Stirling Business Guide.

Making

Electricity Work For You

MRES Electrical Services is a family-run firm based in Stirling with engineers working across the UK and Ireland. The electrical contracting company consistently delivers high standards - just one of the reasons why it was selected to feature in the influential Parliamentary Review which showcases the UK’s top businesses.

MRES Electrical Services is run by husband-and-wife team Moray and Cherene Robertson from premises in Central Stirling.

Moray and his team of engineers travel across the UK and Ireland, in their fleet of eye-catching vans, delivering electrical services to a diverse range of clients.

The firm was founded in 2012 with a mission to offer clients the highest-quality electrical services with a focus on a personalised and customer-friendly ethos.

Their work covers all aspects of domestic, commercial and industrial electrical installation, including renewable power generation, hydro schemes and wind turbines, as well as electrical inspection and testing across all disciplines.

The team has worked on a variety of projects from designing and installing a new lighting system in a Lanarkshire Church to helping reinstate damaged

properties after flooding at Ballater in the Highlands.

They also carry out smaller jobs for many private clients and have worked with the UK’s leading installers of Northern Power Systems wind turbines as well as installers of premium Holtz Energy UK CHP wood gasification power plants.

Moray, who has more than 30 years of experience in the electrical industry, prides himself on offering a service which sets MRES apart from its competitors.

The firm’s core values of honesty, transparency and quality combine with the problem-solving abilities gained during his long career in electrical engineering to ensure customers receive a first-class service which represents value for money.

Moray’s passion and work ethic trickles down to the rest of his team who are dedicated to the firm and in many cases have grown with it.

They benefit from mandatory training, team building and the promotion of continuous professional development which allows them to be the best they can be.

Reputation is paramount to the firm and evident in the testimonials received from the small and medium sized companies MRES works with as well as from individual clients.

The company is currently working towards gaining the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Standard which provides the foundations for better customer satisfaction, staff motivation and continual improvement.

In addition, MRES is progressing towards implementation of the ISO 45001:2018 standard for Occupational health and safety management systems.

The firm also has parliamentary approval after being selected for the Parliamentary Review – an independent guide which highlights stand-out companies from across the UK.

MRES was one of just 11 outstanding companies chosen to feature in the Energy edition of the 2017 Review as examples of excellence.

The publication was sent to more than 500,000 leading policymakers and business executives in a bid to raise industry standards by sharing best practice.

Moray and Cherene, who works as Finance Director, were delighted to be picked for the Review and singled out as an example of best practice. The couple were invited to a Gala Dinner at the historic Palace of Westminster to mark the release of the prestigious publication and celebrate just how far they have come in the past few years.

To find out more about MRES and the values and qualities the firm embodies, an e-copy of the Parliamentary Review can be viewed here www.theparliamentaryreview.co.uk /editions/energy/energy

The journal includes several pages focusing on MRES’ domestic, commercial and industrial electrical installation work for a wide portfolio of customers.

It also details the firm’s specialist work in the renewables energy sector and its investment in new offices and a training academy to grow the business. Call: 01786 448562 Email: info@mresstirling.co.uk

One of the firm's eye-catching vansMoray Robertson, Managing Director of MRES Electrical ServicesThe MRES team designed and installed new lighting at this Church

“

Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort.

MAKING LEARNING WORK . . . for Stirling

ADDRESSING LOCAL, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL SKILLS AGENDAS

CURRICULUM LINKS WITH SECTORS

CRITICAL TO THE SUCCESS OF THE LOCAL AREA INCLUDING CULTURE, TOURISM, HOSPITALITY AND THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

94% OF STUDENTS PROGRESS TO EMPLOYMENT, TRAINING OR FURTHER STUDY

£29M STATE-OF-THE-ART CAMPUS

POPULAR EVENT AND EXHIBITION

VENUE - INCLUDING THE GALLERY RESTAURANT

EXCELLENT LINKS WITH EMPLOYERS

INNOVATIVE TRAINING SOLUTIONS

PARTNER IN THE NEW STIRLING CARE VILLAGE

WINNER OF A RANGE OF UK-WIDE AWARDS FOR LEARNING AND TEACHING

GROUND-BREAKING PARTNERSHIP WITH HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT SCOTLAND

KEY ROLE IN THE STIRLING LOCAL EMPLOYABILITY PARTNERSHIP

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING

For more info visit: www.forthvalley.ac.uk

WHO’S BOSS IN YOUR BUSINESS?

THE ECONOMY –THE MARKET –YOUR MANAGEMENT?

PROSPERITY & SURVIVAL

Control over performance can seem limited in the light of results, with the ‘Economy' and the ‘Market’ o en ge ng the most sound bytes.

In the pursuit of prosperity, and for some, survival, it’s hard to exaggerate the impact of Direc on and Management on bo om line. However they do need to be boss: denying the ‘Economy’ and the ‘Market’ undue control; rescuing the controllable from the inevitable; and realising poten al.

PRESENTATIONS •CONSULTING •TRAINING •PROJECTS

Andrew Management support Direc on and Management to reveal and secure performance and development issues in your business. In tune with clients’ needs and means, scalable support includes group or exclusive op ons.

SALES•PROFIT •DEVELOPMENT

Outcomes include sales results in customer spend and conversion; profit results in cost and added value; business reten on results in customers, products, and distributors; human resource results in staff reten on and performance; Direc on & Management results in accountability and control; and growth/survival results in investment and innova on.

SELF AND SUPPORTED HELP

You can u lise springboard models to help iden fy your own needs and support your own development, or get a snapshot review of current performance management as a star ng point. Alterna vely you might opt for performance projects on key objec ves.

THE MANAGEMENT MISSION

In mes where commercial and other demands increase at staggering pace, empower your Management and Team as a force which earns profit; secures a non-profit mission; provides employment, leaves an inheritance, discovers as in innova on; or simply discovers poten al.

ACTION

To discuss who’s boss in your business, call or email for an informal discussion, or an invite to a presenta on, or even take the ‘Who’s Boss? Test’. …‘though you’ve probably guessed by now who we think it should be.

01786 458111

info@andrewmanagement.com

andrewmanagement.com

St Margaret’s

Stirling Business Guide

Email: sales@mybusinessclient.com

Our Advertisers: We gratefully acknowledge the support of all the firms whose advertisements appear in these pages. Without their help we would not be able to produce this guide. As a reciprocal gesture we have pleasure in drawing the attention of our readers to their announcements, but wish to make it clear that Stirling Council can accept no responsibility for their products or services advertised.

