Business Direction 4

Direction

Business

Global Trading Be prepared to take the plunge in accessing global markets - page 24

Chamber launches interactive new website Find out more - page 4

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

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November/December 2011 Issue 4

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Contents

hwchamber.co.uk Business Direction, Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce’s 60 page, full colour bi-monthly publication. Designed and produced by business people for business people. Distributed to 6,000 businesses including selected retail outlets and Tesco stores across Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

Editor Kelly Betts 0845 641 1641 ext 213

kellyb@hwchamber.co.uk

Editorial

3 First word

38 Conference Worcestershire

4 Chamber news

40 Chamber events

5 Chamber news

42 Commercial property

12 Business news

45 Business news

15 Entrepreneurs

47 Member benefits and solutions

16 Business news

49 Member benefits and solutions

19 Education

50 International trade

21 Policy

51 Destination Worcestershire

22 Big Interview: Lord Green

53 New members

24 Cover story: Global Trading

55 Business news

35 Training

58 Movers and shakers

22 24

First word

businessdirection@hwchamber.co.uk 0845 641 1641 ext 213

PRODUCTION & DESIGN Distinctive Publishing, 8th Floor, Aidan House, Sunderland Road, Gateshead NE8 3HU Tel: 0845 884 2385 www.distinctivepublishing.co.uk

ADVERTISING Distinctive Publishing, 8th Floor, Aidan House, Sunderland Road, Gateshead NE8 3HU Tel: 0845 884 2336 helen.gowland@distinctivepublishing.co.uk

FEATURE EDITORS John Dean & Francis Griss deangriss@btinternet.com

Subscriptions www.hwchamber.co.uk/businessdirection Tel: 0845 641 1641 Disclaimer: Whilst every effort is made to ensure accuracy, the publisher accepts no responsibility for omissions or errors within this publication. Editorial submissions are included at the discretion of the editor. The opinions expressed in articles and letters within this publication are not necessarily those of the Chamber. All offers, promotions and competitions appearing in Business Direction are the sole responsibility of the advertiser/ promoting party and Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce does not accept any responsibility for any representations made within them.

Welcome to the November/December edition of Business Direction Autumn is always a busy time for the Chamber and this autumn is proving no different. It started with the British Chambers of Commerce accreditation. You’ll be pleased to know that we now feature as one of the top 10 Chambers in the country.

Our Expo at the Sixways Stadium, Worcester took place on Thursday 6 October and was probably our best so far with over 100 stands sold out and a footfall of over 700 people.

Feedback from businesses that attended has been very positive in terms of business contacts that they made on the day and also meetings that have been arranged and opportunities to follow up on.

On a personal note I was surprised and delighted to receive the ‘Worcestershire Ambassador of the Year 2011’ Award at the Ambassadors annual ball on Saturday 8 October which took place at the West Midland Safari Park. I think the award reflects the hard work and commitment of the staff at the Chamber who regularly support businesses of all sizes across the county. In my role I get lots of opportunities to be an ambassador across the UK and overseas and hopefully as we develop the ‘Visit Worcestershire’ brand we will encourage both inward investment and tourism visitors to Worcestershire.

support as he needs to help him to develop the Zone.

We are very fortunate in our two counties to also have Malvern Hills Science Park which too hosts a wide range of excellent businesses and offers opportunities for inward investment and development and growth our innovative small businesses.

This edition features global trade and the two counties have a number of excellent examples. We have Worcester, Bosch Group started by the Cecil Duckworth and of course Morgan Motor Company as well as entrepreneurs such as Neil Westwood from Magic Whiteboard and Alistair Shortland from Txt Local.

On a high note this edition also celebrates five of our companies winning awards at the West Midlands round of the British Chambers of Commerce awards. See page 5 for more information. Regional winners will now go on to compete at the British Chamber of Commerce Awards in November for the chance to win a national award. We wish them well.

Enjoy this edition and as always your feedback is welcomed. mikea@hwchamber.co.uk

Herefordshire too has had significant good news of late in the announcement of the Enterprise Zone. Our very own, Ray Stone, Vice President for Herefordshire is the Chairman of the Zone and we will be offering Ray as much

Our Patrons are:

November/December 2011 Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

03

Chamber News

MIKE HONOURED

BY AMBASSADORS Mike Ashton, Chief Executive of Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce recently received the accolade of Worcestershire Ambassador of the Year 2011. He was presented the award at the Worcestershire Ambassadors Annual Ball held at West Midland Safari Park on Saturday 8 October.

CHAMBER has LAUNCHEd POWERFUL NEW WEBSITE FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES

Phil Dutton, Chair of Worcestershire Ambassadors said: “ The Worcestershire Ambassadors were delighted to name Mike as the Worcestershire Ambassador of the Year.

The winner is based on the Management Group’s view of the Ambassador who has made the largest contribution to promoting the Ambassadors and County during the year.

In our opinion Mike does a fantastic job in promoting Worcestershire as a great place to Live, Work, Visit and do Business in. His enthusiastic, energetic and tireless approach makes him a real asset to the County.”

Other benefits of the website include:

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce has launched its brand new, interactive website that facilitates online networking and business development across the two counties.

Website developers, Nexus Creative’s, Managing Director, Nigel Harte explains: “The new website enables Chamber members to create a dynamic ‘business profile’, outlining: what the company does, its size, sector specialism and, akin with the business networking platform LinkedIn, members will be able to register a personal profile.

“Each employee from the shop floor to the board room can also have their own personal profile detailing who they are, what they do and their areas of expertise.

Individuals can request ‘contact’ with other registered members to allow them to network within the site and share content, this facilitates member to member networking and business development on a local level.”

Businesses will be able to apply for membership and renew online, update their contact details, book events and access a range of services as well as communicating directly with other members and Chamber staff.

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• Enhanced support facility for local businesses.

• Enhanced functionality and facility for the expansion of services for businesses.

• A solid and flexible online foundation for future Chamber development.

• Enhanced data capture opportunities, enabling targeted and automated communications and therefore, enhancing membership value and service.

• Instant access to all necessary facilities for members, who can make the HWCC member page their home page on their PC. • Added facilities and improved access to facilities for members, including a dedicated membership area, enhancing the value of membership.

Nicky Griffiths, Director of Business Development at Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce commented: “We are committed to improving our ability to support the local business community and we see this website as central to this continuous process.”

• Multiple RSS news feeds.

Log on now to www.hwchamber.co.uk

• A dynamic calendar facility, detailing HWCC events and booking facility.

• Online business promotion opportunities.

• Direct digital mail opportunities.

• A bespoke business/service search facility.

• Enhanced visibility of the Chamber site and therefore its members through integral SEO.

The themes FOR 2012 are: Jan/Feb March/April May/June July/August Sept/Oct Nov/Dec

Networking and Collaboration Advanced Engineering and Manufacturing Accessing Funding and Finance Sport and Leisure Human Resources Business Growth

If you have any press releases or articles please send them to businessdirection@hwchamber.co.uk

November/December 2011

Business News

CHAMBER AWARDS 2011 - REGIONAL WINNERS Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce are delighted to announce that Chamber members from this region have received 6 out of a possible 8 awards at the regional (West Midlands) stage of this year’s Chamber Awards.

Business of the Year

Malvern Instruments Limited Achievement in International Business

Malvern Instruments Limited Most Promising New Business

sponsored by BT Business Magic Whiteboard Limited Innovation through Technology

sponsored by Dell Viezu Technologies Excellence in People Development

H Weston and Sons Ltd The Sustainability Award

sponsored by British Standards Institution (BSI).

Bosch Thermotechnology Ltd (Worcester, Bosch Group Excellence in Customer Service

Alument Systems (UK) Ltd (Coventry and Warwickshire) Entrepreneur of the Year

Dayle Adams of Flip In Hair Limited (Coventry and Warwickshire)

Mike Ashton, Chief Executive of Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce commenting on the regional award winners said: “This is a real achievement for our member companies. I know that there was strong competition from across the West Midlands in these awards and it is great to see our companies get the recognition they fully deserve.”

Having won the regional awards, businesses are now finalists in their category for the UK title in the Chamber Awards hosted by the British Chambers of Commerce and the chance to collect the Award for Outstanding Business Achievement – with a top prize of £25,000 and runner up prizes of £15,000 and £10,000.

The national winners will be announced at a ceremony at London’s Connaught Rooms on November 24 2011.

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

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Business News Absolute essentials for the growth company (article six of six)

Use the ‘Absolute essentials’ project to improve your business performance in 2011 and help us to raise £2011 for local charities Amount raised after first five articles in this series = £1950

By Tim Kidson partner in TKA, Speaker, Consultant, Chair of the Herefordshire Directors Forum

So, you have agreed the Bull’s Eye for your business (article one), you have discovered your Key Change Project (article two) in order to Clarify Direction. You have completed the directors’ appraisals, (article three); you have now conducted both Customer and Staff Surveys, (article four) the most powerful ways to Develop Trust. You have used the Kidson Diagnostic Wheel with eight segments to Enhance Performance by setting KPI’s at the three levels of business, team and individual.

There is one thing left to complete the “iconic” Growth Cycle model for your business. You have to look again at each of the eight segments and ask whether you can do things faster or cheaper or more effectively. Every single business can develop and sustain competitive advantage by deliberately looking for innovative and creative ways to do things differently.

A final piece of advice: you could work through the Growth Cycle material with your Senior Management team somewhere off site, but you could be wasting both your time and your money.

If you revisit the material a year or so later, you will find out whether you are serious about changing what you do, how you think and how you behave in your business.

If another year passes and you are still working with some or all of the material then the likelihood is that you have built the important elements into ‘business as usual’. If that is the case you will never have invested more wisely.

The green oasis is located in Pepper Wood – an ancient 133 acre wood in the village of Fairfield near Bromsgrove, Worcester – and will be maintained by the Woodland Trust.

Employees are encouraged to visit the site which aims to serve as a symbol of the Group’s commitment to mitigating any negative environmental impact of its activities.

Jan / Feb

The most powerful way to Clarify Direction: the Bull’s Eye process

Mar / Apr

To hit the Bull’s Eye you need to know what your Key Change Project is

May / Jun

The most powerful way to Develop Trust is the Directors’ externally facilitated 360 degree appraisal!

July / Aug

Staff, stakeholder and customer surveys? What do you do with the results?

Sept / Oct

Set Key Performance Indicators for each of the eight jugular areas of the business

Nov / Dec

Innovation and creativity right across the board – that’s how we develop and sustain competitive advantage

If you would like a review of Innovation and Creativity ideas for your business call Tim Kidson now.

All proceeds to local charities

For further information or to view previous articles contact:

kidson@growth-for-business.com 01432 354136 or 07887 842126

SANCTUARY STAFF BRANCHING OUT Staff from leading housing provider Sanctuary Group have secured a place to get away from it all after sponsoring a quarter acre plot of land in a local woodland.

Business Direction issue:

CHRISTMAS AT WEBBS GARDEN CENTRES week, including some evening sessions.

Top quality skates will be provided and there will even be some fun children’s push along ‘seal skate aids’ to help the little ones.

Pepper Wood, Fairfield near Bromsgrove, Worcester

Ian McDermott, Sanctuary’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “We take our responsibility to the environment seriously and sponsoring a piece of woodland is just one of many ways in which we can make a difference.

I’m sure staff will enjoy visiting their green gettaway.” www.sanctuary-housing.co.uk

Worcester-based Sanctuary used funds raised from a Go Green day during Climate Week 2011 to pay for the sponsorship.

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

Santa and elves skating

The ice rink at West Hagley is also available for private use so is ideal for a corporate booking or family party and catering can be provided. Please contact Webbs, West Hagley at cafewh@webbsofwychbold.co.uk

Webbs Garden Centres will be hosting a packed programme of Christmas events this year – including an outdoor real ice rink at its West Hagley store.

Webbs staff are hoping the ice rink will get everyone into the festive spirit when it opens on Saturday 26 November.

The ice rink is on site until Sunday 8 January and will be open seven days a

to discuss your requirements.

Christmas at Webbs, Wychbold is looked forward to by many across the Midlands and this year events include the Christmas Grotto, the popular Riverside Illuminated Walk, Christmas shopping night on 29 November and meet the reindeer. www.webbsdirect.co.uk

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Business News MALVERN’S NEW MASTERSIZER 3000 IS ‘TRIBUTE TO THE SKILL OF THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM’ Malvern Instruments is celebrating the global launch of the next generation of one of its flagship products, and, according to Paul Kippax, Product Group Manager: “Delivering so many productivity advantages in such a beautiful design is a real tribute to the expertise and skill of the Mastersizer 3000 particle size analyzer product development team at Malvern.”

Paul explains the thinking behind the new instrument: “We work very closely with our customers. The design and capabilities of the new Mastersizer 3000 reflect the feedback that we

gathered through an extensive process of consultation and evaluation. From the start we intended to produce an instrument that really takes the technology to another level. Our development team has risen to what was a pretty stiff challenge and have given us an instrument that meets the needs of users across the widest possible range of industries and applications.” www.materials-talks.com www.malvern.com The Malvern development team celebrating the launch of the new Mastersizer 3000 particle size analyzer

KUDOS BLENDS OPENS £750,000 EXPANSION Kudos Blends recently unveiled it’s new milling and blending facility at Old Station Business Park, Cleobury Mortimer. Philip Dunne MP for Ludlow, declared the facility officially open, joining Cllr Gwilym Butler and many suppliers, customers and local business people.

The £750,000 investment in the new facility was driven by an increase in demand for Kudos Blends products.

Already providing many of the UK’s biggest bakers with a wide rage of baking powders for cakes, puddings and sweet baked products, Kudos Blends products are now internationally recognised as being innovative, high quality and functionally rich, helping bakers to product the best products, everytime.

The expansion has followed the launch of a patented salt reduction product called KUDOS™ Potassium Bicarbonate, which can help bakers to achieve their salt reduction targets by reducing the salt content of their

products by up to 50%. This ground-breaking product was developed in the laboratory at Kudos Blends, by chemists, baking experts and technicians all living in the local area. With the new facility, Kudos Blends can now manufacture higher volumes of this product for distribution and sale all around the world.

Dinnie Jordan, Managing Director, Kudos Blends said: “This is a very exciting time for Kudos Blends as we are now having a significant impact on the international markets with our reduced salt products. Not only are we putting our business on the international stage, we’re also putting Cleobury Mortimer there. We have some very highly skilled people in the local area and I am delighted that many of them are part of the Kudos Blends team.” www.kudosblends.com

What is Investor Activism?

Regulators and Legislators can change the way business and government operate but so can the small investor. Individuals acting collectively form powerful alliances.

The personal investment world has developed, mostly driven by profit for the banks and institutions and their agents, with the investor being seen as a secondary interest and the end user of the finance chosen only for short term profit. Alongside this a growing movement of active investors has developed, each with their own agenda. The idea of shareholder activism is not new but it is spreading and gaining momentum across the developed world.

For the past 20 years the Ethical Investment Association (EIA) and its members have provided research and leadership towards a different way of finding sustainable returns. When it was fashionable, in the wider investment world to ridicule the idea of having an ethical agenda, they provided the vision. Encouraging investor activism towards more ethically based decisions and proving that you can make money without compromising your values.

Oliff Associates are experienced members of the EIA and welcome any opportunity to discuss pensions and savings that won’t compromise your values.

Kudos Blends’ new facilities

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www.oliff.info

November/December 2011

Policy

Businesses urged to have their say on county’s future Herefordshire businesses are being urged to have their say on plans being made for the number of homes, jobs, shops and leisure facilities to be created in the county over the next 20 years.

After a series of consultations, a revised blueprint for future planning in the county has now been drawn up, which takes into account concerns raised as well as changes brought about by central government and the slowdown in the housing market.

