new premises have been designed to ensure lean processes, with our parts centre located adjacent to the service centre etc, and it has improved our efficiency immensely.

“We use only the best ground care equipment which is supplied and supported by the extensive range of franchises which include: John Deere, STIHL, Scag, Snow-Ex, Allett, Wiedenmann, Greenmech, Greentek, Echo

and Trilo to name but a few.”

“In addition to the new equipment we have the largest stock of second hand commercial machinery in the country - delivering both nationally and internationally, giving our customers choice, service and a name that can be trusted.”

“Our new site is set amongst 6 acres of picturesque landscaped grounds and we have created our own test area, so customers can try out the machinery on different gradients.”

“The acquisition of this new site has enabled us to create a modern and state of the art dealership whilst continuing to grow and develop into one of the largest ground care dealers in the UK.” Joanne added : “We have a friendly, dedicated and highly experienced team of fully trained mechanics able to service and repair to the high standards required of the industry.

“Our technical sales staff are fully conversant with all ground care machines and are available to assist clients to decide which models suit their immediate requirements.

“The vast range of parts held in the stores department offers a speedy replacement service, thereby, reducing machine down time.

“Our reputation in the commercial and domestic sector speaks for itself by our customer base of local councils, national contractors serving golf, football and cricket clubs coupled with our domestic and smallholding customers, and we are looking forward to our continued growth from our new premises.”

Perfect Greens Official Suppliers to The Open

John Deere and its local dealer Balmers GM Ltd of Burnley, were the official suppliers of golf course maintenance equipment to the 2012 Open Championship.

Together John Deere and Balmers supplied over £500,000 worth of machinery plus two technicians and other staff for the final preparation period and the Championship itself.

Balmers products and services continue to ensure our golf greens across the country are some of the best on the circuit.

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Feature : boohoo.com

Leading online retailer Boohoo invest a further ÂŁ10 million to expand their national state of the art warehouse and distribution centre in Burnley 54

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Feature : boohoo.com

The impressive facility will total a whopping 820,000 sq ft when the new extension is complete Since opening its distribution centre on Heasandford Industrial Estate three-and-half years ago, the dotcom firm has continued to grow at an exponential rate.

Now one of the world’s leading online retailers alongside giants such as ASOS and Next, bosses are investing a further £10m in the Burnley site as they look to cope with demand.

Logistics director Tony Burley recognises that making the town part of Boohoo’s future was integral moving forward.

“We realised we need to make significant investment to Burnley so we know we have to invest in the infrastructure and the environment for our people but also invest in our people as well. This is the first phase.

The existing warehouse was 140,000 sq. ft. and that has been extended internally with mezzanine flooring. Once we’ve completed this extension, which will be at the end of February, that will give us a total of around 820,000 sq. ft. – a significant increase in the capacity of the facility.

“It is designed to give us four to five years growth but then so was this one and it’s only given us three, so we’ll have to see.

“Part of the investment is the increase in capacity the business needs but also £2million of this money will be invested in facilities for staff so improved restaurant facilities, internet cafes, social rest areas,

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those kind of things will all be part of the construction over the next six months.”

Founded in Manchester in 2006, Boohoo designs, sources, markets and sells its own brand clothing, shoes and accessories to customers aged predominantly 16 to 24.

While the UK remains its biggest growth area, the firm now ships to more than 130 countries and is setting up a public relations team in New York (one is already based in Australia).

As well as creating new trends, Mr Burley said the firm was also looking at bucking them, an example of which is the recent warehouse workers 12% wage increase. This has seen the hourly rate for the day shift upped from £6.31 to £7 (£7.50 after probation) while those on nights have

seen their £6.50 raised to £7.50 (£8.25 after probation).

“We want to be the employer of choice in Burnley. The increased pay rates in the warehouse has taken us to the upper quartile for not just the area but also the industry. We want Boohoo to be the place to work. We employ around 580 people which is mainly warehousing but we do customer services on site and on top of that we have in the region of 280 temp workers with us right now and that we will look to increase as we get closer to Christmas.”

Employee numbers are also set to grow with next year’s expansion and Mr Burley said a lot of these workers would be coming from Burnley and the surrounding area.

“The growth has been absolutely phenomenal, over the past three years particularly. Providing jobs for people in Burnley has been a key factor. We actually use sector-based working which is designed to take people from unemployment into work as our main route of recruitment but also just working with Barnfield Construction who are a local company, building this facility. We’re also talking to Burnley Football Club about what we can do to support them.

And I’m sure, over time, there will be lots of things we can get involved in and support.

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Feature : boohoo.com “We’re bucking the trend for not just the economy but also the industry. We are serious about investing in the area.”

Council Leader, Mark Townsend, said: “We were delighted when Boohoo chose to relocate their UK distribution centre into the purpose built facility on Heasandford, the building was previously purpose built for Liberty of London’s central distribution because of Burnley’s central location and easy access to the national motorway network. I’m delighted Boohoo are thriving here in Burnley. It is now one of the town’s largest private sector employers and it’s great to see them investing in higher wages and in the town which shows a commitment to their long term future here in Burnley.”

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