Welcome By Councillor Simpson

Welcome to the first edition of the Stirling Business Guide. Developed for businesses in Stirling and those seeking investment opportunities, this will become an indispensable directory of information for your business.

Situated in an enviable location of Central Scotland, Stirling is in the centre of the top performing region for foreign direct investment outside London. Stirling delivers unrivalled global connectivity at a highly competitive cost. With direct access to international markets, it is a place for growth, through a culture of world class innovation

in aquaculture, digital technology, sport, dementia technology and creative industries, inspired by our pioneering companies, progressive University and talented workforce.

The Stirling City Region Deal will truly put Stirling on the map as an economic powerhouse. The driving force behind this is a partnership between citizens, communities, and both public and private sector businesses. This ambitious series of projects demonstrates our confidence in the future of Stirling and will no doubt have a significant impact on the region’s economy.

This guide outlines the key business sectors in Stirling alongside comprehensive information on the support and assistance available.

Inward Investment

Doing business in Stirling

Located directly in the heart of Scotland, Stirling offers all of the strategic benefits of being located in Scotland’s central belt but without the higher land and property prices associated with Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The Engine Shed

Current achievements include the new £11m tourism attraction at Forthside, The Engine Shed, a three time architecture award winning restoration project including “Best Building 2018”. The Engine Shed is Scotland’s Building Conservation Centre owned and managed by Historic Environment Scotland, it provides an innovative and interactive tourism experience to visitors from all around the world.

The National Tartan Centre

Another exciting tourism development through the City Region Deal is the National Tartan Centre planned to open in 2020 which has secured over £10m of investment. This will be a contemporary facility in the centre of Stirling that will offer visitors the opportunity to learn about how tartan is made, what it means culturally and most enticingly it’ll allow visitors to trace back their family routes, Clan name and tartan.

Businesses here enjoy quality business space in a beautiful setting which is highly connected to the rest of Scotland and beyond.

Stirling Council have been working closely with developers across a range of investment opportunities over the past few years including tourism attractions and mixed use sites for office, light industrial and accommodation.

The Engine Shed BeforeThe Engine Shed completed CGI

Other key successes include the renovation of the Army Barracks at Forthside, once completed, the facility will also offer 200 seat conference facility, meeting rooms, exhibition space, shared office space and on-site café.

Kildean Business Park

Stirling is committed to driving forward inward investment to the area and has details of a range of different land and physical assets that a primed for investment.

Kildean business park is one of Stirling’s key strategic development sites and recently secured infrastructure funding from the Scottish Government through our City Region Deal.

This development is strategically placed, adjacent to the highly successful Castle Business Park (22,300m2) and Junction 10 of the M9 motorway and enjoys a spectacular view of Stirling Castle.

Comprising 15.78 hectares, Kildean is a mixed use, retail, hotel and leisure development at the entrance to a proposed 37,160m2 business park.

Outline planning and the master plan have been approved for a proposed mixed use development, including a business park, hotel/leisure, restaurant/pub and ancillary retail.

A recent office demand study evidenced an immediate demand for office space of all sizes. There is also an identified need to extend the provision of hotels of scale to service both leisure and business tourism to the region.

Stirling’s Digital District

A key part of Stirling’s City Region Deal is the formation of a Digital District in Stirling where the digital and tech based communities can gather, provide support to scaleup, participate in education, secure office / coworking spaces, mentoring opportunities and access an excellent range of events. This new digital hub is run and managed by CodeBase who have three tech clusters across Scotland and are home to some of Scotland’s most exciting and innovative digital work. This is another example where Stirling Council is working

closely with businesses across Stirling to identify needs and unlock assets and help secure investment for the sustainable economic growth.

Invest in Stirling team

Sarah Phillips Economic Development Project Officer

Tel: 01786 233156

Email: phillipss@stirling.gov.uk

Army Barracks at Forthside in progress

Global Connectivity

Situated in Scotland's heart...

Stirling has excellent transport links providing a strategic location from which to access Scotland’s world class assets and to access regional, national and international markets. The city’s global accessibility is enhanced by its proximity to both Glasgow and Edinburgh international airports, which are both accessible in 30 minutes by road, and to Grangemouth’s deep sea container port.

Stirling’s key position on Scotland’s trunk road network also provides access to more than half of the Scottish population within an hour’s drive, and over 80% within 2 hours. In addition to this superb road access, Stirling is a key interchange on Scotland’s rail network and allows quick and efficient rail travel across Scotland and beyond, including a new direct rail link to London.

Road

Rail

With an annual footfall of just under 3 million passengers, Stirling is one of Scotland’s busiest stations. As a key interchange on the national rail network, Stirling provides fast and direct connections across Scotland and beyond.

Three trains per hour connect Stirling to Edinburgh and two per hour connect the city with Glasgow. As a minimum, an hourly service operates between Stirling and the rest of Scotland’s cities with the exception of Inverness for which there are four trains per day.

Virgin East Coast now operates a direct link to London King’s Cross making the UK capital accessible from Stirling in just over 5 hours.

Air

Edinburgh Airport

Accessible from Stirling in just half an hour, Edinburgh is Scotland’s busiest airport with over 10 million passengers per year passing through, an average of 28,000 per day.

29 airlines serve over 120 destinations generating just under 300 flights per day, including over 50 per day to and from London.

Glasgow Airport

Within a 40 minute drive from Stirling you can access Glasgow International Airport. Carrying over 7.7 million passengers per year and serving around 110 destinations worldwide, including Canada, the US, the Caribbean, Europe, North Africa and the Gulf, Glasgow is Scotland’s principal long-haul airport as well as Scotland’s largest charter hub.

This connectivity combines with the lowest average costs for commercial land and property of any of the cities in Scotland’s central belt to offer a highly costeffective and competitive location for businesses across all sectors.

Sea

Grangemouth

Just a 15 minute drive from Stirling, and at the heart of Scotland’s industrial heartland, is Scotland's largest container port at Grangemouth. Approximately 9 million tonnes of cargo are handled through the dock facilities each year. Of this, 2.5 million tonnes is dry cargo, which represents incoming raw materials for Scottish Industry and outgoing finished product.