Councillor Brian Wilcox, Herefordshire Council’s cabinet member environment, housing and planning, said: “Work is already starting on an expanded city centre and we also have an enterprise zone to attract new businesses so it is important we can provide the right variety of housing for these new workers. We really need to keep both young and working age people in the county as well as attract them here so we can create a vibrant economy and make our businesses and schools more sustainable in the future.”

The consultation will continue until the Monday 28 November. For more information please visit

www.herefordshire.gov.uk/ldf www.hwchamber.co.uk

The major change is a reduction in the number of houses to be built in the county from 900 a year to 825 a year, with the number in Hereford coming down from 425 a year to 325 a year. The revised plan retains a proposal for a western relief road for the city.

The plan also aims to help the economic well being of the county by making land available for better paid jobs in Hereford and the market towns and provide positive policies to diversify the rural economy as well as expanding Hereford’s city centre shops, leisure facilities and offices.

Plan for Illustration purposes only

SICKNESS AND ABSENCE REVIEW The Chamber recently hosted a forum with member businesses after the Department of Work and Pensions announced a major review into Sickness and Absence.

David Frost, Chair of the Review, visited the Chamber’s Head Office to gauge the impact of sickness absence on Herefordshire and Worcestershire businesses.

The cost of absence is estimated at 150 million working days annually, with productivity and profitability suffering as businesses struggle to cope.

The review is set to reduce the overall costs of the current sickness absence review system, and rebalance the cost between the state and employers.

Mr Frost who is also the departing Director General of British Chambers of Commerce, thanked the group for their feedback, which will be fed into the recommendations in the final review.

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

Attendees of the meeting with David Frost

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The Orchard Health Care Plan Worcester based, the WHCA (Worcester Hospital Contributors Association) has been providing benefits to major local companies, for their employees healthcare, by bridging that gap between Private Medical Insurance and the NHS at an affordable cost, since 1921.

From as little as £1.07 per week the WHCA Healthcare Cash Plans cover Dental, Optical, Hospital in Patient Stay, Physiotherapy, Osteopathy, Chiropractic and a further 10 benefits including up to an £10,000 Personal Accident Plan and Telephone Help Line for employers and employees.

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The WHCA is a not for profit organisation so all the funds are used for the benefits of its members.

The £1.07 per week investment in a Health Plan Benefit to employees can be seen as a greater impact than within the wage packet.

As a celebration of 90 years in business the WHCA has been providing support for local charities during 2011 including Kent Hospice and St Richard’s Hospice.

Key Features:

We would welcome the opportunity to discuss with employers the benefits of combining a dedicated Healthcare Cash Plan for employees as a tool for a contented work force.

l No medical examination required

l Choice of four levels of cover l Children are covered in our family

plan l Claims dealt direct with the member l Immediate Cover for Corporate

Members

Tel. 01905 729090 Fax. 01905 729091 Email. orchard@whcaorchard.com

www.whcaorchard.com

November/December 2011

ADVERTORIAL

Who are Nexus Creative?

Well, we could go on about how Nexus Creative is a team of designers, web developers and marketeers who thrive on a challenge and provide their established client base (ranging from Hilton Hotels, Severn Valley Railway, Herefordshire and Worcester Chamber of Commerce and Worcestershire NHS) with creative online and offline solutions to their marketing requirements - but you would probably say ‘who cares’.

We could then go on to inform you about how we have been established for 16 years, have developed a full service offering including social media management, online/offline brand strategy, advertising planning, campaign implementation, web site and web based application development - but might think you have heard it all before.

You might be interested to know we have worked across a wide spectrum of sectors, including Tourism, Manufacturing, Technology, Heritage and Professional services.

It might be of little interest to you to know we are ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 accredited, so our systems are fully functional, robust and we have as little impact on the environment as possible.

But if we were to explain that we have put clients such as www.visitworcester.com top of the organic listings in Google for the search term ‘Worcester’, out of about 85 million references, you might be impressed.

And that, as a response to The Severn Valley Railway brief to ‘Expand marketing channels, produce a new website and define a digital marketing strategy’ – we have increased number of visitors to the website from 13,000 to 60,000 a month and that on a single day during the last year, the site received 4,784 visitors, who viewed a total 16,774 pages - you might stop and listen.

Then if we were to tell you about a local manufacturer which has seen its business grow from second in market-share in the UK and being relatively unknown internationally, to being a market leader in the UK and internationally, regularly exporting to 34 countries (including Russia and Saudi Arabia) and speaking to potential clients in 14 others, all within 4 years of choosing Nexus Creative as their marketing partner, you might wonder what we can do for you.

To find out contact us on 01905 821919 or email nigelh@nexuscl.com

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

Nigel Harte – Managing Director Nexus Creative

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Business News

sponsored by



Planning changes could bring opportunities for landowners And the taxman With the proposed planning law relaxation, there are some tax issues landowners should pay close attention to: n The proposals may release development sites that were previously unavailable, enabling housing and commercial development, but changes that make land more attractive for development could be reflected in the land’s value, meaning capital gains tax (CGT) will be a serious consideration for landowners. CGT will, in most cases, be charged at 28% because the lower rate of 18% only applies if the vendor has not used up their personal income tax allowance and basic rate band. n For unwary developers there is also the prospect of income tax which could hit substantial development profits at 50%.

n The Income Tax Act 2007 imposes income tax on certain areas of property development. These rules do not affect simple sales or cases where the vendor takes minor preparatory actions to make the property ready for sale, but if further action is taken that amounts to actual development of the land, the development profit becomes liable to income tax instead of CGT. n Anyone who hopes to benefit from new opportunities for land sales should seek professional advice before putting pen to contract.

For further information on this please contact me at our Hereford office on 01432 352222 or

lucie.hammond@bakertilly.co.uk www.bakertilly.co.uk

n Many in the farming community will hope to benefit from entrepreneurs’ relief (ER) but this may be in vain. ER only applies where a business ceases or an identifiable part of a business is disposed of: selling an asset that is going to continue, means the gain will not attract the 10% ER rate.

Lucie Hammond

UNIVERSITY DIPLOMA IN LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT (UDLM) The University of Worcester’s have recently launched a new University diploma in Leadership & Management.

The programme is designed to develop leadership and management skills to enable current or aspiring managers, to be more effective in their roles.

The programme provides the appropriate tools, techniques and academic rigour to support effective management of people and activities, and is linked to the National Occupational Standards.

The focus throughout is on applied learning, and relating new knowledge and skills to real situations in the workplace.

There are two optional start dates in November 2011 and January 2012, with a choice of modules including Developing Customer Care and Managing and Leading Teams and Individuals.

For further details, please contact Rachel Webb at r.webb@worc.ac.uk or 01905542236.

An image of one of the Jumbo LED Pitch facing colour screens

ELONEX SPORTS INTRODUCE LED TECHNOLOGY AT SIXWAYS STADIUM WORCESTER WARRIORS RUFC Worcester Warriors RUFC and Elonex have recently entered into a five year sponsorship agreement and commercial partnership which will see the global electronics and technology brand provide state of the art LED electronic advertising boards for every home game at The Sixways Stadium.

Under the agreement Elonex Sports are installing two Jumbo LED Pitch Facing colour screens measuring 30m2 each and an 80m LED colourwall perimeter in the South Stand, only previously seen in Premiership Football.

The positioning of the giant LED screens will be situated at the corners of the East and West Stands and means that supporters can see at least one screen from wherever they are watching the game in the stadium. Introducing LED technology will undoubtedly improve the matchday experience for fans and its video and motion has been proven to attract people’s attention better, providing a bigger, brighter and faster advertising message.

Worcester Warriors RUFC will now be only one of two AVIVA Premiership sides with LED perimeter facilities and being newly promoted it is with great pride that the club will be a market leader in technology. www.elonex.com

www.worcester.ac.uk

                     

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 November/December 2011

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Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

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Professional, Experienced, Chartered

TOWN PLANNING CONSULTANTS Here to help you gain success ; Planning Negotiations l Planning Applications l Planning Appeals l Local Development Framework Representations l Solutions to Enforcement Actions Malcolm Scott consultants are a professional company dedicated to giving you, the client, experienced service in all development planning matters. The Company has been established over 25 years and has carried out a wide range of projects throughout the UK, and internationally.

Planning is undergoing considerable change at the National, Sub-Regional and Local level, and there exists the opportunity for you to be involved. Nationally, the Government is taking its Flagship Localism Bill through Parliament and this is likely to be enacted early next year. The Government is also consulting on a draft National Planning Policy Framework, which aims to considerably simplify the planning system. The much hailed presumption in favour of sustainable development is at the heart of this document and Malcolm Scott Consultants are keen to help promote development which accords with, and utilises the Government’s position.

At the sub regional level Malvern Hills District Council, Wychavon District Council and Worcester City Council are preparing the South Worcestershire Development Plan which will shape the region up until 2030. Herefordshire Council is re-consulting on its Core S­ trategy and other authorities in the area are at varying stages of plan preparation. In addition Worcester City Council is continuing the preparation of its Master-Plan for the City Centre which offers the opportunity for the City to make best use of Worcester’s many assets. These are exciting time with regards planning the future of our area, and we are always willing to discuss projects which improve our surroundings.

We offer a full range of planning services including: Site masterplanning; Undertaking site assessments, including planning and feasibility appraisals; Pre-application advice; Submitting and negotiating applications and related consents; Preparing, submitting and handling planning appeals and appearing at inquiries; Making development plan representations; Planning-related research; Retail Impact Assessments; Acting as Expert Witnesses; Landscape and Visual Impact Assessments; Dealing with Enforcement Proceedings; Certificates of Lawfulness; Advising on all planning matters;

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November/December 2011

Entrepreneurs

ARE YOU AN ENTREPRENEUR OR AN ENTERPRISING PERSON?

Being an Entrepreneur What does that mean, is it: • an innovator who sees a gap in the market and focuses on it?

• A visionary who can see a whole new market and create it?

• A product champion who envisages a completely new way of use?

Or is is just someone who just doesn’t want to conform and uses the word as a justification.

According to Crowther Beard LLP many business people that claim to be entrepreneurs are way off the mark and could be missing the point!

Crowther Beard Managing Member John Painter explains: “Many people that claim to be an entrepreneur are, in contrast, working in their business not on it. As a result, they may be missing opportunities to grow and be successful.”

There are five realities that distinguish an entrepreneur from an enterprising person.

1. An entrepreneur is an inventor that lives asking the question “What’s missing in this picture?” Then answers it by inventing the missing piece that makes the picture whole.

• The Dreamer - Is so inspired, it’s not 'if', but 'when and how'. The Dreamer produces your ‘what’.

• The Thinker - manifests the Dreamer’s vision.

He asks the questions essential to formulating the business model. The Thinker produces the 'how'.

• The Storyteller - evokes excitement in other people for the idea by testing the reality of the idea.

The Storyteller produces your 'voice'.

• The Leader - assumes responsibility for moving your idea forward. The Leader produces your ‘reality’ If you are an entrepreneur then Crowther Beard can support you to turn your ‘what’ into a ‘reality’.

If you are an enterprising person looking to be an entrepreneur then they can also support your transformation. www.crowtherbeard.com

2. Entrepreneurs create opportunities they don’t buy them.

3. An entrepreneur’s passion comes not only from inventing a new business, but also from basking in the delight and accolades of the people as they experience that invention.

4. To the entrepreneur, the success of the invention, the business, is measured by growth.

5. An entrepreneur believes that everyone possesses the potential to be an entrepreneur So do you have the personality to be an entrepreneur?

There are four dimensions of a entrepreneurial personality.

If you are really a driven individual then you have focus and you understand that there will be problems along the way. Some problems will come at you unexpectedly but some you can foresee. There are some standard tools that you can use to assist you: good old faithfuls like SWOT, PESTLE or Porter’s 5 Forces.

All will give you insight into yourself, your offering and your market.

Also be aware of the two’walls’ your business will cycle between as you grow. Investment is relatively easy to define; re-invention needs more consideration.

Even entrepreneurs need a plan!

Many people that claim to be an entrepreneur are, in contrast, working in their business not on it. As a result, they may be missing opportunities to grow and be successful.

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

www.black-elk.co.uk

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Business News

MAKING IT HAPPEN We have all had great ideas and I often hear stories from people talking about things that they could have done, but for one reason or another never got round to making happen. In this short article I want to share with you some simple pointers to help you step up to the plate and start making your ideas a reality.

• Make it work on paper – The first action should always be to sit down and make your plan a reality on paper. Run the numbers and check that your great idea makes commercial sense. Understand what the numbers look like and be confident you can achieve the number of customers you require.

• Tell the world - Once you are set on your idea then you should start telling as many people as possible.

Telling people not only promotes your new idea, but also makes you accountable. The more people you tell, the more likely you are to make it happen.

• Sell it first - Instead of spending an age designing and perfecting your plans the first step should always be to acquire some customers. Only once you have a customer are you really in business.

• Perfection is over rated - Just getting started is the hardest part so instead of perfecting your idea before taking it to market, get it to a point where it is fit for purpose and then continue to develop it in real time.

• Plan and review – Plan in regular check points to monitor progress and design your next actions.

• Accept failure - On the road to every great success are countless failures. Accept that to succeed you will make many mistakes. What is important is that you continue to learn from them.

• Keep moving forward – Momentum is an essential quality in growing any business. Set your goal at the beginning, make it clear, and then keep striving towards it.

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GREENDALE BY NAME, GREEN BY NATURE The County’s first commercial solar photovoltaic system on a Herefordshire Business Park has recently been completed on the warehouse roof of the UK’s biggest independent carpet buying group, Greendale Carpets & Floorings Ltd. The 49.6kWp solar PV array, installed by renewable energy specialists Caplor Energy, will occupy nearly two-thirds of Greendale’s 25,000 sqft warehouse situated at Whitestone Business Park, Whitestone.

Comprising of 260 monocrystalline PV panels, the installation will generate nearly 42,000 units of renewable electricity and save over 23 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.

Greendale is expecting to generate over half of their total electricity needs from the renewable energy system.

PV systems installed for commercial businesses are particularly beneficial as these premises tend to use the vast amount of electricity during daylight hours and when the PV system is generating most. www.caplorfarm.co.uk Andrew Bailey of Greendale Carpets and Jamie Baldwin of Caplor Energy commissioning the 50kWp PV system

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November/December 2011

AWARD FOR LOCAL BUSINESSMAN FOR SERVICES TO INDUSTRY Mike Hill from Impact Sales Training of Droitwich has recently received an award from the Association of Welding Distribution for his service to industry.

With over 20 years as a regional chair, association chair and culminating in the position of Director/ Consultant with the association Mike was presented with his award at the ‘Welding World Exhibition’ in Crewe. The Association Chair expressed thanks on behalf of the membership for his tireless efforts and the work he has carried out on behalf of the association and wishes him and Impact Sales Training every success in the future.

Mike has also played an active role in both business and politics locally, having been a Vice Chair and Director of Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce, board member of West Midlands Chamber of Commerce, Confederation of West Midlands Chamber of Commerce, Director of Metal trades Confederation and a business representative on the Regional Assembly.

When asked why he devoted time to such causes he replied “It is an opportunity to give something back to industry and commerce that has given me a varied and interesting livelihood”. www.impact-sales-training.co.uk

WE DON’T SELL BAKED BEANS! A tin of beans, two wills and a lease. A list of items that may well make up the shopping lists of many people from this month as new reforms within the legal sector come into force. From October 2011, under the Legal Services Act 2007, the UK’s 10,000 law firms will be able to raise fresh capital by floating on the stock market or forming new business structures (Alternative Business Structures – ABS) by bringing in non-lawyers, including shops and grocery stores, as partners. The so called ‘Tesco Law’ was brought in by the last government, with the aim of making will-writing and conveyancing as accessible for consumers as buying a can of beans from a supermarket. www.harrison-clark.co.uk

HRH Princess Alexandra

jonathan brew Senior Partner at Harrison Clark

MUDDY BOOTS WINS THE COLES IT VENDOR OF THE YEAR AWARD 2011 Muddy Boots Software, who develops quality assurance solutions for sustainable food and farming, has won the inaugural Coles supermarket IT Vendor Award 2011.

