BUSINESSNEWS
HEREFORDSHIRE PRINTING COMPANY BENEFITS FROM NEWLY SWITCHED ON NEXT GENERATION ACCESS BROADBAND When NGA Broadband arrived in Hereford Impact Print & Design, a Hereford graphic/web design and printing company, was amongst the first businesses to sign up for it. Martin Parry, Impact’s Managing Director said: “I believe that NGA Broadband is the most important development to have happened in the 35 years that our company has been on the Rotherwas Industrial Estate. Our download speed has now gone from less than 1mb to 80mbs, putting us on a level playing field with companies around the UK. We would like to thank Herefordshire Council and all the people who have enabled Rotherwas to achieve this 21st century technology. Thanks must also go to our local MP Jesse Norman who, back in August 2010, organised the broadband summit in Hereford with Ed Vaizey MP, helped lobby and win from the Government an extra £3.75 million funding for rural broadband and continues to champion the county’s Enterprise Zone.” www.impactprint.co.uk
Jonathan Austin, Founder and CEO of Best Companies, presents the award to Vax. L-R: Samantha Williams, Sally-Ann Rice, Victoria Watts, Kate Daines, Stuart Seabury, Mark Ray, Jonathan Austin, David Winterbottom; Mike Raybould, John Upperton, Tamzin Cameron-Price, Nicki Harris, Jo Little.
VAX NAMED AS ‘OUTSTANDING’ IN THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP 100 BEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR Following rapid growth and significant investment in its engineering team, the Droitwich-based floorcare manufacturer is recognised as an employer of choice. Britain’s leading floorcare brand Vax1 has been included in ‘The Sunday Times Top 100 Best Companies To Work For’ list for 2014. The list recognises companies with the highest level of employee engagement. Vax is the only small domestic appliance manufacturer business to be featured. Kate Daines, HR Director, said: “Whatever the ingredients are that make a great culture, Vax has
them in abundance. I am delighted that this award recognises the extremely high engagement levels of the people who work here. This is undoubtedly an incredibly exciting time to join the business as we continue on our growth trajectory - the momentum is infectious. We have lots of opportunities for talented people: not only are we hiring hundreds of new people, we are also fast-tracking our talented employees through investment in training, development and talent programmes.” jobs.vax.com
A BETTER WAY TO DELIVER TESTIMONIALS If you attended the Chamber Expo in March, you could hardly have missed specialist corporate video producer, Video Interactive in action. Three of its crew were filming interactive business interviews with Chamber members, Gtech, Tulip Cleaning & Laundry Services, Modus Creative, ABC Print, Borwell and Oakland International, all talking about their experiences using Chamber services.
Martin Parry, Managing Director of Impact Print outside Impact House
Terry Anderson, Technical Director, said: “These days, people are becoming more sceptical about the authenticity of testimonials. Being mindful that endorsements and testimonials used for marketing purposes must also meet criteria regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority, when the Chamber approached us, we were keen to show that interesting business stories are a better way to deliver believable content.”
A 3-camera studio-style shoot with Michelle Scott interviewing Melanie Baker, Director of Tulip Cleaning & Laundry Services
The case studies were all carefully researched in advance so that one of Video Interactive’s presenters would be able to conduct structured, compliant interviews with those members enabling them to reveal why they chose to use certain Chamber services and the impact, from doing so, had upon moving their businesses forward. www.video-interactive.co.uk
ASSESSMENT REVEALED A SUCCESS FOR CARE24 Care24, part of Wyre Forest Sheltered Housing, is pleased to announce that they have successfully met the latest regulations set by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
feedback about the service, including comments such as: “I couldn’t wish for better” and “the staff are reliable and effective at meeting my mother’s needs”.
Care24 provides home and personal care services for older and vulnerable people across the Wyre Forest, and are regularly inspected and monitored to assure that they meet the standards stipulated by the commission.
Head of Care Services at Wyre Forest Sheltered Housing, Nigel Fain said: “We are delighted to have achieved the high standards the CQC set, with the report providing us with some fantastic feedback. This is great news for the company, and is a testament to our hard working staff”.
During the assessment, the CQC spoke with service users and their families and received extremely positive
www.communityhg.com
Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce
015