As Scotland’s main container terminal, the port handles approximately 150,000 containers per year. As much as 30% of Scotland’s gross domestic product (GDP) goes through the port. It is the UK’s largest feeder port and the only one that exports more than it imports.

Stirling is situated at the intersection of the M80 from Glasgow and the M9 from Edinburgh, making both cities accessible within a 40 minute drive. This position on the trunk road network at the very centre of Scotland allows quick and efficient access to the rest of Scotland and beyond, making markets, customers and talent easily accessible.

Stirling’s City Region Deal

City Regions to those of the Tay Cities, Aberdeen and Inverness.

Its regional economy is home to 140,000 people and it has key strengths in the tourism, digital and innovation sectors, complementing the adjacent area and the neighbouring City Regions. The Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region has played a key role in Scotland’s rich history and through this Deal we are enabling it to make a positive contribution to Scotland’s future prosperity.

City Region Deals establish new collaborative regional partnerships, focused on long-term strategic approaches to improving regional economies. The two Local Authorities which constitute this city region have joined together with the local university, regional college and the business community. They have worked together to develop a coherent package of proposals that they consider will deliver a transformative step change to the region’s economy, including a significant improvement to its inclusivity by valuing the productive capacity of all of its places and people.

The partners have developed their vision for the region by deploying an Inclusive Growth Diagnostic to identify the interventions that are required to make their City Region robust and resilient - a low carbon and digitally driven contributor to the Scottish and wider UK economies. Their vision is of a highly desirable place to live, work and visit: an attractive place in which to invest financial, human and social capital.

This Deal will provide the platform for the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region to thrive in new and emerging sectors with a highly-skilled, flexible

workforce prepared for the changing demands of emerging industries, supported by outstanding infrastructure, making it an attractive and very well connected place in which to trade and do business.

The region’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem is one in which home grown talent is taking root, developing the area’s key sectors to deliver inclusive growth and tackling the economic and social inequalities that exist between the most and least advantaged communities.

This description sets out the scope of a City Region Deal that has the power to transform the economy, bringing sustained economic growth and positive social impact to all of its communities. This Deal represents fresh investment in the regional economy and will be jointly funded by the Scottish Government and the UK Government with each Government offering £45.1 million,

subject to final approval of robust business cases, resulting in a total contribution from Government of up to £90.2 million. The UK Government funding will take the form of capital support and will be flat-profiled over the duration of the Deal (15 years).

Regional partners will match this investment with up to £123.8 million. This will result in a Deal worth in excess of £214 million over a period of 10 to 15 years. This investment will help regional partners build on their existing strengths and ensure the region is able to deliver on its vision.

The Deal will deliver significant numbers of new jobs in key growth sectors and upskill people across the city region to take advantage of new opportunities.

The Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region lies at the heart of Scotland, with its geographical location linking the Edinburgh and Glasgow

City Region partners believe that over the next 10 to 15 years, these interventions will unlock private investment worth in excess of £640 million, delivering over 5,000 new jobs across a wide range of sectors in the City Region.

THE COMMITMENTS Innovation

The region has particular expertise in Aquaculture and Environmental management and the Deal will deliver new investment and facilities to build up new industries and support sustainable growth in these areas.

Key commitments include:

The new Scotland’s International Environment Centre will provide an integrated approach to cuttingedge research, innovation, skills development, inclusion and sustainable growth that tackles global environmental challenges. It will be supported with investment from both Governments with Scottish Government investing up to £17 million and UK Government investing up to £5 million and will comprise three core elements:

• A Research and Policy Centre in Stirling;

• Skills and Training Facilities in Alloa; and

• An Environmental Business Incubator in Alloa.

The core partners in the project are Stirling University, Forth Valley College, and Clackmannanshire Council who will together contribute up to £8.8 million to the delivery of this key project.

In addition, Clackmannanshire Council will work with the regional partners and the RSPB to explore opportunities and possible synergies for a new wetlands centre on the River Forth.

A new Aquaculture Hub for Innovation that will be unique in Scotland and the UK, will operate four aquatic research facilities which between them will provide the full range of marine environmental conditions. The hub will create research and development opportunities that will secure jobs and an economic contribution in the process. The UK Government will invest up to £17 million to build the facility. Regional partners will match this with £15 million.

The new facility will work closely with the existing Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre, part of the national network of Innovation Centres supported by the Scottish Government.

Stirling: Alive with Scotland

Stirling offers a tourism mix that is hard to rival anywhere else in the world. World class historic attractions such as Stirling Castle, The National Wallace Monument and the new £9m Battle of Bannockburn Centre not only attract visitors from all over the world but help create one of the most stunning cityscapes in Europe.

A vibrant city centre provides a superb shopping experience whilst the area's local produce is sold in a diverse range restaurants, cafés, pubs and pop-up markets.

The surrounding area boasts a beautiful natural environment including Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park - a huge adventure playground for all outdoor pursuits.

With such a mix, the opportunities for tourism businesses are obvious whether that is accommodation, food and drink or sport and leisure.

Visitor Attractions

Stirling has been at the heart of Scotland’s most important events throughout its history. Here, you will find the sites of Scotland’s two most famous battles, Stirling Bridge and Bannockburn. In 2014, the latter had a state of the art £9m visitor centre opened to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the battle.

Stirling Castle and the National Wallace Monument face each other across the city to deliver one of Europe’s most striking and dramatic landscapes. Both attractions are in Scotland’s top 15 paid for attractions and attract over 500,000 visitors to the area between them each year. In 2011 Stirling Castle enjoyed a £12m restoration of the Royal Palace, helping to facilitate a world class programme of living history and animation within one of Scotland’s most iconic attractions.

Monument celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2019, and significant investment will improve the visitor experience and safeguard its status as an iconic visitor attraction for years to come.

Top attractions such as Cambuskenneth Abbey, Stirling’s Old Town Jail, Blair Drummond Safari Park (Scotland’s only African safari park), The Falkirk Wheel and The Helix are further important and all pull significant visitor numbers to Stirling from all over the world.

Combine these attractions with the stunning backdrop of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park and it is easy to see just how world class Stirling’s offering is.