This follows the implementation of a quality management solution that improves the consistency and quality of fresh produce throughout their 742 Australian stores.

Coles supermarkets is a leader in Australian food retailing, with more than 11 million customer transactions a week. The Coles IT Vendor Awards celebrate those achievements and partnerships that have made the most meaningful contribution to the success of Coles IT over the last 12 months.

Mike Hill, Impact Sales

Jackie Healing, Head of Quality, Policy and Governance at Coles supermarkets comments: “Greenlight QC from Muddy Boots has given Coles first class product quality monitoring and performance reporting capability.

This helps us focus our efforts in partnership with our suppliers, to achieve our objective as Australia’s leading supermarket for quality produce.” www.muddyboots.com

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

PRINCESS ALEXANDRA TO ATTEND PERPETUAL TRUST SERVICE HRH Princess Alexandra will be the guest of honour at a special service sung by the choir of Hereford Cathedral in the Royal Military Chapel, Wellington Barracks, better known as the Guards’ Chapel, on Tuesday 29 November.

The Service is being organised by Hereford Cathedral Perpetual Trust and allows the Trust’s London and southeast supporters an opportunity to hear the choir in London on an annual basis.

‘We are delighted that the Princess is joining us,’ said Glyn Morgan, Chief Executive of the Perpetual Trust.

‘We had a marvellous evening last year, which was the first time we held the service, and look forward to many of our friends and supporters joining us once again this year.’

The Service which is supported by Stanhope plc will include readings by the former Poet Laureate, Andrew Motion, and the Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire, Algy Heber-Percy. perpetual.trust@herefordcathedral.org

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www.st-michaels-hospice.org.uk St Michael’s Hospice in Herefordshire provides free palliative and end of life care and support to people with progressive lifelimiting conditions and their families and carers. The Hospice also endeavours to enhance the knowledge and understanding of professional and informal carers through its extensive education and training programme.

St Michael’s Hospice provides palliative care services and support to people affected by progressive life-limiting conditions across Herefordshire and surrounding counties. It costs £4m a year to provide care, support and advice to patients, families and carers before and after death. Care across all settings is influenced through an education and training programme.

10% of our funds are from statutory sources, we rely on our community to raise the remaining funds. Our 15 shops consistently sustain 20 % of our income year on year. The Hospice Lottery is our one source of known income if people commit to 52 weeks’ play. A number of events raise a significant income and are a huge opportunity to engage with our supporters. Through the use of volunteers, the retail and lottery operating models are highly efficient. The Hospice also contains costs

using volunteer skills, experience and time across all departments, saving around £800,000 per year.

Legacies currently constitute a high percentage of our income and whilst unpredictable are a much needed and valued source of money. The Hospice relies on corporate sponsorship, donations through GAYE and regular giving, alongside gifts in memory and in response to our care.

New opportunities for generating income are always welcome.

The engagement of businesses and individual donors and supporters is much needed.

Please contact Ruth Denison, Head of Fundraising at St Michael’s Hospice on 01432 851000 or rdenison@st-michaels-hospice.org.uk if you feel you can help us in any way.

Registered Charity Number 511179. 01432 851000. www.st-michaels-hospice.org.uk

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November/December 2011

Education

SPECIAL DAY CELEBRATED

BY WORCESTER SCHOOL

Princess Anne visits RGS Worcester

A visit by the Princess Royal has helped RGS Worcester to celebrate the 450th anniversary since the school was granted its Royal Charter in 1561 by Queen Elizabeth I. Princess Anne arrived by helicopter on the school’s playing fields, and was greeted by a cacophony of cheers and flag-waving by pupils from the school’s two prep schools, Springfield and The Grange. Met by Headmaster Andy Rattue, she received an extensive tour of the school, together with dignitaries including the Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire, the High Sheriff of Worcestershire, the Mayor of Worcester and local MP Robin Walker.

Many pupils met the princess at different parts of the tour, including Head Girl Michaela Lucas. “Along with Head Boy Ollie Hamilton, I told her about the merger of The Alice Ottley School with the Royal Grammar School in 2007,” said Michaela. “She was genuinely interested in the school and was knowledgeable about the school’s history. We also discussed the extra-curricular opportunities at RGS and the benefits of being in the centre of Worcester.”

Eight charities supported by RGS, including Save the Children, for whom the school raised £24,000 for the Haiti Appeal, were on hand to meet the Princess. She

also viewed work produced in the school’s Design & Technology Department, together with the pupils responsible, including the school’s electric car, which races in a national competition.

Throughout the visit the route was lined with pupils from all ages and the excitement and warmth was genuine. The focus was the presentation of a posy by seven year old James Preece of RGS the Grange and 11 year old Eleanor Allsopp from RGS Springfield.

before walking past the school’s entire Combined Cadet Force.

“It’s been an incredible privilege to welcome Princess Anne to the school,” said Headmaster Andy Rattue.

“I’m so glad she had the chance to meet not only our pupils, but also friends of the school. RGS is immensely proud of its heritage and to share this occasion with so many people has been truly special.” www.rgsw.org.uk

The Princess then unveiled a plaque, which commemorated the historical significance of the day,

KINGS STUDENTS - RECORD OF ACHIEVEMENT King’s School Worcester recently celebrated their 6th Form pupils success in obtaining their Certificates for Skills and All-round achievement.

The certificate provides a framework to allow all new Sixth Formers to set themselves targets in their academic work, community service, the giving of presentations, undertaking a new skill or interest and setting themselves a special challenge that takes them out of their usual area of comfort.

The University of Worcester and Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce, introduced the Certificate by explaining what it is that they look for in an ideal university student and a promising new employee. Awards were then made to members of the Upper Sixth who achieved a distinction in completing their Certificate targets in the last academic year. www.ksw.org.uk

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

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November/December 2011

Policy

LIBERAL DEMOCRAT PARTY CONFERENCE Herefordshire and Worcestershire was on the national agenda recently, when the Chamber attended the Liberal Democrats’ Party Conference in Birmingham.

After Business Secretary Vince Cable’s keynote speech, the British Chambers of Commerce hosted a fringe event, panelled by Government economist Vicky Pryce, local government expert Lord Shipley and British Chambers of Commerce Director of Policy, Dr. Adam Marshall.

In questions, the feedback from the Chamber’s planning survey was presented to the panel, particularly regarding the scepticism of local businesses to the planning proposals put forward in the Localism Bill.

Lord Shipley, whilst reiterating that the party were committed to plans in favour of sustainable development, admitted that the business view needed to be communicated and pledged to bring the Chamber views to the attention of Greg Clark MP, Minister of State for Decentralisation. www.hwchamber.co.uk

PLANNING SURVEY The coalition Government has started its consultation process over the National Planning Framework, with the debate focused on a presumption in favour of sustainable development.

Government proposals are set to reduce planning guidance from over 1000 pages to less than 100 in an effort to simplify planning process, but the proposals have met strong criticism.

In July, local members were surveyed as part of a national British Chambers of Commerce survey on the topic of planning.

The majority of applicants used the Local Authorities’ pre application advice, finding it to be of good quality, and useful in reducing the risk of both delays and refusal. Regarding the quality of planning officers respondents reported inconsistency between applications (differing between Local Authorities) and cited varying levels of seniority and knowledge in planning advice and conflicting Council political objectives as the main sources of inconsistency.

However, the major concerns were largely related to the costs of applications (particularly professional planning advice, time costs and Local Authority fees), showing that there is a clear need to drive down the costs of planning process in order to encourage SME business growth.

The survey shows that whilst there are strengths to the planning system, there are still many challenges,

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

particularly in driving down the time constraints that currently inhibit planning applications. There is also a challenge to improve the consistency of advice both within and across Local Authorities, in addition to reducing levels of bureaucracy and re-assessing the fairness of planning committees in giving fair and impartial decisions.

For any additional information regarding the British Chambers survey results, or the National Planning Framework consultation, please contact the Policy Team on policy@hwchamber.co.uk

HEREFORD ENTERPRISE ZONE Following the positive news that Rotherwas is to be developed as an Enterprise Zone, the Chamber can now announce that Ray Stone has been confirmed as Chair of the Hereford Enterprise Zone Board.

Ray sits as Chair of the Chamber’s Herefordshire Area Council, also serving as Vice President and sitting on the Chamber Board. He will be familiar to many members having presented at several networking events following the announcement of the Marches LEP’s successful bid.

The Enterprise Zone Board will be responsible for the promotion, delivery and design of the Enterprise Zone going forward. For more information please contact policy@hwchamber.co.uk

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Big Interview

Supporting businesses on the international stage Lord Green took over as Trade and Investment Minister at the beginning of 2011 and is responsible for ensuring the delivery of the Government’s overall strategy for trade.

Formerly Group Chairman of HSBC, his role includes a major focus on international trade.

On taking up the challenge, he said: “This Government is committed to ensuring that trade and investment play a key role in driving balanced and sustainable growth in the UK economy. I believe this challenge can be met. “Britain has strong intrinsic competitive advantages in the world economy which is taking shape in the 21st century. As we all recognise, British commerce at its best is driven by levels of creativity, efficiency, flexibility and dynamism which are nothing less than world class.”

Do enough companies trade internationally?

It is very important for more UK firms to see the potential of trading abroad. Only 20 per cent of UK SMEs currently trade abroad compared to the European average of 25 per cent. The Government’s intention is to bring the UK average up in line with Europe by 2015. Growth for the foreseeable future will only come from exporting. It will not come from domestic growth or be the debt-fuelled growth of the past.

There are great opportunities around the world.

Growth in traditional markets such as Europe and the US is slow but in India, China and the Far East growth is strong and the countries are prosperous. There are opportunities there from UK companies in a wide range of sectors; from infrastructure to professional services to advanced engineering.

How important is international trade to the UK?

UK Trade & Investment, the government department tasked with supporting businesses, large and small, to export, works closely with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Exports Credit Guarantee Department (ECGD) to provide the right framework and support for businesses. Over the last 12 months, we have introduced several measures to help incentivise exporting, including a series of ECGD products targeted at SMEs. This is truly a whole of government approach which is being led by the Prime Minister, who himself recently led trade delegations to India and China.

Britain’s future prosperity will be built on its success in international markets and encouraging more British firms to export must be at the heart of the Government’s economic and foreign policies.

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The troubles in the Eurozone show how important it is for companies not to rely on traditional export markets or a single market but to look further abroad. Nearly 45 per cent of our exports go to the Eurozone and it’s clear no one, including the UK, is immune to the crisis. Finding a solution to the current problems is in everyone’s interest.

But the crisis reminds us that for long-term prosperity we need to be looking beyond our traditional export markets to the fast-growing emerging economies around the world.

What piece of advice would you give to a company seeking to trade internationally?

We know that businesses that begin to export gain 34 per cent uplift in productivity; achieve stronger financial performance and are 11.4 per cent more likely to stay in business. In essence, businesses that get involved in the international market become more dynamic, innovative and successful. It helps generate growth and helps to strengthen the backbone of the economy.

Business Direction asked him about the issues that shape the UK’s trading links with the rest of the world.

The UK Government has made clear its intention to become a more export orientated economy.

Rebalancing the economy away from debt fuelled spending to investment and exports will be crucial towards achieving long term sustainable economic growth. We are in no doubt of the scale of the task ahead and trade has been a fragile component of the British economy for a very long time. However, this is a national challenge we must rise to.

How do you see the Eurozone crisis impacting on international trade?

On a more practical level, I would say speak to your regional UK Trade & Investment contact to see what help is available to make the process easier. They are there to help your take your first steps into the global marketplace and can offer a wealth of expertise and advice to ensure your strategy is right.

What, in your view, stops more companies from trading internationally?

Most companies simply have a lack of knowledge about how to go about exporting abroad. Many businesspeople are very busy with the day to day running of their businesses and researching export markets is time consuming and it can be a difficult thing for businesses to find time for. That lack of knowledge can put people off.

It is important that companies remember they are not on their own. UK Trade & Investment can help with researching and advising companies on the export strategies to follow. Programmes like Passport to Export are aimed at first time exporters and will help get firms ready for taking their first steps abroad. Their experts can put them in touch with potential suppliers and customers. It can take a lot of the work and uncertainty out of exporting for the first time.

What more can the Government do to promote international trade?

There is always more the Government can do to promote trade but we also need others to help get the message out. That is why this November I will be hosting a SME summit with my ministerial colleagues to get the message out about the benefits of exporting through the intermediaries that deal with SMEs every day. Those are the regional lawyers, accountants, bankers, chambers of commerce, LEPs (Local Enterprise Partnerships) and trade bodies that can encourage and support SMEs to play a role in the global marketplace.

November/December 2011

This Government is committed to ensuring that trade and investment play a key role in driving balanced and sustainable growth in the UK economy. I believe this challenge can be met.

Lord Green Trade and Investment Minister

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

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Cover Feature

Be prepared to take the plunge in accessing global markets

Research suggests that the world of international trade offers great potential for UK business - and that those companies prepared to grasp the opportunities stand to benefit most.

A recently-released report illustrated the kind of thinking needed to take that step. Entitled ‘When two worlds meet’, the report was commissioned

by UK Trade & Investment to assess the impact of rapidly-growing international markets on the global economy.

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Nick Baird, Chief Executive Officer of UK Trade and Investment, said: “Although the outlook for the global economy remains uncertain, high-growth markets, and their fast growing multinational companies, offer huge potential and rewards for UK companies who can rise to the challenge. It is encouraging that the UK continues to be a highly attractive investment destination for such companies.”

The research findings included:

n Almost 50 per cent of manufacturing executives say the rise of high-growth market firms has given their companies a lifeline by opening up new markets n Thirty five per cent say they will expand into new markets. Markets which featured highly in the plans of the executives were China, India, Brazil and Mexico, with significant interest in Russia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Argentina, Indonesia and South Africa.

n 45 per cent of Western executives believe that there is a need for greater UK investment in emerging markets

November/December 2011

FEATURE A number of local companies have already risen to the challenges presented by both established and emerging international markets.

instruments used to measure the physical and chemical properties of materials. Scientists, technologists and engineers use these instruments to gain a detailed understanding of their materials and processes, guide product development, manage and control manufacturing quality, and optimise output.

Worcester-based Atwell International, for example, has enjoyed growing success in its sale of safety products for the lift industry that are designed and manufactured in-house.

In 2010 more than 93% of Malvern Instruments sales were into export markets. Employing some 600 people around the world, the company now has direct sales operations in 14 countries and a network of 150 distributors and agents worldwide.

The company attributes that success to the design and safety record the products hold, a reputation which has allowed Atwell to expand its safety product range from safety gears to a Bi-Directional Rope Brake and Uncontrolled movement detector designed for compliance with latest EU lift safety legislation.

Malvern’s global perspective was clearly in evidence in September when the company’s new Mastersizer 3000 particle size analyzer was launched around the world on a single day via a series of live webcasts.

Atwell’s products have already been used in many landmark projects, including military ships, funicular lifts, nuclear testing plants and the award-winning Urbis centre, in Manchester.

The diversity of the products, coupled with the design expertise and ingenuity that Atwell has shown, has not gone unnoticed in the international community. As a result, Atwell International recently partnered with Oceaneering Entertainment Systems, a world-renowned engineering provider who has the contract with Universal Studios in America, to provide products for the world’s first TRANSFORMERS ride in Singapore. Atwell International not only provided a uniquely-designed set of safety systems for the ride, but also that of the one in Universal’s flagship attraction site in California.

