Thursday, August 15, 2013
news
MPE Interiors completes fit-out of two Stena Line vessels BIRKENHEAD-BASED marine outfitter and manufacturer MPE Interiors has completed two contracts for Stena Line to redevelop the crew and officers' mess areas on two ferries. MPE director Cliff Grainger said the contracts involved replacing the mess rooms on the 980-passenger ferries the Stena Mersey and the Stena Lagan at Twelve Quays in Birkenhead. Both ships operate the Birkenhead-Belfast route. “These are terrific contracts to win and they showcase what we can do for commercial vessels,” he said. “We can offer the complete outfitting solution from detailed concept design to manufacture of furniture and structures to installation and maintenance. “On the Stena Mersey we were brought in to do a total refurbishment of the mess hall, which was split between an officers’ mess and a crew mess. “We worked very closely on this job with the captain who gave us a clear concept to work around. “We have reimaged and reworked the whole layout of the area to better suit the crews’ needs.”
Windfarm reaches a major milestone THE giant Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm in Liverpool Bay has reached a milestone with the completion of 100 turbine foundations. In addition, the last two steel monopiles (connecting the base to the turbine) left Gwynt y Môr’s base harbour port facility at Cammell Laird in Birkenhead last Friday. Two vessels, the Friedrich Ernestine and the Stanislav Yudin, are carrying out foundation installation works out in the bay where a total of 160 turbine are being built.
MPE director Cliff Grainger says the job demonstrated the range of skills offered by MPE
Comparison site welcomes first apprenticeship intake by Neil Hodgson
POST BUSINESS STAFF
neil.hodgson@liverpool.com
A HUNTS CROSS-based price comparison site has welcomed the first intake of 40 new apprentice roles. Yoursuresave.com specialises in finding the best financial products and energy deals for customers. It was founded in 2012 by Alex Doonan and employs 48 staff. But it pledged to create more employment opportunities, in partnership with training partner Sysco Business Skills Academy. The scheme, in line with the National Apprenticeship Service, will provide 40 apprenticeships before Christmas at the firm’s Meridian Business Village offices. Mr Doonan said: “We are delighted to have added another 14 members of
staff to the yoursuresave.com family and we look forward to welcoming many more apprentices onto our scheme as we put local people on a solid career path. “As well as providing guaranteed wages whilst on the apprenticeship, we teach important work-based skills to the staff and we work in tandem with Sysco to provide on-the-job training with national recognised qualifications within an apprenticeship framework.” He added: “This is a long-term investment for the organisation and on successful completion of their oneyear apprenticeship we guarantee full-time and permanent roles across departments within the organisation, offering different long-term career paths. “Some of my best staff have joined the team as trainees and they are currently working alongside staff
who have many more years’ experience.” The firm also works with Brighter Futures, which helps disadvantaged youngsters prepare for the workplace. Lynn Aldridge and Michael “Tosh” Fielding who run Brighter Futures, said this was: “An amazing achievement by all learners from the Brighter Futures Programme who were successful in gaining an apprenticeship with yoursuresave.com This is a great opportunity to start a career.” The comparison site is also a keen supporter of community initiatives and is the headline sponsor of this year’s Liverpool Comedy Festival. Mr Doonan said: “We are delighted to offer further support to another Liverpool-based charitable cause.” The deal involves free entry for 1,100 people at the “Best of the Fest” Royal Court curtain raiser.
Alex Doonan
UK housing market revival is gathering pace, says RICS SURVEYORS are seeing house prices rise at their fastest pace since their 2006 peak as the market revival spreads across the country. The number of would-be buyers looking to enter the
post business 7
market in July also saw the strongest growth in four years, in further signs that a recovery is “round the corner”, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said.
The West Midlands and the North East, areas which RICS said have “suffered more than most” since the market crash, experienced the biggest increases in buyer activity in July, accord-
ing to the latest RICS UK housing market report. Growth in buyer numbers was seen across the UK as the upswing in activity, which has been particularly concentrated in London and
the South East, spread outwards and a balance of 53% more surveyors reported increases rather than falls in demand. Prices rose across the country for the fourth month in a row.
Gwynt y Môr RWE Npower renewables’ Gwynt y Môr project director, Toby Edmonds, said: “The installation of 100 complete foundations is a significant milestone for the wind farm project which, once fully operational, will supply clean green energy to up to 400,000 homes. “All of the 160 wind turbines require a bespoke foundation so each has been individually fabricated to fit the seabed conditions and water depth at every location. “While foundation installation activity will continue into next year, offshore piling is likely to become much less frequent with the majority of the foundation works associated with the fitting of transition pieces, which do not require piling.”
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