Stirling's Tourism in Numbers

4 million visitors to Stirling in 2014

£463m the total economic impact of tourism in Stirling during 2014

9,201 the number of jobs directly supported by Stirling’s tourism industry

44% the proportion of visitors to Stirling that are from overseas, which is more than double the figure for Scotland as a whole

£68.88m the impact of tourism on Stirling’s Food and Drink industry

54% the percentage of visitors who stay for at least one night

£83m visitor spend in Stirling’s local authority area in 2014 (5th highest spend out of the 32 local authority areas in Scotland)

£56 average daily expenditure for overnight overseas visitors

£55 average daily expenditure for overnight domestic visitors

76% the average occupancy rate of Stirling’s hotels

The National Wallace

Stirling: A World-Class Event Location

Investment in Stirling’s event portfolio has attracted high-profile one-off and recurring events to the area. In particular Stirling’s City Park, provides ample space for outdoor music, sporting and cultural events below the stunning backdrop of Stirling Castle.

Runrig Farewell Concert at Stirling’s City Park

The recent addition of Stirling’s City Park events space provides a stunning venue for large outdoor events.

In August 2018, the park hosted Runrig’s Farewell performance below the backdrop of Stirling Castle, in an event which brought £7.25 million to the local economy and provides a successful blueprint for future events.

In Runrig’s largest ever audience, Stirling was a truly global stage as the event welcomed 10% of its 45,000 visitors from overseas. Hotels across the city and rural areas were sold out for the full weekend and local traders enjoyed a welcome boost.

The concerts have really spiked the interest of promoters across the country and we’ve already had a number of expressions of interest in holding similar events at City Park in the coming year.

Special Olympics

More than 1,400 athletes, together with their relatives, coaches and officials, converged on the University of Stirling campus in August 2018 for the Special Olympics GB Anniversary Games.

Hosted by Special Olympics Scotland and Stirling Venues, the Games celebrated 40 years of competition and training for athletes with intellectual (learning) disabilities in England, Scotland and Wales.

Olympic medallist swimmer Robbie Renwick, who attended the launch

of the event, said: “Participating in sport gave me the best experiences in my life.

“Putting in hard work and seeing the results is a great feeling. Sport brings people together and that’s exactly what Special Olympics does every day for people with a learning disability.

“An added bonus is that, because Stirling Venues reinvests all of its profits back into the University, the event also benefited our current and future students.”

The event also marked the 50th anniversary of the global Special Olympics movement which was set up in 1968 by President JFK’s sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver.

Stirling Marathon

Stirling Scottish Marathon returned for its second year in April 2018 with an improved route and additional half marathon event as well as Saturday's Thistles Stirling Great Family Run with 'have a go' activities run by Active Stirling and the 'Family Mile' activity. This twoday event supports a key Stirling Council priority to promote active participation in sports and physical activities for the local community to promote healthy living.

The stunning course is unrivalled anywhere in Scotland, taking in key attractions such as Stirling Castle, The National Wallace Monument, Blair Drummond Safari Park, Doune Castle, and the surrounding backdrop providing magnificent views of the Ochil Hills.

A total of 6,000 participants signed up for the two events, including Outlander star Sam Heughan who attracted crowds of supporters and raised event awareness paving the way for 2019’s running event to grow bigger and better.

Simplyhealth Great Stirling XCountry

The Simplyhealth Great Stirling XCountry annual event pits the best of Great Britain against Europe and the USA. Making the move from its former location in Edinburgh, the high profile, televised XCountry event is watched by a global audience and further cements Stirling’s reputation as a world-class leader in sporting events and activities.

Alongside the international athletics competition a new challenging course taking in some of the city’s most iconic locations has been created: the Simplyhealth Great Stirling Castle Run. By encouraging citizens to get active, the event will have a positive impact on health and well-being.

Both events will provide a boost to the local economy, as thousands of participants and spectators visit the city, while live TV coverage will showcase Stirling as a world-class destination for tourists and highcalibre events.

Cultural Venues

The Tolbooth is an architecturally renovated listed building currently used as a vibrant arts venue for music, theatre and creative classes in the heart of Stirling’s Old Town. It’s sister venue, The Albert Hall’s is centrally located in Stirling and has been at the heart of civic life in the City for over 150 years; presently used as concert and conference venue.

Centrally located in Stirling’s city centre the Albert Halls is a large capacity venue, playing host to a varied programme of events throughout the year; entertainment, comedy, theatre, music and much more. A great number of community events and exhibition also take place here.

There is a house café / restaurant ‘Henderson’s’ who also cater for many of the functions, corporate events and meetings that take place at the Albert Halls regularly.

At the heart of Stirling’s old town, a stone’s throw from Stirling Castle, this impressively refurbished and extended grade A-listed building has been a feature of the city’s cultural life for centuries, functioning as the town’s court, jail and business centre.

Nowadays, the Tolbooth enjoys life by day as a business meeting and conference centre, and by night as Stirling’s main venue for music and the arts. Original features, such as the dome ceiling, in the main auditorium give the space a unique feel, whilst all the time retaining its rich historical past. This main space can accommodate up to 165 standing and 200 standing.

Built over 8 floors the light and airy building has a range of meeting rooms and spaces which allow for great versatility of use.

Venue Hire: The Tolbooth has 6 rooms/spaces that can be used for conferences, workshops and concerts. The rooms vary in sizes so we will discuss your event and with you work out the best set up to ensure that your event runs smoothly. We have a technical team that can advise you on what we can provide with regards to equipment.

The main Auditorium can accommodate up to 600 people and there are various smaller meeting spaces and a smaller room known as The Lesser Hall.

Venue Hire: The Albert Halls can be hired for various types of events including weddings, conferences, concerts and small meetings. We have 3 rooms varying in sizes from the Main hall that can seat up to 748 theatre style or 200 cabaret, the Lesser Hall that can accommodate 100 theatre and 60 cabaret and the Meeting Room which is suitable for small meetings with space for up to 8 people.

For more info about hiring either of the venues please contact Nicky Ferrie ferrien@stirling.gov.uk

CityFibre

Stirling’s digital future is happening now

Stirling is set to become a leader in digital transformation following news that it has been selected as one of the first communities in the UK to benefit from a digital infrastructure upgrade under the new Vodafone and CityFibre Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) programme.

Having enjoyed Gigabit City status since 2017, Stirling already boasts a 24km full fibre network which brings next-generation gigabit speed internet connectivity within reach of local businesses and public sector sites. This latest development will see a further £10 million private investment from CityFibre to extend the existing network citywide, reaching almost every home and business across Stirling and Bridge of Allan.

What does this mean?