Over the past few years, Atwell International has seen its special design projects operation grow from 2% to 8% of total revenue stream, many of which are for the international market. During that period, Atwell has seen sales grow from 2% of International sales in 2007 to 9% in 2010. Overall, 12% of all their Rope Brake sales come from Australia with a comparative 7% for European sales.

Initially the sudden growth and demand for these products caused a few logistical concerns, but these were overcome by expansion and increasing the workforce.

The key to success lies through teamwork, according to General Manager Tony Pegg, who is from Australia. He said: “The strategic alliances that Atwell International has developed with international transport providers and strategically-placed fully trained engineers, means Atwell International is ideally placed to provide an

Although the outlook for the global economy remains uncertain, high-growth markets, and their fast growing multinational companies, offer huge potential and rewards for UK companies who can rise to the challenge. It is encouraging that the UK continues to be a highly attractive investment destination for such companies Nick Baird çhief Executive officer of UK Trade and Investment excellent standard of customer service, on-site support and after-sales care.

“These qualities have made international sales not only possible, but frequent and successful, according to the company.“ Another company taking advantage is Malvern Instruments. On 27 October, The Duke of Kent visited Malvern Instruments to present the 2011 Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the category of International Trade, recognising once again the company’s leading position in world markets.

Founded in the 1970s and headquartered in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern Instruments has built a global reputation for the design and manufacture of scientific

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

Managing Director Paul Walker attributes much of Malvern’s continuing international success to the company’s focus on building and broadening the range of materials characterization products it offers, delivering high quality service and applications support to every customer in every area, and being innovative in promoting the Malvern brand and its values around the world.

“Developing effective routes to market has been critically important in extending our ability to serve and support our customers,” said Paul Walker. “We now have direct operations in all key markets and strong partnerships with exclusive distributors elsewhere, ensuring that the customer experience is consistent the world over. Added to this, our investment in web-based delivery of information and support provides universal access to the wealth of experience and expertise that resides within Malvern’s global organisation.”

Another company taking advantage of international opportunities is Midlands legal consultants Wragge & Co, which recently added a second office in the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai.

Senior Partner Quentin Poole said: “Our strategy is to increase the proportion of revenue from international work, through cross-border instructions led out of the UK and income from overseas offices. The Gulf region is full of opportunity for growth in areas in which Wragge & Co excels - healthcare, projects, real estate, construction, dispute resolution and arbitration.”

Wragge & Co Legal Consultants LLC, a joint venture between Mohamed Al Mehairi, former director of legal strategy to The Executive Council of the Government of Dubai and UK international law firm Wragge & Co, had previously opened an office in Abu Dhabi.

Chairman and Senior Partner Mohamed Al Mehairi said: “Dubai is an important and ambitious global commercial centre and our clients and targets want us to have a presence there. Following the successful launch of our first office in Abu Dhabi, our unique ‘East meets West’ message allows us to offer something different in the UAE.”

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International Trade

Defence & Security - Key Export Opportunities for the region some 800 companies, of which almost 700 are SMEs, in the Defence industry and supports the Defence Industry Council and Defence Matters.

Facts - UK Security The Global security market for security products and services grew by 4.8% in 2010 -It is currently worth £260bn per annum 1. The UK is the worlds 5th largest security exporter behind US, China, Japan and India

New specialist joins the Herefordshire and Worcestershire International Trade Team Infinite opportunities in export markets for defence and security companies have lead the way to the West Midlands appointing their first specialist international trade advisor.

Nic Organ joins the International Trade Team from a background which consists of; 23 years serving within the UK Armed Forces followed by a further 7 years as a Subject Matter Expert within the Defence and Security private sector, with a particular focus in providing close support to UK Special Forces.

In this new regional role Nic is keen to develop contact with companies interested in developing new export sales channels both into security and defence. He will be organising several events and trade missions in the coming months offering opportunities for networking, developing contacts with specific industry buying groups.

Our first event will be a seminar at Sixways Worcester on 24 November in conjunction with UK Trade and Investment Defence & Security Organisation. Keynote speakers will include Boeing Defence UK covering how SME’s can gain business with defence primes.

There will also be specialists providing an insight into the country defence and security markets around the world.

UK Defence Industry and Export Strengths The UK Defence industry represents 10% of UK high technology manufacturing and is the number one export sector in Europe, second only to the US globally.

The Industry employs over 300,000 people and generates over £35 billion per year to the UK economy.

The industry also works hand-in-hand with the UK Armed Forces from factory to frontline, for example over 6,000 industry personnel are currently working alongside our troops in Afghanistan. The national trade association ADS www.adsgroup.org.uk represents

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2. UK Security exports grew by 8% in 2010 3. The UK has more than 10% of the security import market in countries such as India, China, Russia, Brazil, Japan the US , Italy France, Indonesia and Spain 4. UK security exports are worth around £2bn per year 5. The number of UK security companies grew by 7% in 2010 6. Export orders account for over 20% of the business won by UK firms 7. Key to driving UK export success are Information and data security, access control systems, communications equipment and intruder alarms.

8. The number of people employed in the UK security sector grew by 2% in 2010

Facts - UK Defence

INTERNATIONAL TRADE TRAINING: Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce run an extensive range of specialist, high quality export training designed to help you trade profitably and effectively in the global market place. Presented in a fun and relaxed manner you will be provided with factual, legislative information that can be implemented immediately upon return to your desk.

Thursday 19 January 2012 Trading in the EC Tuesday 31 January 2012 What’s New - Changes in International Trade Wednesday 8 February 2012 Customs Compliance Thursday 23 February 2012 Export Licensing Tuesday 28 February 2012 Managing Agents and Distributors Thursday 8 March 2012 Basics of Export Documentation Thursday 15 March 2012 Export Finance Thursday 22 March 2012 International Sales Online For more information on export training please contact the international trade team on 0845 641 1641 or email internationaltrade@hwchamber.co.uk

1. The UK Defence industry represents 10% of UK high technology manufacturing and is the number one exporter in Europe, second only to the US globally 2. The Industry employs over 300,000 people and generates over £35 billion per year to the UK economy 3. In 2010, the UK maintained its position as the second largest exporter of new defence products and services in 2010 4. The UK won £6 billion of new defence business, increasing its share of the global defence market to 22% 5. Top 10 exporters 2001 - 10 ($bn) 137 - USA,95 UK,53 - Russia, 41 - France, 18 - Israel, 16 - Germany, 14 - Italy, Spain 12, Sweden, 12, Canada -7 6. Total global defence exports during the period 2001 10 comprised of 59% Air, 25% Land, 16% 7. Total UK defence exports during the period 2001 - 10 comprised of 80% Air, 12% Land and 8% Sea

Latest Defence and Security export statistics In 2010, the UK maintained its position as the second largest exporter of new defence products and services.

The UK won almost £6bn of new defence business, increasing its share of the global defence market to 22% compared with 18% last year, and £2bn of new security business. Security exports grew by over 8% from the previous year, maintaining UK’s 5th place in the world. So the challenge is on - 2012 could be the year to make a difference and develop new international business in this sector.

To discuss any aspect of this article or to register your interest in details of future activity and funding please contact Nic Organ nico@hwchamber.co.uk or call on 0845 641 1514

November/December 2011

FROM SURVIVING TO THRIVING BY DOING BUSINESS OVERSEAS REDDITCH COMPANY SHOWS HOW IT’S DONE More than 120 Herefordshire and Worcestershire business people were in Worcester on Wednesday 19 October to hear how they might benefit from the wealth of opportunities available in global markets as the recession continues to bite.

As well as practical advice and information from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) experts from six central European countries, delegates heard inspirational talks from senior representatives from Jaguar Land Rover and HSBC. One company that understands what it’s like to start on the export journey is Redditch based AMS Group Ltd, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of shopfittings and hotel furniture. With an annual turnover of £32m, AMS’s clients include Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, Primark, Butlins, Hilton and Premier Travel Inn. Jim Clark, AMS owner and Managing Director, attended the event at the Sixways Stadium. He said: “I hope this event shows local companies the fantastic service that’s available from UK Trade & Investment. In 2008 and 2009 the recession hit us hard, it was horrible and I needed to find some inspiration, support and advice to help us develop the business in new ways. One of the avenues I took was through UKTI.” AMS recognised that the business world was becoming a smaller place and so it took part in UKTI’s Passport

to Export programme for new exporters. The company realised customers wanted products sourced from low

cost economies but with local delivery and service. AMS then set up a dedicated global sourcing office based in Shanghai. These orders are then processed and finished in Redditch, then fitted in the UK and Europe.

This year, with help from UK Trade & Investment, there has been a shift in the company’s global strategy towards Central Europe. Through Eric Brown, Head of UK Trade & Investment in Herefordshire and Worcestershire, the company has received advice and information on this market, and commissioned two Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS) research projects. In March, Jim Clark joined a UKTI visit to Poland, meeting Commercial Officers at the British Embassy and seeing first hand some of the large scale retail developments in Warsaw and Lodz. An AMS supply chain is now operating in Czech Republic and Poland. To any companies thinking of contacting UKTI to find out more about exporting Jim says: “Do it now - just ask, ask, ask! The only limit to how much help you will get will be your own energy to absorb it.”

For more information on the support available through UKTI please contact the International Trade Team on 0845 641 1641 or email internationaltrade@hwchamber.co.uk

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

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Cartwright

BUILDING YOUR BUSINESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA

by CAMEC

THE CARTWRIGHT ASSOCIATES MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA BUSINESS CLUB There are attractive business development opportunities for many companies, whatever their size, in the Middle East & North Africa and greater Arabia including Turkey, Egypt and North Africa plus Cyprus and Greece.

YOUR POTENTIAL PROBLEMS Your problems do not just start with a lack of local knowledge and the prohibitive costs involved in... n Establishing a base in these areas n Establishing communication in different languages n Understanding how businesses operate n Identifying relevant needs n Relating the relevant advantages of your products or services n Tailor-making presentations n Gaining the confidence of people from a different culture

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n Developing relationships where different codes of behaviour exist n Having to make frequent visits n Winning new business It has been estimated that costs of setting up your own base in the Gulf States could be up to £250,000. But CAMEC can offer you an attractive solution to gaining access to this market. You will be able to overcome the problems of cost, culture and language whilst gaining new business. Your solution lies with us and membership of CAMEC – the Cartwright Middle East & North Africa Club

HOW CAMEC CAN HELP YOUR BUSINESS n The founding directors Anthony Langley and Geoff Morris are both businessmen and bankers. n They have more than fifty years experience in the business and financial services sector with such institutions as Citigroup, American Express, and the Standard Chartered Bank and other leading businesses.

n Their experience also includes a number of high profile local institutions in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Levant and North Africa, Pakistan, Greece, Nigeria, Hong Kong, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Members of the CAMEC Team are located in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Algeria and the United Kingdom. CAMEC can also provide you with representation in the United States and the West Indies n They also have a wealth of experience in business, banking and financial services covering software development, project implementation, Islamic financing, collections/revenue management plus marketing, public affairs, public relations and sales management and business development n We are able to call on the services of a pool of advisers in all spheres of Islamic and conventional banking.

November/December 2011

ADVERTORIAL

YOUR BUSINESS SOLUTIONS

YOUR BUSINESS CLUB MEMBERSHIP

You can embrace an attractive solution to gain access to this market, to overcome the problems of cost, culture and language in gaining new business...

You can gain the following help CAMEC:

n Gain an in-depth knowledge of your markets.

n Market Research and Marketing Research for your business

n Gain introductions to key Influencers and Decision Makers at all levels.

n You will be able to reap the benefits of this unique concept which is our direct response to the needs of our existing clients. n You will also benefit from our network of highly qualified colleagues throughout the region and the UK and these advisors are available at short notice on a project by project basis. n You will gain from our considerable experience of marketing and selling B2B and B2C and to National and Local Government plus military, security and intelligence advisors and we have agricultural, field sports, machinery, vehicle and food production advisors in our team. n You will gain the benefit of our extensive knowledge of business development, marketing and selling in the region to banks, insurance, companies, large corporations and a wide range of government and quasi-government bodies. n You will be able to overcome the Cultural, language and religious situations which can often create a barrier people who do not understand these issues. We are experienced in overcoming these hurdles. n You will be able to meet us in the United Kingdom or in the Gulf States. Members of our team live and work in the Gulf States as well as in the United Kingdom.

n Business and Marketing Plans n Sales Plans and their implementation n Qualification of potential prospects n Initial meetings with prospects to determine their level of interest

n Receive advice as to how your products and services should be tailored to meet the needs of this unique market. n Save a considerable amount of money and time by delegating the initial stages to our Team.

n Briefing you on progress n Preparing Power Point Presentations n Identifying the relevant advantages of your products and services n Presentations to Prospects n Translation services n Web site design and hosting n An virtual or actual office with full support of reception, meeting rooms, telephone, facsimile, conference calls n Cost-effective hotel and transport arrangements

YOUR ACTION Please study our web site -

www.cartwrightassociatesltd.com

and then call to arrange an initial meeting in the West Midlands or further afield:

Geoffrey Morris, Director - 00 (0) 7960977694 or gmorris@cartwrightassociatesltd.com

Tony Langley, Director - 00 (0) 7339954559 alangley@cartwrightassociatesltd.com

Bob Purvis YOUR CAMEC BUSINESS CLUB ADVANTAGES You gain significant advantages for a very reasonable investment………………..

CAMEC’s UK based Marketing & Public Relations Adviser on 07891197390 bobpurvisalpha@aol.com

n Gain cost-effective access to the markets in Arabia at a relatively small investment.

WHAT ONE OF OUR FOUNDER MEMBERS SAYS ABOUT CAMEC… Open testimonial from Phil Derry, CEO of TrackaPhone Limited

We believe that CAMEC is a brilliant concept which will help all sizes of UK business to win new business in the Middle East and in North Africa - without the huge costs involved in setting up our own export department or having a presence in the Middle East. We have decided to become a Founder Member of CAMEC Phil Derry, CEO, TrackaPhone Limited,

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

TrackaPhone Limited is a provider of Global Location Based applications and services.

These include applications such as: • Lone Worker Protection • Mobile Resource Management • Vehicle Tracking • Asset Tracking and Protection • Staff Monitoring TrackaPhone has customers in local and central government, police, NHS, emergency services, retail, finance, logistics, transport, manufacturing and media.

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ADVERTORIAL

From small beginnings…

BEKO TECHNOLOGIES started out from one man’s vision to save companies money whilst benefitting the environment.

of their reputation in the market place. Simple things like answering the telephone promptly, owning the call, and responding are part of the reason that BEKO’s customer surveys tell us that we are “easy to do business with”

air flow to regenerate the drying medium which placed a heavier than needed load on the compressors. The new zero loss dryers enabled the client to switch off a large compressor when his original thoughts were that he would probably have to invest in another unit.

To give some background to this, compressed air is widely used across most of industry and it is estimated that 15% of the power generated in a country is re-used to create compressed air.

A recent example (where we cannot yet name the customer but all readers would immediately recognise the brand and products) requested a quotation for the refurbishment of a compressed air dryer. Simple!

BEKO’s technical team did not take this request as being the whole story and found out that there were other things on the mind of the Project Engineer.

The project pay back was within the company’s acceptable level and is now closed off as a successful project.

Berthold Koch was frustrated to see that most compressor condensate devices either worked inefficiently or wasted a significant amount of compressed air. He worked on the idea of a level sensing drain which would not lose any compressed air and would reliably operate in hot, wet, dirty and oily conditions.

For help on compressed air issues please call BEKO TECHNOLOGIES on 01527 575778 or visit our website at www.beko-technologies.co.uk

The solution that won the order worth almost £250k was to replace the drying plant with new units. The old units used approximately 15% of the compressed

His employer did not believe in the product so in 1982 he took the decision to leave and form BEKO TECHNOLOGIES. Nearly 30 years later the BEKOMAT drain has sold over 2 million units and has been fitted as original equipment in most of the leading compressor brands.

It was from this small beginning that BEKO TECHNOLOGIES have established sales companies and distribution outlets to give a global reach.

Manufacturing plants have been built in Germany (2), India and the USA. A small instrument company was recently acquired to strengthen BEKO’s position in the Measurement Market. Like most companies BEKO TECHNOLOGIES were slowed down by the recent world recession but unlike most have made significant investments in buildings, machinery and people.

BEKO TECHNOLOGIES in the UK are based in Bromsgrove from where a national service is provided to the UK and Ireland. Our experienced team offer solutions to problems downstream of a compressor with a complete range of drying, filtration, condensate management and measuring devices. BEKO are proud

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November/December 2011

Training

training planner

January Courses

November Courses

Sales & Account Management Thursday 19 January .......................................£150 Members / £188 Non Members

Introduction to Microsoft Excel (2007) Friday 11 November .......................................£150 Members / £188 Non Members Delivering Customer Satisfaction Tuesday 15 November ....................................£150 Members / £188 Non Members Internet Marketing - Creating Sales and Leads on-line (2 day course) Day One - Wednesday 16 November Day Two- Wednesday 30 November ...............£300 Members / £376 Non Members Internal Quality Auditor Training - ISO 9001 Standard Thursday 17 November . .................................£150 Members / £188 Non Members Intermediate Microsoft Excel (2007) Thursday 17 November . ................................£150 Members / £188 Non Members Numeracy Skills for Excel Friday 18 November .......................................£150 Members / £188 Non Members Microsoft Word - Essential Skills for Office Staff (NEW COURSE) Monday 21 November ....................................£150 Members / £188 Non Members Managing People in the Team Tuesday 22 November ....................................£150 Members / £188 Non Members Getting the Most from Social media (Intermediate Session) Wednesday 23 November . .............................£150 Members / £188 Non Members Train the Trainer Monday 28 November ....................................£150 Members / £188 Non Members Negotiation Techniques Tuesday 29 November ....................................£150 Members / £188 Non Members

December Courses Managing Appraisals in the Team Thursday 1 December......................................£150 Members / £188 Non Members PowerPoint for Presentations (2007) Friday 2 December...........................................£150 Members / £188 Non Members Professional Telephone Techniques Tuesday 6 December . .....................................£150 Members / £188 Non Members Introduction to Selling Techniques Tuesday 13 December . ...................................£150 Members / £188 Non Members

Effective Time Management Tuesday 10 January ........................................£150 Members / £188 Non Members

Intermediate Microsoft Excel (2007) Friday 20 January . ..........................................£150 Members / £188 Non Members The Role of the Team Leader Wednesday 25 January ...................................£150 Members / £188 Non Members

The Effective Management Series with Veena Allison Bullying / Harassment in the Workplace Wednesday 2 November . .......................... £75 per session / £495 for all 8 sessions Managing Change Wednesday 7 December ............................ £75 per session / £495 for all 8 sessions Managing Absence Wednesday 4 January 2012 . ..................... £75 per session / £495 for all 8 sessions How to manage under performance Wednesday 1 February 2012...................... £75 per session / £495 for all 8 sessions Managing Disciplinary Issues Wednesday 7 March 2012.......................... £75 per session / £495 for all 8 sessions Managing Employee Grievances Wednesday 4 April 2012............................. £75 per session / £495 for all 8 sessions Managing Conflicts in the Workplace Wednesday 2 May 2012............................. £75 per session / £495 for all 8 sessions

Chartered Management Institute Courses (CMI) Level 3 Qualification in First Line Management Sessions starting October/november Certificate .......................................................£449 Members /£499 Non Members.

Diploma ....................................... £1,349.10 Members / £1,499.00 Non Members Level 5 Qualification in Management and Leadership Sessions starting October/november Certificate .......................................................£539 Members /£599 Non Members.

Diploma ........................................................ £2,024.10 /£2,249.00 Non Members Level 7 Qualification in Strategic Management and Leadership Sessions starting October/november Diploma only ............................... £2,924.10 Members / £3,249.00 Non members

For ALL your training and development needs please contact Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce Training: (T) 0845 641 1641 (E) training@hwchamber.co.uk (W) www.hwchamber.co.uk/chambertraining

For information about the levels of qualification available and the cost contact the Training Team on 0845 641 1641 or email training@hwchamber.co.uk Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

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Business coaching: questions to ask What is it? n A way to identify the key challenges in achieving your goals. n Guidance and support in those areas that will benefit you. n A process to gain expertise in Sales; Marketing; Finance; Planning; Time Mastery; Leadership; Team Development; Systemisation and more. n Interactive learning through 1 to 1 or group coaching; and specialist training in areas such as sales. n A step by step approach, enabling business leaders, plus team members, to use proven procedures and techniques in their own businesses. n A simple way to learn, you just need an open mind and a desire to grow your business. n The acquisition of a business specialist, a confidant, an ‘accountability’ mentor, an educator, an objective external view, and occasionally, your pressure release valve!

“Simon has paid for himself many times over, not only has he enabled us to get leads and convert more sales, he has shown us how to cost effectively run the company. On top of this his network of contacts has directly resulted in more business from his referrals.”

Matt Lloyd, NinetyFive Creative

“SalesEnriched has given me much more clarity around our marketing, sales and communications systems, and a huge confidence boost around what is special & unique about my business. I’ve also got some great new sales tools“ Gil Devlin, ActionCOACH

Who do I choose?

Someone who : n you trust, and relate to

“Having a coach is better than a partner as he is objective and always positive. Simon keeps me focused on making more profit …...”

n delivers excellent proven results

Ben Kinnaird, Rather Inventive.

n holds you to account & stretches you: ‘an unreasonable friend’

n has ‘been there’:successfully run own company n has a proven, established system for you to follow

n listens & gives objective support when you need to ‘download’

Please email velwilliams@actioncoach.com to register for Powered G

Working with Arrivista 1. Our business is built on the principles above. We look to be judged by the improved results our clients experience.

2. We are currently running the Powered Growth workshops along with the Chamber of Commerce.

The first event was very successful and next month you have the opportunity to meet up with about 50 other like-minded business leaders.

Next event is ‘Marketing as an investment’ 9.00am – 12.00pm, Graham Hick Suite, Worcestershire County Cricket Club Complimentary for Chamber members actually attending.

“After year on year decreases in profit, the first year of working together saw an increase in profits of 70%..... we needed to hit the bottom line, and we did this incredibly successfully which created a fantastic atmosphere of drive and optimism.”

Jim Barratt, Sunrise Medical

Speakers from Arrivista, Jovian Productions and Nexus Creative.

Focus on tools you can use in your business, now.

3. Alternatively, simply call us to arrange a complimentary business coaching session.

“A great morning packed with tried and tested ideas that really hit the spot. A very worthwhile investment in personal time which I am certain will prove productive for both me and our business.”

Peter Roper, Positive Ground

Next steps?

1. Work out where you want to be in a few years. More profit and time, business running without you or selling up for the right money.

2. Identify the key challenges you will need to overcome to achieve this.

3. Ask close business contacts for any recommendations.

4. If possible, go and see a business coach present.

5. Book on for a complimentary coaching session.

6. Invest in what you believe will give you and your business a solid return.

“As the business owner who else could I have such an open and honest conversation with? The results speak for themselves, we have seen a 30% increase in sales and record months in 2011.”

Anne Tasker, Zenzero Solutions

Growth or to book a complimentary coaching session.

ADVERTORIAL

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November/December 2011

Training

WHY HAYWARD WRIGHT UNDERTOOK BESPOKE TRAINING Hayward Wright accountants recently undertook a bespoke one day training course in ‘Managing People in the Team’ organised by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce.

Below Debbie Davies explains why they choose bespoke training and what they achieved from the course.

IS BESPOKE TRAINING BEST FOR YOU? Bespoke training is especially designed for you and your business, based on your input, a trainer will design a unique training course to suit your needs.

Q) Why did you choose to use the Chamber for training?

Bespoke Training is for you if:

A) Two reasons; Recommendation from

• You would like the course tailored to your specific requirements

a colleague and also because we’re a Chamber member and wanted to make use of the services available to us as a member.

• You would like the course delivered at your premises • You want to “Pick and mix” content from several courses • Our public course dates are not convenient • You have several employees wishing to attend the same course

Q) Why did you choose bespoke training?

• You want to have the style, tempo and handouts tailored to your employees’ learner preferences

A) There were several reasons we chose to

The fee is per day rather than per delegate which means it is more cost effective especially if there are several employees that need the same training.

have bespoke training. It was convenient for us, but also we felt that we needed specific help with our office and how it operates and the trainer needed to see this in order for us to get the best out of the training.

Q) How would you rate the quality of the trainer and the training?

A) Excellent both in content and delivery. The

trainer was able to adapt content to meet specific issues that came up throughout the day. He had prepared enough material to cover every eventuality based on our initial discussions and was therefore able to modify the course to address particular areas we needed assistance with.

Q) Would you use the Chamber Training again?

A) Yes definitely

What do Companies who have opted for this type of training got to say .........

“Everyone who attended found the session to be excellent, both in content and delivery, it was thought provoking and generated a lot of discussion, ideas and enthusiasm. We have decided to work with Iain as a facilitator to help us with our social/digital media strategy and we will be trying to arrange this for early next month.”

Course: Introduction to social media Company: Rockline industries Ltd Feedback from: Julie Poole - HR Manager “We thoroughly enjoyed our day with John and we all got a so much out of it. John is a lovely man and really easy to understand and get on with. Thank you so much for suggesting this option which worked really well for us.”

Course: Bespoke PowerPoint for Presentations Company: G4S Ltd feedback from: Mandy Shone - PA “I really enjoyed the morning and also thought John was a very good trainer. His explanations were very clear and I liked the way in which he was happy to come round and check on people individually.

All in all probably one of the best training sessions I have attended!”

Course: bespoke Word and Excel training Company: University of Worcester feedback from: Caryn Thorogood - Academic Support Unit Manager

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

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assimilate: to absorb and integrate into a people or culture

Employment law has changed – are you up-to-date?

If you were asked by a colleague: ‘when do I have to retire?’, or perhaps ‘what is the Bribery Act?’, could you answer? And do you know what impact it has upon your employment and your company?

Few people can honestly say they feel fully confident on employment law issues, and yet ignorance can leave companies at grave risk from the threat of employment tribunals. Over 218,000 claims were received

by Employment Tribunals in 2010-11, focusing on issues such as Unfair Dismissal, Breach of Contract, Equal Pay and Discrimination.

But surely employment law is a matter for in-house lawyers and senior directors? Yes, but it is equally essential that line managers are fully informed. In fact, the front line for employment law in any business is the line managers – those who continually engage with staff.

Employment law is a complex, thorny and ever- shifting issue. Major changes have occurred in 2010-11, such as the abolition of the default retirement age, and more legislative changes are being discussed by the government for 2012.

Attempting to keep abreast of these changes yourself via the media, can be a

daunting task, but any uncertainty can be minimised by receiving employment law training.

Assimilate’s ‘Employment Law for Managers’ training course presents the latest legislation in an easily digestible 1-day seminar format, specifically removing confusing legalese.

This ensures that the Managers attain a clear understanding of the law and how it affects their company, their role as leader and the staff they manage.

In practice, however, unless a company’s policies and contracts are up-to-date, knowledgeable managers provide only half the protection required. To complement its training services, Assimilate also provides a free health check of legal documentation by its in-house employment law solicitor and an individually priced updating service.

Hand-in-hand up-to-date documentation and well-informed management staff can provide the best level of protection against the threat of employment disputes.

As any good Doctor always prescribes ‘prevention is better than cure’, and companies can in fact take positive and proactive steps to develop a culture of good management, so that tribunal situations can be avoided all together.

Staff who feel engaged, appreciated and motivated will be less likely to submit a claim. The line manager therefore needs to assume some of the responsibilities of the HR officer. This may be an area in which they feel uncomfortable or ill-equipped in the necessary skills. Assimilate’s ‘HR Skills for Line Managers’ course seeks to address this and provides managers with the confidence to deal with difficult staffing situations.

So, don’t chance your arm with employment law. Knowledge is power and by providing managers with the necessary training, companies can rest assured that the best steps have been taken to ensure the business is fully compliant and the staff are fully supported.

Assimilate Ltd provides training, HR and recruitment services in Herefordshire, Worcestershire and across the UK from its base in Malvern.

Assimilate is offering members of the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce 20% discount on training courses booked before 31st January 2012.

Tel: 01684 892764

Web: www.assimilate-ltd.co.uk

Email: enquiries@assimilate-ltd.co.uk

Conference Worcestershire

AN Event Services

THREE COUNTIES CENTRE - THE NEW SPACE FOR BUSINESS AND PLEASURE Set in an area of outstanding natural beauty, with clear views of the famous Malvern Hills, the brand new £1m Three Counties Centre is perfect for private and corporate events.

Contemporary, versatile and spacious, it comprises 2,900 square metres of multi-functional accommodation arranged on two levels, complete with an Executive Boardroom and break out suites.

Whether you’re in the business of conferences, exhibitions and seminars, or product launches, video shoots, parties and weddings, it’s a truly superb venue in charming, peaceful surroundings.

www.conference-worcestershire.org

LOWER SMITE FARM On Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 September Lower Smite Farm played host to a natural beekeeping course, part of the Grow With Wyre Landscape Partnership Scheme project. The course was led by Heidi Herrmann, a Founder Trustee of the Natural Beekeeping Trust, and David Heaf, author and experienced beekeeper. The weekend focussed on the plight of the honey bee and the importance of bees as pollinators.

AN Event Services provide full audio visual support for all your event needs. AN Events Services have expertise in staging a diverse range of events whether it’s a conference, award ceremony or fashion show both in the UK and abroad. The team boasts over 30 years experience in this field and throughout the years has built a firm reputation for great service and reliability.

Fully trained members of staff have a deep knowledge of the industry and aim to provide a professional and experienced approach to every event. AN Events Services are ready access to a large stock of specialised equipment including sound, lighting, data projection and staging equipment based at the premises in Malvern. So whatever you need, AN Event Services have got it covered. www.conference-worcestershire.org

Lower Smite was the perfect setting for the event.

Not only does it offer a range of rooms in converted farm buildings but the farm also uses several beekeeping methods and there is a diverse range of nectar and pollen sources across its 160 acres.

Fabulous Features

n Purpose-built conference and exhibition space. n Two quality suites each spanning 300 square metres. n Seating for up to 200 people on each floor conference style.

The light and airy rooms are perfect for your conference and meeting needs and delegates can relax and enjoy the surroundings of a wildlife garden during breaks. Lower Smite Farm, headquarters of Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, has a choice of four rooms that are suitable for meetings of all sizes.

Prices are inclusive of refreshments and equipment hire and day rates start at just £100. www.conference-worcestershire.org

n Dining for 120 people upstairs and 150 downstairs. n Access to Exhibition Hall of 2,200 square metres.

AVONCROFT MUSEUM, BROMSGROVE

n Glass atrium reception area.

n Provision for bars and catering on each level.

Staff at Avoncroft Museum are busily working to expand their offer and improve their service to businesses. As well as boosting the presentation of the historic conference venue and developing the offer to incorporate the finer details of individual business needs, the Museum is hosting festive Christmas party nights so that staff of local businesses can celebrate the festive season in style. Parties are being held on Friday 25 November, Friday 2 December and Friday 16 December 2011.

n Lift for 13 people

www.conference-worcestershire.org

n Top floor views of the Malvern Hills.