Stirling has ambitious investment and growth plans that seek to support businesses and place the city as a leading digital location. In order to meet its forward-thinking objectives, access to a modern, fit for purpose digital infrastructure is vital. CityFibre is committed to helping Stirling and neighbouring Bridge of Allan meet this potential through the provision of a futureproofed network on a par with the world’s best connected cities. This will provide the local community with access to extremely fast and reliable broadband, capable of speeds up to 1000Mbps.

The economic benefits of enhanced digital connectivity are stark. According to a report by economic consultancy, Regeneris, access to full fibre could unlock £14m in business productivity and innovation, providing local companies with the ability to adopt time and cost saving efficiencies as well as promote new, richer products and services online. New business start-ups in Stirling could provide a further £8m in economic growth, with access to full fibre making it easier and less expensive to set up base.

Gigabit-speed broadband also revolutionises the way residents enjoy the online world at home. Lengthy downloads and buffering will become a thing of the past enabling effortless home working, greater adoption of ‘Smart Home’ tech and improved entertainment options such as multi-device streaming.

Building the Gigabit City

Construction work officially commenced in Cambusbarron November 2018, with Bannockburn and Braehead following early in 2019. The first homes will see their full fibre services ‘go live’ in spring 2019.

Works are being delivered on CityFibre’s behalf by PMK Civil Engineering Ltd, with citywide construction expected to be completed by 2020. The company will use modern build techniques to deploy the network quickly, while working closely with Stirling Council and local communities to ensure a fast and successful roll-out with minimum disruption to residents.

Stirling Council Leader, Councillor Scott Farmer, said: “The start of these works by CityFibre signals the power being switched on for a new age for Stirling. This project will see homes and businesses in Stirling hooked up to some of the fastest internet available in the UK, connecting our communities, businesses and residents like never before as we continue to make Stirling a place where everyone can thrive.”

Keep up to date and register your interest in full fibre broadband services at: cityfibre.com/stirling and follow @GigabitStirling on Twitter.

Broadband

Stirling Council is committed to improving broadband coverage across the area in partnership with local community groups.

In 2018, 18 community groups applied to be part of this project and by the end of the year 6 grants were awarded with 3 projects going live before Christmas. A number of these projects are delivering some of the fastest broadband speeds that can be found anywhere in Europe. To date, this has enabled over 30 businesses and 200 residential premises to access superfast broadband and the benefits it brings.

In addition, Strathard Development Trust have been working with Stirling Council to bring free town Wi-Fi to Aberfoyle town centre, this is due to become available from February 2019.

2019 Commitment:

•The number of communities that have access to superfast broadband will double

•Free public Wi-Fi will be available in Stirling City Centre as well as the rural town of Aberfoyle

•Work in partnership with Google to bring a series of Google Digital Garage events and workshops to the area to help businesses and individuals maximise their potential through digital platforms

Balquhidder Community Broadband – Case Study

Balquhidder Community Broadband (BCB) was set up to bring an ultrafast, future-proof broadband network to all 197 premises in the rural area of Balquhidder. With a total cost of £430,000, a series of grants were awarded by Stirling Council and other partners such as LEADER to raise funds and ensure project delivery for the community. This innovative project has now been short listed for three prestige awards:

•Scottish Rural Action Rural Innovators Awards (Transport and Infrastructure)

• INCA award (Best UK Community Project)

•European Broadband Awards 2018 (Rural and Remote Areas)

Stirling Council are actively supporting a number of projects in the initial stages of development to enhance connectivity across rural Stirling. These include Blairlogie, Brig O Turk, Buchanan, Carron Valley, East Loch Lomond, Fintry, Gartness, Kilearn, Kinbuck, Kinlochard, Strafillan and Stronachlacher.

Strathard Business Hub

A new rural economy

Each year, the towns and villages of Stirling increasingly attract new enterprising individuals and their families, keen to live a life featuring abundant natural beauty, healthy work/life balance and a sense of community. As a result, many innovative businesses that set up in the area bring jobs, investment, help transform the local economy and enliven the local population.

With its focus on its global connectivity, Stirling Council's plans to develop the city and surrounding region is underpinned by their ambition to support local business' high-growth potential. The provision and support of new digital technology contributes to job creation and sustainable innovation across a range of key sectors, essential for the wealth and improvement of the region.

Flexible workspaces

Following the successful set up of Stirling's city hub Codebase last year, new localised digital business centres and co-working spaces have begun to emerge. Plans for future Hubs are in the pipeline for Balfron, Callander and Drymen, all due open in 2019.

Aberfoyle is the first to have launched their new digital business space, Strathard Hub. Based on the village’s Main Street above the Visit Scotland Tourist Information Centre, it is modern 4-room space with facilities that ease working life including audio visual equipment, great wifi, bookable meeting rooms, printing, landlines and kitchen space. The Hub's office environment facilitates flexible working and a professional base in a co-working space. Available on a membership basis, the Hub offers packages for 50 and 100 hours per month but also a pay-as-you-go for 10 hours to dropin. Since launching in spring 2018, 17 business have utilised the spaces and 7 have adopted it as their office environment to spend as much or little time as they need. The current occupants include web experts and start-ups, digital strategists, coding and programming experts, freelancers, agents and consultants.

Growing business

A key benefit of sharing a workspace is the opportunity arising from networking with other businesses

in the area. The members’ business reach is international - the current array of members work with clients from local companies to those in London, India, US and Europe. Projects have already been created through shared contacts and signposting, helping the Hub members businesses flourish.

Simon Ward, the Owner/Director of LDMA.co.uk and a new Hub member, moved to the area late August and joined in September. “Moving to Aberfoyle with a full-service digital agency, the Hub was exactly what I needed. It’s provided me with a work base away from home but it also means I have a sense of the people and companies in the area and how we can work together. There’s loads of potential for collaboration.”

With public access wifi now on stream in Aberfoyle, there is a momentum of development within Strathard's local digital economy, reflecting energetic rural communities where self-starting innovators want to make good things happen. Visit strathardhub.com for more information.

Stirling Business Improvement District

The Stirling Business Improvement District (BID), Go Forth Stirling was established in September 2017 following a vote in July 2017 among the city’s traders.

The organisation encourages businesses to work together and invest collectively in local improvements. Businesses benefit from a unified voice and each trader pays a levy contributing to a fund that pays for projects and services to directly improve the area’s trading environment.

Marketing and Events

Go Forth runs and supports events throughout Stirling city centre with the aim to drive footfall and sales to businesses. These events vary from food and drink and art to fashion, family fun and trails across the city centre. The BID also supports third parties who organise or are thinking about organising events in Stirling. These events must fit into Go Forth Stirling’s business objectives in order to be considered and support can be in the form of marketing communications or some direct funding to facilitate the event.

One example is enhancements made to Stirling’s Winter Festival in 2018 with decorations and lighting provided by Go Forth in areas of the city that normally have little or none.

City Centre Environment

Go Forth along with key partners such as Police Scotland and Stirling Council work together on initiatives including Operation Steadfast to deal with anti-social behaviour in Stirling city centre and look at the root causes to improve the street environment.

Together with this, better street signage, improved condition of vacant units, and better waste/recycling management are further key priorities for the Business Improvement District.

Business Support

The BID has entered into an agreement with Eyebright who work with many BIDs throughout Scotland and provide huge buying power for Stirling Businesses. They can obtain significant reductions on everything from utilities to chip and pin and even printing.

In addition to this, free and reduced rate training is offered to all levy payers across subject areas such as bespoke Stirling Welcomes Customer Service, food hygiene, management, digital, marketing and even cyber-crime.

Another BID objective is to encourage businesses to relocate to the area and to grow the nighttime economy. Go Forth Stirling plays a role in encouraging pop-ups into incubator space in the city and connecting them with local businesses to ensure a vibrant city centre community.

Crowdfund Stirling

The challenging economic climate, changing demographics and restraints on public sector finances are forcing businesses, social enterprises, charities and individuals to look at new and innovative ways of securing funding.

One way of achieving this is through Crowdfunding.

Crowdfunding is a practice of funding a project or venture by raising monetary contributions from a large number of people, typically via a digital approach. Digital media provides an online platform with huge reach and possibility and the alternative finance market is growing at increasing pace. In 2015 the size of the UK alternative finance grew to £3.2 billion, an 84% increase y/y.

Crowdfund Stirling is an exciting new initiative which uses the crowdfunding method to support businesses and communities across the Stirling area.Initiatives on Crowdfund Stirling that meet the criteria can seek match funding of up to 50% of their target.

Stirling is one of the first local authorities in Scotland to team up with Crowdfunder – the UK’s leading crowdfunding platform – to offer this opportunity.

Strathfillan Community Development Trust - Project

One of the first groups to benefit from the scheme are Strathfillan Community Development Trust. Having raised £1000 from their crowd, they received a match

funding amount from Crowdfund Stirling to fund the design of their Bike Shills Park in Tyndrum Community Woodlands, which had cost a total of £10,000.

Kelly Clapperton Bates, Development Officer, Strathfillan Community Development Trust said, “We are extremely pleased to achieve this funding from Crowdfund Stirling. We are very excited to get our Bike Skills Park project off the ground,

which will massively benefit the whole community from young people to local businesses –thank you!”

Crowdfund Stirling is a bespoke platform which gives projects a digital presence to promote their project, with access to a large network of potential supporters. Additionally matched funds have been allocated by Stirling Council to help launch projects.

Full details available at: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/funds/crowdfund-stirling

Place Partnership

Amplifying and supporting Stirling’s creative community

Future Plans

The new creative hub will include event and workspaces, designed by John McHarg. With future investment, the hub will grow specialist equipment provisions, establishing a focal point for creative activity on Stirling’s high street. 44 King Street will become accessible to all across the wider creative sector, from students and school children, to enterprise start-ups and specialist artisan makers.

Stirling Council and the Stirling Cultural Partnership launched the Place Partnership programme in summer 2018. Supported through funding from Creative Scotland and Stirling Council, the Place Partnership is a programme of activity over three-years that nurtures grassroots creative activity to support Stirling’s creative future. Through amplifying and connecting the creative activity happening here in Stirling and developing new activity to support its sustainability, the Place Partnership works with culture, heritage, tourism and business sectors and alongside local people in Stirling to galvanise Stirling’s creative identity.

2018 – Year 1

Working alongside Mercat Cross Community Council, the Place Partnership used locally designed window installations to illuminate the streets at the top of the town in Stirling as part of Window Wanderland in November 2018. Participation from local businesses, schools and local nursery supported the delivery of this project.

Place Partnership was involved in the development of 44 King St, the new creative hub on the high street.

Launched in November 2018, 44 King St is a central space where opportunity for skills development can be generated. In its initial month of opening, the hub has established a gallery and informal meeting space on the ground floor, as well as a beautifully extended Made in Stirling store, where artist-led workshops are available for all to take part.

The project will facilitate the continued development and success of Stirling’s creative economy. The 44 King Street project is being supported by a wide range of partners, in line with the project’s co-operative ethic to support learning, enterprise and skills development. Within this, there is a specific focus on the creative and heritage sectors that are key aspects of Stirling’s plans for economic growth.

Place Partnership is an evolving project and welcomes those who want to work in collaboration towards Stirling’s creative future.

STEP – Supporting Business in the Forth Valley

STEP, Stirling’s business support organisation has been working with businesses in the Forth Valley for over three decades. Commercial services are combined with funded support products, property, venue hire and in-house facilities, offering a complete business support package.

STEP HR offers retainer and pay as you go contracts to help businesses hire and create a great team.

On-site digital experts help businesses innovate and use new technology to generate more leads.

Local businesses are further supported through the provision of affordable business space, there are 216 spaces across five sites in Stirling. With availability of spaces for different functions such as office, workshop, kitchen, technology and shared working, STEP is home to 186 various businesses from video game developers, to graphic designers and civil engineers.

A dedicated space for technology offers state-of-the-art 3D Printing and Laser Cutting equipment to local businesses.

Architect Jane Nelson has been transforming residential and commercial interiors for the last eight years. Her business Jane Nelson Interiors is based in Unit 102 at Stirling Enterprise Park:

“I approached STEP for some advice on business premises in Stirling and after discussing my requirements I settled on a unit in their Stirling Enterprise Park. STEP was helpful in providing premises that worked well for the operation of my business at an affordable rent. There’s a buzz at STEP, and it’s nice to see friendly faces – an added bonus for a sole practitioner! It’s an open and friendly organisation –everyone tries to help when they can. Whilst I operate out of my studio at STEP, having the use of other STEP facilities such as larger, serviced meeting rooms is also an advantage.”