Fully Serviced

n Independently controlled quality sound systems. n Multi point electrical, internet and plasma connections. n Climate control.

n Organiser’s Office Friendly Planning Advice

The Three Counties Centre understand the importance of making your event a success and invite you to come and talk to the team. Whether its catering, electrics, security or car parking they are able to advise and put you in touch with quality suppliers. www.conference-worcestershire.org

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November/December 2011

ADVERTORIAL

Overseas expansion for bee design A niche automotive lighting company based in Redditch is working internationally after winning business from companies in the United States and India.

Bee Design Consultancy is a market leader, and one of the few independent companies in the UK to provide product design services to the automotive industry.

Achievements include design and development of the Lamborghini Aventador exterior lighting from concept to production, involvement in creating the McLaren Mercedes SLR 722 track car and the C-X16 Jaguar for the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.

The business - a design, styling and engineering firm, which was set up in 2006 - has won a contract with a company based in the United States, and is also working with Indian motor giant Tata Motors. The company has also attracted the attention of another major Indian automotive firm, which could lead to work in its native country.

Bee Design Consultancy was set up by Colin Fulford and Paul Crees in January 2006, and since then has amassed such a reputation that it now gains the vast majority of its work through word-of-mouth and client recommendation.

It employs 10 people at its base on Redditch’s Enfield Industrial Estate, and is investing in training new members of staff due to the highly-specialised nature of its work.

Bee Design Consultancy works in a variety of sectors other than the automotive lighting industry, and has previously designed products that include gaming machines for Games Warehouse, and cigarette litter bins for manufacture in China, but has identified automotive lighting design as a key area for growth.

It was in automotive lighting that the business first specialised, based on Colin and Paul’s previous experience. During their careers with German lighting company Hella, they spent nine months in Germany training to become automotive lighting designers

Colin Fulford

and on returning to the UK led projects for Jaguar, LandRover and Ford.

Colin Fulford said it was through their membership of the Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce, and with the help of UKTI, that he and Paul were able to realise the export potential of its services.

“While we have concentrated our efforts in the UK, as the business has grown, we realised that there is great potential for our business to export its design services, particularly in the automotive lighting sector,” he said.

“There is a definite realisation from the United States and elsewhere in the World that UK and European design is technically advanced, and that is a big opportunity for us.

“We are working already with one company in the US and with Tata Motors. We have also caught the attention of another large Indian company. Potentially, what we do could be exported all over the world.”

As well as automotive lighting, Bee Design Consultancy also works in sectors including marine,

Paul Crees

gaming, mining and the leisure industry. It can take products from concept to production. Other projects it has undertaken include creating components for a Jaguar show car and two Lotus concept cars for last year’s Paris Motor Show.

But what remains central to its business is its expanding team of employees, which Colin & Paul credit with the company’s continuing and growing success.

“It started off with just Paul and me, but we’ve brought in talented people along the way. We are starting to train our new team members, as what we do is very specialised, and because we see people we bring on board as being here for the long term.

“The most important thing about the business is the people who work for us – they are the ones who can help achieve the potential we know we have got.”

For more information about Bee Design Consultancy, visit www.beedesignltd.co.uk

While we have concentrated our efforts in the UK, as the business has grown, we realised that there is great potential for our business to export its design services, particularly in the automotive lighting sector, there is a definite realisation from the United States and elsewhere in the World that UK and European design is technically advanced, and that is a big opportunity for us.

Colin Fulford Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

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Chamber events

FIRST POWERED GROWTH FORUM DECLARED A GREAT SUCCESS!

Droitwich Breakfast

Around 50 business people gathered in the Graeme Hick Pavilion at Worcestershire County Cricket Club on Thursday 13 October for the first event of the Powered Growth Forum which the Chamber are hosting in conjunction with Arrivista Business Coaching. The Forum is aimed at businesses who are between two and ten years of trading and are looking to grow.

Thursday 1 December 2011 Thursday 19 January 2012 7.30-9.30am St Andrews Town Hotel, St Andrews Drive, Droitwich, WR9 8AL £15.00+VAT Members £30.00+VAT Non-members

Focusing on ‘Smart Selling’, attendees at the event were treated to presentations from Simon Williams of Arrivista Business Coaching, Simon Webb from Integrated Telemarketing and Helen Coldicott of Coldicott Freelance Training. Fantastic feedback has been received so far, with comments including:

Hereford Breakfast

Dates for future events, which run from 9am until 12pm and are free for members are:

Great morning, I took a lot from it!

Live, interactive format. All useful.

Thought provoking seminars.

Tuesday 22 November

Marketing: Maximising the Investment Thursday 19 January

Exploiting the Internet Thursday 22 March

Time Mastery Thursday 24 May

Team Development As well as taking away valuable tools and ideas to implement in their business, attendees also had plenty of opportunity to network and meet new people adding even more value to the session.

Networking and Events

Thursday 12 July

Financial Mastery To book your place, please email helenk@hwchamber.co.uk

Wednesday 7 December 2011 Wednesday 11 January 2012 7.30-9.30am Burghill Vale Golf Course, Tillington Road, Burghill, Hereford, HR4 7RW £15.00+VAT Members £30.00+VAT Non-members

Ledbury Breakfast Tuesday 24 January 2012 7.30-9.30am Alexander Park Resort, Pixley, Ledbury, Herefordshire HR8 2RW £15.00+VAT Members £30.00+VAT Non-members

Leominster Breakfast Tuesday 22 November 2011 7.30-9.30am The Grove Golf & Bowl, Ford Bridge, Leominster HR6 OLE £15.00+VAT Members £30.00+VAT Non-members

Malvern Breakfast

Start to Grow Forum - The missing ingredient The Stables, Walnut Tree House, Astwood Lane, Wychbold, Worcestershire WR9 0BU Tuesday 29 November 4pm -6pm.

Worcester Breakfast Hosted by The Stables in Wychbold, the event will focus on the importance of understanding your sales cycle as a start up business, and more importantly the missing ingredients that business owners overlook when getting prepared in the sales process.

For more information or to book please contact Sarah Taylor on 0845 641 1641 or email

FREE Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce and supporters Hayward Wright Accountants are pleased to announce the date of the next ‘Start to Grow’ event -Tuesday 29th November.

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Thursday 24 November 2011 7.30-9.30am The Grove Golf & Bowl, Ford Bridge, Leominster HR6 OLE £15.00+VAT Members £30.00+VAT Non-members

saraht@hwchamber.co.uk

Thursday 10 November 2011 7.30-9.30am Worcestershire County Cricket Club, County Ground, New Road, Worcester, WR2 4QQ £15.00+VAT Members £30.00+VAT Non-members

Pershore Breakfast Thursday 8 December 2011 8.30-10.30am Pershore Civic Centre, Queen Elizabeth Drive, Pershore WR10 1PT £10.00+VAT Members/Non-members

November/December 2011

Sponsored by

In association with

Breakfast sponsored by

Lunch sponsored by

WORCESTERSHIRE BUSINESS EXPO 2011 - A GREAT SUCCESS Worcestershire Business EXPO took place at Worcester Rugby Club on Thursday 6 October.

The event was a huge success with over 100 exhibitors and more than 700 registered visitors. Attendees had a busy day attending seminars, networking at

the breakfast and lunch, and talking to the stand holders in the exhibition.

Adrian Barradell, Clarify Copywriting said: “I thought it was extremely well presented and organised. I am a new start-up business and the contacts I was able to make yesterday could prove to be useful and fruitful.”

This year’s Expo was the best ever. Well planned advertising prior to the event attracted relevant visitors to our stand. Already new business has been created, thanks to the success and hard work of the Chamber team.

Andrea Borwell-Fox Borwell

WHY SPONSOR! n Increase your brand awareness n As part of a wider marketing strategy or product launch n Reach a targeted audience n New business development n Networking

Sponsorship is a highly valuable offering providing the opportunity to highlight what is good about your company in a cost effective method and giving you the edge over your competitors and providing a platform for promoting a new product or service.

Having your name mentioned prominently alongside key Chamber events is an excellent way of making sure that other businesses have a strong awareness of your organisation and is a tried and tested method for small and large businesses to raise their profile and attract new business.

The Chamber can offer you a range of sponsorship opportunities to assist with your business needs. For further information, please contact Lisa Sanders on 0845 641 1641.

FREE Online Webinar in association with Dell Computers - “Back up your business and be back to business quickly” Wednesday 7 December, 10.00 to 11.15am. For more information email helenk@hwchamber.co.uk

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

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Commercial Property

TOP CLASS LEARNING CENTRE CREATED A £2m transformation of a former car showroom has created new sports and performance facilities for the University of Worcester. The building, on Hylton Road, on the banks of the River Severn, has been completely transformed into a top class learning centre for a range of activities.

The Riverside building has a large, dividable dance and performance studio.

It also has a substantial fitness area, half the size of a basketball court, connected to a specialist sports analysis suite. A 120 seat lecture theatre and 80 space computer and group learning suite and several tutorial rooms, complete the fully refurbished building.

There is a large 110 space car park and also available will be a state of the art charging point for electric cars. The car park will operate in line with the University’s existing car parks.

The newly renovated building is situated adjacent to where the University of

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Worcester plans to build the ‘Worcester Arena’, a highly inclusive centre that will benefit the wider community in Herefordshire and Worcestershire and will provide a nationally outstanding venue for disability sport.

The campaign has recently won several significant grants and ‘in principle’ financial support from national sports governing bodies, charities and trusts, taking the total to over £2 million. More than £70,000 has been raised so far from individual, family and team donations.

Riverside opened its doors to students and the community this September.

For details of how you can hire the facilities and booking please contact Gemma Jones, Sports Facilities Manager, on 01905 542275 or gemma.jones@worc.ac.uk or Susie Hart, Head of Recreation and Sport Strategy, on 01905 855140 or s.hart@worc.ac.uk

November/December 2011

Commercial Property

sponsored by

SOUTH WORCESTERSHIRE DEVELOPMENT UPDATE During the course of the autumn planning officers from the 3 partner Councils preparing the South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) have been hosting roadshow exhibitions, attending breakfast meetings events and the Worcestershire LEP Business Board briefings to encourage views on how the locality should develop up to 2030.

The purpose of the Preferred Options consultation has been to gather views on the proposals set out in the consultation document, which in turn will inform the first draft of the South Worcestershire Development Plan. This will be submitted to the Government in the autumn of 2012 for its formal consideration.

If you want to find out more about the South Worcestershire Development Plan call a member of SWDP Team on 01095-722233, visit our website www.swdevelopmentplan.org or Email contact@swdevelopmentplan.org

The next stage of the process will see the publication of a pre-submission draft of the Development Plan in the middle of 2012. This allows for any challenges to be made relating to how the 3 Councils have gone about preparing the document and is not a further opportunity to comment on the content.

This opportunity will come at the public inquiry, run by an independent Planning Inspector to be held in January 2013. Following feedback from the Inquiry the 3 Councils will adopt the Development Plan in May 2013 and this will then be the basis of making planning decisions and influencing the nature of development across South Worcestershire up to 2030.

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

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Business News

HAYWARD WRIGHT ACCOUNTANTS OPEN A NEW OFFICE IN WORCESTER CITY CENTRE

GAIN FROM GREEN

Hayward Wright has worked hard to develop a firm that focuses on service and added value to their clients.

OpenSure specialists in hosted and managed online services, has recently launched an offshoot aiming to help the county’s businesses ‘gain from green’.

The success that they have gained from this unique approach to accountancy has meant that due to the increased business being generated particularly from Worcester that the firm will be expanding their practice with new offices in Worcester.

An experienced provider of business-grade online services, OpenSure has recently established GreenLight, meeting once a month in Hereford. Technical Director Kevin Dontenville says: “Using green techniques enabled OpenSure to overcome huge energy price hikes and develop a highly competitive framework for future business.”

Alistair Hayward Wright said: “Worcester has been an important market to Hayward Wright for some time now, the opening of the new office shows our commitment to the businesses of the city and south Worcestershire.”

Running on servers in the UK’s only renewable energy-powered datacentre, OpenSure sees the benefits of taking a green approach to problem-solving and growth but also understands that most companies need to see a real business case for change. GreenLight aims to present that case through expert speakers drawn from industry.

The launch of the Worcester office is set for Wednesday 16 November 2011. Hayward Wright invites local business to come and share in their excitement in opening the office. The launch party will be held at Bushwackers, and will be an informal networking event with a chance for attendees to meet the team.

GreenLight meetings are a great opportunity to learn, meet other local businesses and demonstrate what your business can do.

To attend the launch contact: alistaird@haywardwright.co.uk www.haywardwright.co.uk

www.greenlightlocal.org.uk An artists impression of Hayward Wright’s new Worcester office

DARKEJONES INTRODUCES BOB THE BANANA IN CLASS CATERING RE-BRAND! Branding agency DarkeJones have recently completed a re-brand for school’s catering company Class Catering. Class Catering provide school meals for thousands of children across the Three Counties and wanted a brand that reflected healthy eating and that would appeal to schools, schoolchildren and parents alike.

Jim Darke, Managing Director of DarkeJones said: “We created a series of characters that represent the three brand values, Health, Performance and Choice.

We then manufactured three full sized suits for each character, Bob the Banana, Adam the Arrow and Sally the Strawberry. These visual elements have become the heart of the brand, and we have sent them out to meet schoolchildren, serve them lunch and educate kids about healthy eating.” www.darkejones.co.uk

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The characters that represent the three brand values, Health, Performance and Choice

November/December 2011

FAMOUS FACES AT COLWALL PARK Colwall Park has been home to many actors performing at the nearby Malvern Theatres, with famous names like Joan Collins, Penelope Keith, Peter Bowles, Donald Sutherland.

Recently a film crew and presenters stayed whilst recording a new TV series entitled Matt & Allegra’s Big Farm. Former rugby star Matt Dawson, a renowned foodie, co-hosts the series with chef Allegra McEvedy MBE. People choose Colwall Park because of the superior quality of the food and it is renowned as one of the best restaurants in Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

The brigade of chefs has achieved many awards including 2 AA Food Rosettes, an entry in Michelin and the Which? Good Food Guide. The same high quality

HEALTH CHECK YOUR BUSINESS! Ormerod Rutter Chartered Accountants are offering Chamber members a 15% discount on their VAT and PAYE Health Checks.

The Health Checks will be undertaken by one of their experienced in house consultants, and gives you the opportunity to discuss and review the PAYE and VAT position of your business with the intention of ensuring compliance with current legislation.

As penalties charged by H M Revenue and Customs for non-compliance are on the increase in both of these areas, it is important that you are complying and the Health Checks will make sure you are and potentially save you money.

If you would like to take advantage of this offer, please contact us on 01905 777600 or alternatively email either

anthonymiddleton@ormerodrutter.co.uk or keithzambra@ormerodrutter.co.uk www.ormerodrutter.co.uk

Worcestershire 100 Club…making a difference together Although it’s true to say that Worcestershire is a wonderful place to live and work, there are some areas of real social and economic deprivation in our county where people are struggling to get by. These are the people in our community who need our help.

food is served to every guest whether visiting for a conference, awayday meeting or just enjoying the breathtaking Malvern Hills on the doorstep.

It offers 22 bedrooms, 3 function room from 6 to 100 and a lively Lantern Bar for locals and residents alike www.colwall.com

CHAMBER MEMBER REAPS IMMEDIATE REWARD English Mutual, Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce’s Key Employee Benefits Partner, was recently engaged by local charity Leukaemia CARE to review it’s Group Life Assurance arrangements; an act which resulted in nearly a 50% reduction in cost.

The Worcestershire Community Foundation have launched the ‘Worcestershire 100 Club’, they are looking for 100 business leaders, organisations and opinion formers who care about the county to join them in addressing these very real issues. All funds raised go directly to good causes in the county, with a focus in year one on supporting young people into work. Trustees are all business people who give their time free of charge and patrons include Lord Cobham, Bob Warman and the Bishop of Worcester. The actual launch event will be held in November at the Bishops Palace and another in the New Year at Hagley Hall.