In addition, STEP delivers the contract for Business Gateway services across Stirling. Business Gateway is a publicly-funded service contributing to the economic wellbeing of Scotland, offering access to free business support services. A team of business advisers offer impartial advice and assistance to those looking to start up, as well as helping business owners who would like to grow their business.

Business Gateway Stirling’s free workshops are held at STEP. They cover the essentials of starting a business – from writing a business plan to importing, exporting and expanding. Workshops range from online marketing, financial management, business networking, or social media. Business Gateway also has a programme called Digital Boost, which has been designed to make digital activity part of business’ future. Free access to workshops, guides and expert support is granted through the Digital Boost programme. The website hosts a full list of upcoming workshops and more information about Digital Boost: www.bgateway.com/localoffices/ stirling

STEP also organises sector-specific business support events. Annual events include Chefs of the Future in partnership with Forth Valley College, Stirling Business Month in May and Tourism Business Month in October including the popular Meet the Producers.

Find out more about STEP’s events and how to get involved by visiting the website: www.stepscotland.co.uk

Quality of Life

Stirling really is the perfect location to live, work and play.

Stirling may be famous for its castle, monument and historical battles but over the years this prime location in Scotland’s heart has evolved into a contemporary cultural hub providing a beautiful backdrop with a modern outlook.

Not only does it have its own stunningly dramatic scenery and landscapes, Stirling is also the eastern gateway to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, which makes it a ‘go-to’ destination for various outdoor adventurers.

With this geographical advantage, low crime rate, excellent health care facilities and quality schools, Stirling provides an exceptional quality of life for those residing in the area.

In addition to seven secondary schools and 40 primary schools –all with impressive attainment levels – Stirling is also home to several leading independent schools, including Queen Victoria School in Dunblane and Beaconhurst School in Bridge of Allan.

The main campus for Forth Valley College is also based in Stirling which provides excellent links with local businesses, and the University of Stirling boasts thousands of graduates a year while attracting a large international student base115 nationalities are represented on campus and the University was ranked among the Top 200 International Universities in the World.

Thanks to an impressive contrast of ancient historical sites, a vibrant cosmopolitan city centre and wealth of stunning rural areas, Stirling is a ‘must see’ location. Its superb contemporary culture covers everything from music and theatre to dance and art. The Macrobert Arts Centre (based at the University of Stirling), the Tolbooth and the Albert Halls each provide venues for a wide range of events, from live gigs and comedy nights to plays and orchestra performances.

CodeBase Stirling & business profiles

Based in Stirling’s new Digital District, CodeBase Stirling is the heart of the growing technology ecosystem. The hub gathers and supports the tech community providing scale-up education, office, co-working spaces, mentoring and events.

Various available spaces include:

Hotdesking: A space for developers, creatives, entrepreneurs, designers, product managers, and digital marketers to drop in for a day, or month for a casual workspace. The ideal community base for collaborative working together to bring ideas to life.

Coworking: Coworking offers a fixed desk, use of meeting rooms as well as networking opportunities with the CodeBase community. Work alongside a diverse range of developers and entrepreneurs in a friendly open space.

Office Space: An environment which assists businesses to grow the team in bespoke office spaces ranging from

2 to 70+ staff. Build, scale and hire in the fastest growing tech incubator in Europe, designed with tech businesses in mind.

Meeting rooms: A variety of spacious and well-equipped meeting rooms available to hire, adaptable to individual needs.

Event Space: CodeBase Stirling also caters for events of all sizes, and has hosted everything from training workshops to product launches.

Several packages are available and are tailored to the individual needs to include technical equipment, catering options all within the characterful hub.

Find out more about CodeBase’s success stories in the following pages which profile some of their tenants.

Business profiles

Seymour Powell

Tell us more about Seymour Powell and the work you do?

We are an innovation company specialising in 3-dimensional product design; transportation; digital experience; ethnography, trend analysis and research; brand creation and structural packaging. We were founded in 1984 by Dick Powell and Richard Seymour. Since then we’ve been helping make things better for people and businesses by observing, understanding and innovating across a huge range of products and experiences. Some of our milestone projects include: The first Cordless Kettle (Tefal-Calor); the first pocket sized mobile phone (Nokia); the first commercial Space ship interior (Virgin Galactic); the first modular and ethically produced mobile phone (Fairphone).

Your HQ is in London - does the work you do in Stirling differ from that in London?

We like to talk about SP as a collection of experts, we are proud of the fluidity and flexibility of the people who work for us. This ethos of flexibility means that every project involves the people best suited to delivering the best results. Subsequently, our team in Scotland work seamlessly across the projects which are being tackled by the company, in the same way that people in London work on projects won and managed from the Scottish office. Having said that, the main expertise sitting within our Scottish team is related to Digital experience design; as such, we tend to pursue, win and execute work in that area from this office.

What attracted you to CodeBase Stirling?

For the past two years we have been based out of a rural setting to the west of Stirling. Whilst that space had tremendous aesthetic and lifestyle appeal, we found that the isolation from other creative agencies as well as the transport logistics was detrimental to our team’s development. CodeBase offers our team the opportunity to be embedded in a vibrant community of like-minded people.

Tell us about the advantages of working here?

Ready access to good coffee! That, and having ready access to talented and motivated, freelancers. We will have possible partner companies literally on our doorstep, and we’ll be supported by the fantastic staff from the CodeBase team, working to promote everything which goes on within the facility.

www.seymourpowell.com

thinkWhere

thinkWhere is a specialist Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology company based in Stirling. The company pioneered the development of web-based platforms for collaborative GIS products and services.

Now specialising in Open Source Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies, thinkWhere develops cloud-based GIS software applications and tools, backed by a wide range of GIS implementation, consultancy and training services. Their cloud platform “theMapCloud” is an online hosted solution for storing, sharing and using digital maps and geographic data.

With an extensive project portfolio, thinkWhere has a proven track record of delivering solutions at local, regional and national levels in the UK public and commercial sectors. Customers include central and local government, higher education, social housing, health, humanitarian support, land and property, environmental, energy, civil engineering and retail. In addition, thinkWhere is proud to work with organisations around the world and is able to deliver projects of any scale, size or complexity and in any location.

CodeBase Stirling is the heart of a rapidly expanding, regional technology ecosystem. Tenants have access to first class office and meeting space as well as business mentorship, investment support and the chance to be part of community of like-minded visionaries and creative industries.

https://thinkwhere.com/

Alan Moore, CEO of thinkWhere said, “Being within CodeBase means we are aligning ourselves with some of the most innovative, creative and ambitious tech companies in Scotland. Occupying the same space, both geographically and culturally, we hope to develop truly symbiotic relationships within the CodeBase environment.”

Ping Creates

Tell us more about Ping Creates and the work you do?

Ping Creates is a ‘digitive’ company: a creative studio that brings client’s ideas to life on digital platforms such as apps, websites and interactive games.

We were founded in 2010 by Jason Wagner one of Scotland’s leading digital creatives with a clear aim, to create award winning content and offer real opportunities to keep talent in Scotland.

Since then we have worked with some of Scotland’s leading brands including Belhaven, Historic Scotland and Caledonian MacBrayne. By creating innovative, fun and engaging content we have a strong award-winning reputation for digitive projects including: the first Facebook integrated animation (Chewits); the first personalised university app (Abertay University) and the first BBQ gamification (Food Standards Scotland).

What attracted you to CodeBase Stirling?

When looking for premises to facilitate future growth in the Stirling area, Jason struggled to find locations suitable for collaborative creative businesses like Ping. Talking to other entrepreneurs, business leaders and members of Stirling Council, Jason started a conversation to see what could be done to facilitate these demands.

An opportunity then emerged with Codebase who were opening a new tech incubator in the heart of Stirling in 2017. As a result of Jason’s efforts to put Stirling on the map, Ping Creates was invited as a first-tier company to relocate their headquarters.

In the first year at CodeBase we’re proud to have doubled our client base; collaborated with Stirling University to offer summer internships; and as a direct result we were successful in our application to Scottish Enterprise for Growth Pipeline.

Tell us about the advantages working here?

For a growing business like Ping CodeBase facilitates collaboration with other companies and the new business opportunities are growing every week. With access to meeting rooms we spend less time travelling to see clients so we’re more productive. The event spaces have allowed us to work with local schools to test our latest games and engage with the community. The monthly social events are a blast and offer a great opportunity to meet the broad, creative and highly skilled people living and working in the area. And it’s all run by an enthusiastic and super helpful team. We couldn’t be happier!

https://pingcreates.com/

With decades of experience in print, internet, data and advertising services, we are able to deliver exceptional standards of design technology, project management and customer service.

We offer a range of exciting fully funded publishing and marketing services to major public and private organisations throughout the UK – primarily government bodies, local authorities, NHS Trusts and trade associations.

Our comprehensive service encompasses all elements of printed and electronic publishing. We provide a wide range of services including design and print, data management, advertising sales, market research, website design and production, software development and sponsorship. b w m

Outstanding Conference, Events and Accommodation Facilities

Set in 300 acres of stunning parkland, and less than an hour from Edinburgh and Glasgow, Stirling Venues is perfectly placed to meet your needs. You’ll find:

• Over 100 conference and meeting rooms

• 468-capacity theatre

• Accommodation for up to 2,000 guests

• 100-bedroom Stirling Court Hotel

• Free parking

• Complimentary Wi-Fi

• World class sports facilities

• Extensive grounds, perfect for team building and open air events

• Excellent catering options for small meetings to large dinners

TRANSFORMING COMMUNITIES

Robertson is working with Stirling Council and partners to deliver transformational projects in education, health and housing in Stirling.

We are developing over 300 new homes in the latest phase of the Raploch regeneration and are progressing well with the new Stirling Care Village, having also completed St Ninian’s Primary School and the National Performance Centre for Curling at The Peak.

Robertson is one of the largest independently owned construction, infrastructure and support services companies in the UK, with a strong confirmed order book, diverse income streams and a dedicated, expert workforce. Covering the entire built environment lifecycle, we operate throughout the UK, with offices across Scotland and the North and Midlands of England.

STIRLING CARE VILLAGE ST NINIAN’S PRIMARY SCHOOL

RAPLOCH REGENERATION

RAPLOCH REGENERATION

Energy saving

Switching off non-essential equipment in an office overnight saves enough energy to run a small car for 100 miles.

Saving energy saves you money, protects your reputation and helps combat climate change.

Your organisation could save up to 10% through housekeeping actions which cost little or nothing.

Source: www.carbontrust.co.uk

UNITED CLOSURES & PLASTICS

BASED IN BRIDGE OF ALLAN

RCP UCP design and manufacture closures for the spirits and wine industry, supplying metal and plastics closures from simple screw caps to high security, tamper-evident fitments and anti-counterfeit technologies

OUR EXPERTISE

For over 70 years, RPC-UCP has served the wine and spirits market from its location within Scotland’s central belt, close to a number of the world’s leading spirit producers. From simple aluminium rolled-on pilfer proof closures, pourers and sophisticated anti-counterfeiting closures, RPC-UCP have a solution to meet the customer needs. In addition to this we also supply a range of high performance PET bottles. RPC-UCP supplies packaging products to customers all over the world, from local producers to multinationals. One of the keys to our success is our approach to innovation.

RPC-UCP have a dedicated new product development team based at our Bridge of Allan offices, with years of experience specifically in the wine and spirits market.

SECURITY CLOSURES

RPC-UCP have a variety of anticounterfeit closures with features including non-refill valves, UCP’s patented gap generator technology and tear-band designs. The complexity of a closure can be increased by creating levels of security features. The more levels a closure has, the more difficult and expensive it can be to counterfeit.

INVESTING IN PEOPLE

PET BOTTLES

RPC-UCP supply a wide range of lightweight, unbreakable, space saving PET bottles from miniatures up to 1.75 litre bottles. This range is constantly being expanded to take account of special shapes and design features to differentiate our customers’ products in competitive market places.

METAL CLOSURES

RPC-UCP produce a large range of multisized, highly decorated closures from printing, foiling, embossing and sideshaving to allow brand customisation. RPC-UCP hold many patented closure features such as double break ring and shaped closure used for the famous Johnny Walker bulge cap.

RPC-UCP has a 300 strong work force from the surrounding area and have a long history of providing apprenticeship opportunities primarily within engineering disciplines and a strong graduate program. RPC-UCP are also proud to be able to support employees in further learning through college and university courses to allow for self-development.

1 Steuart Road, Bridge of Allan, Stirling, FK9 4JG, UK Tel: +44 (0) 1786 833 613