If you and your business would like to support local worthy causes in your community then join the Worcestershire 100 Club. All that is asked that an annual donation of £1000 is made for a minimum of 3 years. Money given by donation will go directly to local good causes - 50% will be used immediately and 50% will be invested with the income to be used to make grants to local groups in perpetuity.

Louise Hewett – Director & Trustee, Worcestershire 100 Club Please contact me by email:

Lauren Billington, Fundraising Director of Leukaemia CARE said: “As a benefit, the charity feels its important to offer a life assurance package to members of staff, but as a small charity with an eye constantly focused on effective, good corporate governance, the necessity to regularly review expenses is constant and hugely important to us. Our experience of dealing with English Mutual has been excellent; we have been able to maintain the level of employee benefits we offer our staff whilst improving our financial position, all with a minimum of fuss. I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone”

louise@hewett-recruitment.co.uk to find out more information and join us to celebrate the launch of the 100 Club in November. www.hewett-recruitment.co.uk www.hewettexecutivetalent.co.uk

Should you wish to discuss your employee benefits concerns and needs, or indeed book a consultation, English Mutual can be contacted via chamberbenefits@englishmutual.com www.englishmutual.com

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

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ADVERTORIAL

An All-In-One Software Solution That Grows With Your Business A common challenge that faces growing companies is the need to adopt a new system, or in many cases multiple systems to run their operations.

The logic behind investing in a new system is that it will provide returns in the form of operational efficiencies and create a platform for a business to grow even further. Although most companies claim to have a strategy in place for when they start growing, the truth is that long-term planning tends to be absent when it comes to the systems element.

Consider this scenario; a company with a relatively small operation decides that it can no longer run its business using just an Excel spreadsheet so it decides that it needs a system to manage their operations.

The first thinking here is to find a relatively cheap accounting package that can handle their sales invoicing and purchases. Initially this will do for the company and it makes life easier. But what happens if the company starts growing beyond the capabilities of the small accounting package? This situation is surprisingly common and this is a classic example of companies not having a long-term strategy.

At this point in time, companies tend to be incredibly short sighted and rather than adopting a long-term view, they think “what are my immediate needs?”.

This question tends to drive organisations to look for a separate system that can address the immediate need.

For example; a service provider (law firm, plumber, electrician etc.) has started experiencing rapid growth.

It has recruited new members of staff but they have realised that they need a system to bill their time as too much time is going into personal admin work when it could be going into providing the service functions they are specialist at.

In this case a company would be likely to start searching for a system that would solve this immediate need for a projects billing system. If the company grows even further they would need to take up yet another system for something else etc. Eventually this will create a situation where the organisation starts trying to integrate and bolt together a number of different systems and at the same time they are paying a number of different software providers’ annual service fees and other support related costs.

A classic example of an industry that suffers from this multiple systems conundrum is the hotel industry.

A hotel needs to be able to cope with all the core 046

processes of a business, i.e. accounts, sales, purchases, customers, vendors and inventory management.

But this is not necessarily enough for a hotel to be operationally efficient. A hotel also requires a room booking system, a restaurant management system (point of sales system) and in some cases an events management system for their conferences.

It is not uncommon to see up to five different systems in use at a hotel to fulfil those operational demands.

The key thing about running so many separate systems is that it wastes a lot of time and the integrity of the information is jeopardised as the room for manual errors is great as sometimes the data needs to be entered two or three times in the process not to mention the cost of maintaining such a number of systems.

Imagine if you could have one system that is able to take care of your entire operations. This is what dk Business Solutions offer. The scalability of the system enables it to be adopted by a large variety of businesses both in terms of size and industry. The dk system is modular based and all the modules are installed from the start.

The software license determines which modules you have access to but the benefit here is that you can start by using only the parts you require and when you start growing, the rest is already there for you to

activate. dk is currently in use at over 5,000 companies in many different industries such as accountants, hotels and restaurants, retailers, distributors, law firms, charities as well as a large number of other industries.

Our clients range from being a single person selling used bikes out of his garage to being a top 50 charity in the UK with over 500 branches and tens of millions of pounds in annual turnover. Furthermore the system has started growing rapidly in the distribution industry thanks to its strong inventory management module and the systems´ powerful reporting and analysis tools.

In the example of the hotel with multiple systems; dk Business Solutions could do it all within a single system. Streamline flow of information would reduce the need of double entry of data and ensure that all information is transferred real-time between locations.

Can you imagine the instant value this would bring to the hotel in the example above through cost- and time savings?

If you would like to explore the benefits of the dk Business Solutions system for your business, please don´t hesitate to contact us either via email: info@dkbusinesssolutions.co.uk or phone: 08449670997 and we would be happy to provide you with more information.

November/December 2011

Member benefits and solutions

DISCOUNTED TEXT MESSAGE MARKETING FOR MEMBERS

As mobile technology becomes more sophisticated, and across the globe people become more dependent on accessing information on the move, businesses are looking to mobile as the device of choice for marketing solutions.

The Chamber Text service was put in place to allow members to harness the growing influence of mobile marketing. Building relationships with your customers is the only way to grow and remain competitive in the current economic climate. Mobile allows you to converse, build trust and engage in a way like no other marketing channel.

Any tool that enables you to grow your customer data intelligence, whilst allowing you to communicate direct marketing messages is powerful. The tool can be used in a variety of ways, whether it be building an opt-in database of new customers, promoting your new mobile site, or simply saying thank you after a customer has placed an order, there really is no substitute for one-to-one targeted communication.

The Chamber Text service provides access to simple to use services, tools and expertise which give any business the ability to reap the benefits of mobile marketing at a fraction of the cost associated with other marketing campaigns.

Txtlocal Chief Executive & Founder, Alastair Shortland says of the service: “We give businesses the power to communicate with their customers and staff through a medium that has a 97.5% response rate and an excellent track record for ROI. A good example of this is Domino’s Pizza who received 10-12% redemptions on a promotional text campaign, which equated to around £10,000 of sales for just a £350 spend.”

Members can use mobile messaging to support their overall marketing strategies as the main force alerting customers to their websites, videos, brochures; all of which can be designed within the online user interface.

Members are eligible for 15% off the price of text message bundles up to 100,000 texts & free personalised short code set up (saving £50).

For more information, call the membership team on 0845 641 1641.

We give businesses the power to communicate with their customers and staff through a medium that has a 97.5% response rate and an excellent track record for ROI.

MEMBER TO MEMBER DISCOUNTS The Chamber is passionate about creating and sustaining a community that wants to do business and champions member to member trading as a way of developing local economic prosperity.

As a member of the Chamber you can promote an exclusive offer or promotion to other members free of charge. Offer fellow Chamber members exclusive discounts on your products and services to gain your company more publicity and business.

You can submit a member to member offer of up to 50 words and this will be displayed on the Member’s Area of the Chamber’s website.

You can then update and re-publish your offer yourself as regularly as you need via your membership business profile.

This membership benefit is a great way of attracting enquiries from potential new clients and an ideal opportunity to promote your business to over 1300 businesses in Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

Email your offer to:

enquiries@hwchamber.co.uk

Alastair Shortland Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

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November/December 2011

Member benefits and solutions ABOUT OUR NEW SERVICE FUNDING FINDER In the current environment when money is tight and resources are dwindling, the search for alternative sources of money is becoming an increasingly common need.

As a solution, Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce is delighted to be introducing our new custom-built Funding Finder service to all of our members, offering free access to hundreds of grant and funding opportunities, available to view 24/7.

Features of the service include: • Free and easy to sign up to • Access to a user-friendly and intuitive facility which can save time and money by highlighting the funding opportunities available to you in quick and easy steps, in turn helping to maximise your fundraising potential.

• Comprehensive coverage of relevant European Union, UK Government, Lottery, regional, local and charitable funds which are rigorously researched and updated every day by an in-house dedicated graduate Research Team to make sure you never miss an opportunity.

• A service specifically designed to help businesses in the Herefordshire & Worcestershire counties – no matter at what stage or what size – to access start-up and development finance opportunities for a plethora of projects from energy efficiency, equipment purchasing and IT to marketing, staff recruitment and training.

FREE CHAMBER SUPPORT SERVICE

AXA PERSONAL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE Now, more than ever, it is important that you put in place the measures to protect your business should you be unfit for work. Ensuring that your business is properly prepared for any eventuality is essential.

The Chamber is working to raise awareness of business continuity and encourage businesses owners and managers to see it as an essential part of their ongoing business plan. This Chamber support service is free for our members and ensures that the key decision maker in your company can be supported in the case of illness or a hospital stay.

PICTURE THIS: You are ill and have just been told that you will have to stay off work for several days. You are the principal decision maker or owner of a business and, without you, your business could cease to function.

WHAT COULD HAPPEN: Without proper back-up, you have nobody to look after your business so you struggle on, you risk infecting your staff or employees and you’re not delivering 100%.

WHAT CHAMBER MEMBERS CAN DO: When you realise that you are going to be unavailable for work, you call AXA PPP Healthcare and activate your Personal Business Assistance service. The team will be able to write letters and send messages by phone, fax or email for you, ensuring that your business can stay in contact with it’s customers, prospective clients or suppliers.

• Extensive information and complete fund details, including background, funding levels, eligibility criteria, direct contact details and web links to application forms and funding pages.

• For Chamber members only: An email alert service based on search criteria, ensuring that members do not miss out on valuable funding opportunities The easy to use search tool means that you can generate a list of relevant results by entering specific information about you and your business. Furthermore, the ability to search according to keywords and project categories means that you can identify funding programmes of relevance even more quickly and effectively.

Once completed, the search engine will provide you with comprehensive details of each funding opportunity so that you can apply where appropriate and feel confident that you have all the information you need. www.hwchamber.co.uk/fundingfinder

This service must be registered in advance but this is free and easy to do, simply contact the Chamber on 0845 641 1641 or enquiries@hwchamber.co.uk

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

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Develop and expand your exporting capabilities with OMIS Are you looking for new agents, distributors or data and intelligence on new markets - If so, the Chamber’s UKTI team can help

UK Trade & Investment’s Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS) offers one of the best market research services for exporters available anywhere in the world.

It’s a flexible business tool which utilises the expertise of Trade Officers in British Embassies and Consulates around the world to benefit your business.

Accurate and up-to date market information and secured agents and distributors are crucial to the success of any product or service in any new market.

This heavily subsidised service, which offers opportunities unrivalled by any other support of its kind tenfold, is commissioned and delivered online giving you a direct link to a network of local experts overseas, with fast access to reports and advice.

The service allows you to: • Assess the demand for your product overseas prior to a market visit • Pinpoint the best route to market your product/service • Assess potential contacts or partners in a target market • Secure local market introductions, e.g. to Chambers of Commerce and Trade Associations in the areas and sectors you are interested in • Use overseas offices to support your business’ needs, e.g. to launch a product or service with help from an Ambassador to attract local media attention or use residence for a networking event and assistance with interpretation or local market information.

“OMIS reports have been an invaluable tool in growing our export business (which grew 30% last year). When opening up new markets, they enable us to ensure that we are talking with quality prospective partners.

Finding a first class distributor in large countries like Poland and Indonesia can seem like a daunting task at first, like finding a needle in a haystack! Using OMIS reports means we now have excellent partners in place and the process of finding them was efficient and smooth with the excellent help of the local British Embassy. When looking to export our goods into any

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new market our first step is always to commission an OMIS report.” Clair Brutnall, Baylis & Harding For more information about the service or any other UKTI service please contact the International Trade Team on 0845 641 1641 or email

internationaltrade@hwchamber.co.uk

WRAGGE & CO EXPANDS INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE WITH DUBAI OFFICE Wragge & Co has added a second office in the United Arab Emirates. In a move which highlights the importance of the Gulf region to the firm’s international ambitions, Wragge & Co Legal Consultants LLC has opened in Dubai.

Wragge & Co Legal Consultants LLC is a joint venture between Mohamed Al Mehairi, former director of legal strategy to The Executive Council of the Government of Dubai, and UK-headquartered international law firm Wragge & Co. Its first office opened in Abu Dhabi in December 2010.

In the UAE, Wragge & Co offers a range of legal and legal translation services, including healthcare, projects, corporate, commercial, real estate, dispute resolution and arbitration.

Opening in Dubai is one of a number of strategic investments made by Wragge & Co over the past 12 months. In Paris, public law expert Bruno Richard and a three-lawyer employment team led by partner Valerie Blandeau joined the firm. www.wragge.com

November/December 2011

Destination Worcestershire

TOURISM 2012 AND BEYOND - BE A PART OF IT! Wednesday 16th November 2011 Destination Worcestershire is inviting tourism businesses from across the county to a tourism event at The Showground, Malvern. The event will highlight business opportunities for organisations that benefit from the visitor economy (such as hotels, guest houses, attractions, events, pubs, restaurants, etc.) including those through Destination Worcestershire, now part of Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce.

James Berresford, Chief Executive of VisitEngland, the national tourism authority will speak about ‘The Changing Landscape of Tourism’ from a national perspective. Georgia Smith from VisitWorcester will talk about the Olympic Torch Relay coming to the county and Destination Worcestershire will launch the 2012 Membership Scheme. Many partners offering member benefits will be exhibiting displaying the discounts available to the 2012 Members.

The new scheme offers membership at an affordable price with many new benefits including the brand

new tourism magazine for Worcestershire and a new website with online booking, e-ticketing and an itinerary builder.

The Three Counties Agricultural Society is hosting the event in its £1m Three Counties Centre – a modern, purpose-built conference and exhibition space, with a spectacular glass atrium and top floor views of the beautiful Malvern Hills.

The new centre benefits from an Executive Boardroom and break out suites, and has direct access to the Showground’s existing exhibition hall - offering some 2,900 square metres in total. It is fully equipped to a high standard and is perfect for events ranging from a theatre style conference or large trade show to seminars, video shoots, parties and weddings.

It is supported by RDPE, DEFRA and the European Agricultural fund.

If you are a tourism business and are interested in attending please contact Emma Evans to book your space 0845 641 1543.

Mushrooms in Filo Baskets

n n n n n n n n n

25g margarine 200g mixed mushrooms sliced thinly 1 small onion finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, crushed 50ml (approx) white wine 150 -200ml single cream handful of chopped parsley/dill/tarragon 6 sheets filo pastry olive oil/margarine for brushing

Makes

6

large baskets

Preheat the oven to 200°/Gas 6, grease a bun tray. Cut the filo pastry into 15cm squares. Take two squares of pastry and brush with oil or melted margarine, place on top of each other in a star shape to make a basket, place in bun tray. Repeat for rest of pastry. Cook for five minutes until golden, allow to cool.

Melt the margarine in a saucepan and add the onion and garlic, sauté for 3 minutes then add the sliced mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are tender add the white wine, stir briefly then add the cream.

Simmer on a very low heat for 5 minutes, add the herbs and season to taste.

Serve in a filo basket.

Perfect as a starter or main course. www.ourlizzy.com

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

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Accurate Cutting Services – an unrivalled technical partner Supplying vital answers to Britain’s manufacturers over four decades n Offering the UK’s largest, most versatile sub-contract metal sawing service

Accurate Cutting Services brings solutions and efficiency gains to manufacturers prior to machining, and after casting, forging, fabrication and extrusion.

n Adding more value – by working near to its customers

Its advanced capabilities in reshaping metal pieces have brought added value in a variety of industrial sectors, including aerospace, automotive, construction, energy and marine engineering.

n Advanced investigation and valuerecovery services n Solutions, too, through sawing-machine and blade sales and service

With knowledge and skills acquired in some 40 years of service to industry, and by investing in locations best suited to customers, Accurate Cutting Services has won an unrivalled place as a technical partner to leading UK manufacturers.

Crossgate Road, Park Farm Industrial Estate, Redditch, Worcestershire, B98 7SN

www.accurate-cutting.co.uk

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Phone: +44 (0)1527 527058 Fax: +44 (0)1527 527541

November/December 2011

New Members Bewdley

Metris LPA Ltd 01432 818622

Ross-On-Wye

Wharton Park Golf & Country Club 01299 405222

www.metrislpa.com

Gower Stores 07875 697845

www.whartonpark.co.uk

Redline Communications 01432 359933 www.redlinecomms.co.uk

Bransford Country House Occasions 07590 536768 www.countryhouseoccasions.co.uk

Bromsgrove G.R Brickstock & Associates 01527 870019 Local accountancy practice Philmjones Ltd 0808 1080 163 www.philmjones.com

STL Energy 07966 368459 www.stlenergy.co.uk

Total Technology Consultants 01432 851899 www.totaltechnologyconsultants.com

Walker Enforcement Ltd 01432 373665 www.walkerenforcement.co.uk

Inkberrow Finance Director Plus Ltd 0845 258 1030 www.financedirectorplus.co.uk

www.toyota.uk

Kidderminster

www.aftlc.com

Joerns Healthcare Ltd 0844 811 1156 www.joerns.co.uk

Beer and partners 01905 795230

Pears Home Improvements Ltd 01905 724085 Proclean 01905 756677

alandodkin@gmail.com

Stanford Marsh Group 01905 458000

Out of Area Elonex Sport Plc Birmingham 0871 222 7222

CRB Eco Energy Ltd 01684 540622

John Price Printers Ltd Bilston 01902 353441

Dicondi Limited 01684 897706

JDW Bulding & Conservation Ltd 01544 327711

www.dicondi.co.uk

CMC Partners 01684 585218 www.cmc-partners.co.uk

Evesham

www.blackpearmedia.com

www.oliff.info

www.elonex.com

Eardisley

Black Pear Media 01386 48084

Oliff Associates 0117 904 2831

Malvern

www.crbecoenergy.co.uk

www.jdwbuildingconservationltd.co.uk

www.andrewsprecision.co.uk

www.stanfordmarsh.co.uk

www.beerandpartners.com

Drakes Broughton

Andrews Precision 01905 754513

www.pearshomeimprovements.co.uk

Westlands Toyota 01527 839609 afTLC 07803 603450

Worcester

Pershore

www.john-price.co.uk

Inside Out Ludlow 08453930295 www.begininsideout.com

Three Pears Ltd Warley 0121 559 5351

www.threepears.co.uk

Freddy Products Ltd 01386 561113 www.freddy-products.co.uk

Hereford Affinity Trust 01432 379380

Sailes Marketing Ltd 01386 554210 www.sailesmarketing.com

www.affinitytrust.com

Hibar Flood Systems Ltd 01432 370215 www.hibarfloods.co.uk

Lollipops Nursery & Creche 01432 342119

Redditch Bee Design Consultancy Ltd 01527 67812 www.beedesignltd.co.uk

Independent Medical Solutions Limited 01527 457527 www.independentmedicalsolutions.co.uk

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

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AMDS SUPPORT SERVICES LTD

Phil Brown Consultancy

HAVE YOUR COMPANY’S HORIZONS BECOME CONSTRAINED? ARE YOUR FORWARD PLANS LIMITED?

WE CAN PROVIDE THE MARKET

Helping companies to solve their Quality and Environmental Problems ISO9001 2008 ISO14001 2004

ANALYSIS AND PLANNING TO FACILITATE A CHANGE

Need help in Writing Quality and/or Environmental Management Procedures for the Quality and Environmental Standards?

WE CAN DESIGN AND DEVELOP

Do you need a part time Auditor for these Management Systems?

WORKSHOPS TO STIMULATE INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY

Then contact me Phil Brown Tel: 01886 821302 • Mob: 07769 614021 Email: phil@philbrownconsultancy.co.uk

CALL: ALAN MORPETH 07780 998850 OR DAVID SNOWDEN 07970 288061

Batchley Community cafe Try one of our tasty buffets for your business lunches or christmas parties, by ordering from us you are helping to contribute to your community.

Outside Catering Buffet Menu Classic Sandwiches Bread

White granary or wholemeal

Fillings Available

Roast Ham, Roast Chicken Roast Beef, Tuna, and Vegetarian selection

Choose from one platter Indian, Chicken, Classic

Sandwich Buffet

Freshly prepared platter on Granary White or wholemeal Selection of fillings

Nachos & Dips Selection of Mini Cakes £5 per head

Senior Citizens Lunch 2 Courses for only £3.75

Fruit platter or Mini cake selection £6.25 per head

Fresh Veg! Home Cooked! 12-2pm every Wednesday Large groups must phone in advance

All serviettes and plates provided, Christmas buffets are provided with crackers and party poppers.

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Opening Hours: 8 - 3pm Meals delivered on request Batchley Community Café is a partnership between Batchley Support Group and NEW College.

It is a great community venue offering low cost healthy meals and a friendly welcome.

The café is also used as a training venue for young people with learning disabilities the Café is an important step for students learning to become more independent.

The café also offers an extensive outside catering menu for parties, events, birthdays & corporate lunches.

01527 526655 Batchley Community Cafe 57 Poplar Road Batchley Redditch B97 6NY

24 Hours notice is required on all buffets

November/December 2011

Business News

NOT JUST ANY EVENT MANAGEMENT COMPANY...

Event Works Europe is an events management business based in Ledbury, with experience both locally and internationally with clients in several European locations.

Jayne Foster is Founder and Director of EWE and operates with a growing team with over twenty years experience.

Event Works Europe have been working with defence company Dytecna based locally in Malvern for some years and has run customer open days at three of their sites as well as managing their exhibition stand at the international exhibition DSEi at Excel in London and

promoting the business with industry seminars.

Keith Mowbray, Executive Vice President Business Development of Dytecna said: “Event Works Europe have worked alongside Dytecna over the last 5 years providing event management services.

During this period Dytecna has grown from sub £10M to over £40M turnover and named in The Sunday Times Tech Track 100 league as one of the fastest growing UK privately owned businesses.

Event Works professional approach and services have played a key role in the success.” www.eventworkseurope.com Keith Mowbray and Managing Director John Fulford (Dytecna) with Jayne Foster (EWE) at the Fareham Open Day

NEW LEADER FOR COUNTY HOSPITALS

KIDDERMINSTER CONSULTANCY LAUNCHES RECESSION-BUSTING WORKSHOPS

A new Chief Executive has been appointed to lead the Alexandra, Kidderminster and Worcestershire Royal Hospitals into the future.

Penny Venables, who is currently Chief Executive of the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Birmingham, will join Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust in the new year.

She has held a variety of senior NHS posts over the past ten years, including Chief Operating Officer at Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust and Director of Operations at Birmingham Women’s Healthcare NHS Trust. A notable success in her career includes leading the Royal Orthopaedic

Penny Venables, new Chief Executive, Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

Hospital’s Foundation Trust application to successful authorisation, and developing it as a leading edge Trust and provider of both local, district and national specialist services.

Harry Turner, Chairman of the Trust, said: “Our top priority was to find an inspirational leader who will take the Trust successfully into the future whilst ensuring the safest and highest quality services for our patients.“ www.worcsacute.nhs.uk

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

The Rapport Store has launched a new series of business training workshops with a unique value guarantee.

Delegates only have to pay what they think the training is worth.

The workshops, with a guide price of £75 for a half-day session, are aimed at senior business managers and will cover a wide range of topical subjects including Absenteeism, Occupational Health, Interviewing Skills, Employment Law, Social Media, Performance Management and Maternity/Paternity advice.

concerned than ever to get the best value for money from their increasingly scarce development budgets. We know that we can offer amazing value and this seemed to us the best way to prove it. We want all our delegates to walk away feeling they have received value for money. This way, we can guarantee it.”

To book contact Rapport Store on 01562 740829. www.rapportstore.co.uk

Delegates will now attend the workshops first and decide afterwards how much they want to pay.

Founder of the Rapport Store, Clare Jones, said: “Businesses are more

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Business News DROITWICH ACCOUNTANCY FIRM CELEBRATES 20 YEARS IN PARTNERSHIP AND WELCOMES NEW RECRUITS Ballard Dale Syree Watson LLP has had plenty to celebrate in recent months and is gearing up for a busy 2012.

During this year the company has been celebrating the 20 year partnership which started when Bill Ballard merged his practice with Jeremy Syree.

The firm also welcomed James Syree on his appointment as Partner who will be responsible for audit and SME clients. James was recently crowned ‘ICAEW Young Chartered Accountant of the Year’ in a competition which also saw Ballards nominated in the ‘Chartered Accountancy Firm of the Year’ category.

Head of Tax, Liz Peters is delighted to have recruited Jemma Dixon to assist her with the firm’s expanding tax portfolio and the accounts department has grown to include Ben Powell and David Copson. www.ballardsca.com

WORCESTERSHIRE CCC CELEBRATE RETAINING DIVISION ONE STATUS Worcestershire County Cricket Club celebrated the success of 2011’s remarkable preservation of Division One status in spectacular fashion with the annual End of Season Awards. BBC Hereford and Worcester’s Dave Bradley compered the evening’s entertainment, which saw the county toast an exceptional season.

The evening’s big winners were as follows: The Dick Lygon Award - Alan Richardson The Rock Lobster Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Year - Gareth Andrew The Cotswold Group Brian Peters Academy Player of the Year - Steve Leach The Kenyon Award - James Cameron THE 2012 SEASON

Gareth Andrew collects The 2011 Rock Lobster Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Year.

The 2011 End of Season Awards go some way to displaying the Club’s pride in securing another season in the top flight of domestic cricket. The 2012 season will provide further challenging domestic fixtures, as well as hosting the touring South African team on Friday 27 - Saturday 28 July 2012. www.wccc.co.uk

LOCAL BUSINESSES OFFERED CHANCE TO BEAT FUEL COSTS

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The Woolhope Dome Community Wood Fuel Co-operative is currently looking for local businesses or organisations, which currently spend over £5000 annually on their heating bills, to install free wood-fuel boilers. The offer is open to businesses within 20 miles of the Woolhope Dome area and availability is on a first come first served basis.

harvested wood from local woodlands to fuel wood-chip boilers that will heat local business and community premises. The project will be run by a community-owned co-operative which will own and operate woodchip-powered boilers in local premises and provide fuel for these boilers from local sustainable sources.

This innovative renewable energy project, which is collaboration between two not-for-profit organisations Fownhope Carbon Reduction Action Group and Sharenergy, aims to use sustainably

For further information please speak to Ben Dodd, (01530) 273 312 bdodd@envconsulting.plus.com

November/December 2011

Crowther Beard accountants achieve exam success.

REGIONAL ACCOUNTANTS ACHIEVE EXAM SUCCESS Four individuals from regional accountancy firm Crowther Beard LLP have had their exam efforts rewarded, resulting in individual Chartered status and AAT membership.

Louisa Bradford has qualified as a Chartered Accountant while Charlotte Moore and Laura Owen achieve membership of the Association of Accounting

Technicians (AAT). In addition Ross Matthews has added Chartered Accountant status to his existing qualification of FCCA. Crowther Beard Managing Member, John Painter, said he was delighted for the fantastic four. “I am really pleased that we are continuing to strengthen our accountancy team following the recent exam successes.” www.crowtherbeard.com

ARTRIX IN TOP TWENTY

Astute Graphics, based in Hereford, has enjoyed excellent sales growth of over 200% in 2011 and is set to build on this throughout 2012.

Supplying a wide range of organisations with specialist graphic design software workflow solutions developed in-house, recent new customers have included Adidas, Apple and H&M. This follows its most successful new product launch in May, resulting in coveted 5/5 magazine review ratings and very enthusiastic responses from designers the world-over.

Benefitting from over 90% exports, the growth has allowed Astute Graphics to hire additional talent and extend its reach via new marketing initiatives including free training sessions hosted by a world-renowned designer.

In the annual survey of visits to Visitor Attractions in 2010 carried out by Visit England, Artrix was in the top twenty of Paid For Attractions in the West Midlands category, with 61,000 visitors paying to come and see a show or take part in a workshop.

With developments of all-new products in progress and new product launches expected before year end, planning is underway to further extend the reach of Astute Graphics’ solutions via innovative new technologies. It is predicted that these developments will continue to benefit the local economy.

Commenting on the Survey, Nick Taylor, Artrix Publicity Officer, said: “We are pleased to see that we are in the top twenty for the first time. The number of people visiting Artrix is increasing all the time and it shows that our policy of providing a wide range of entertainment and workshops in the performing arts and our involvement in the local community is bearing fruit.” www.artrix.co.uk

DESIGNS ON SUCCESS AT ASTUTE GRAPHICS

www.astutegraphics.co.uk Artrix based in Bromsgrove

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

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Movers and Shakers

NEXT ISSUE.... NETWORKING AND COLLABORATION

JOHN LONGWORTH, DIRECTOR GENERAL, BRITISH CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has announced the appointment of John Longworth as its new Director General. Mr Longworth will replace David Frost CBE, who has run the leading business organisation since January 2003, in September.

Mr Longworth has held a number of high-profile roles in business and public life, including stints as a senior executive at Asda and Tesco. He is currently a Non-executive Director of the Co-operative Group Food Ltd and

Last Word

Nichols plc, and is a member of the Competition Commission, and is active in Midlands-based SVA Ltd.

The next edition of BD will focus on networking and collaboration, so the last word for this edition goes to Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce’s Chief Executive Mike Ashton.

What are the major benefits of business networking and collaboration?

Simon Green, borwell Ltd Simon Green has joined the business systems team having recently completed his degree at the University of Worcester. As part of the business systems team Simon will help develop borwell’s new line of business products.

Simon said about his appointment: www.borwell.com

People buy from people. Networking is the best way to build contacts and relationships and therefore business opportunities. It is also important as people you make contact with can go on to be advocates for your company. Everyone likes to be able to help others and be seen to have knowledge and solutions.

What is the most important thing that someone networking should remember?

A clear, accurate message of what you do and contact details. Often at networking meetings people present for two or three minutes and at the end of it people ask ‘what do they do?’ So ensure what you say is clear and easy to understand by everybody in the room.

If someone new to networking feels out of their comfort zone what techniques can you suggest?

VICTORIA CRONIN, GMS GROUP OF COMPANIES

A lot of people find it difficult to walk up to somebody who they don’t know and to start a conversation. The advantage of a networking event is that everybody is there for the same reason and feels the same, so just be brave and it will get easier. Simply asking what someone’s business is can often break the ice or asking the host to introduce you to someone they feel is relevant is also a good way of getting started.

GMS Group a leading national Security and Property services specialist has recently appointed Victoria Cronin as Sales Manager. Victoria’s role will be pivotal to supporting and strategically developing the businesses within the group.

Why is it important for local companies to get connected in a business network?

www.gms-group.co.uk

IAN MCDERMOTT, SANCTUARY GROUP Sanctuary Group strengthened its Governing Board following the election of three new members at its recent Annual General Meeting.

Sanctuary’s Group Chief Executive David Bennett has also announced the appointment of a new Chief Operating Officer for the organisation.

The newly-created post of Chief Operating Officer is to be taken by Ian McDermott who will be reporting to David Bennett.

As I mentioned before, people buy from people. You want companies to see you as a potential solution for their colleagues and business connections. Being connected in a business network can only be beneficial to your business.

To get the maximum benefit from networking, how often should someone network?

Even in Herefordshire and Worcestershire there are a lots of opportunities to network. If you wanted to, you could network all day and everyday but there needs to be a balance, networking should be part of a marketing programme and plan and should be treated as such.

Send your networking and collaboration stories to businessdirection@hwchamber.co.uk

www.sanctuary-group.co.uk

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November/December 2011