BQ Scotland Special Feature

HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS In association with

SPECIAL FEATURE

THE MASTER PLAN The ambitious project to transform the Highland capital

ORGANIC GROWTH Farmer finds ingredients for success thanks to SMAS

MIDTON MAGIC

Diversification puts firm in the Premier League

WELCOME

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A HIGHLAND WELCOME: AN INTRODUCTION FROM ALEX PATERSON, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS ENTERPRISE (HIE).

In association with

Alex Paterson

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The Highlands and Islands is one of Europe’s most successful and competitive regions.

Unemployment is below the Scottish and UK figures while employment levels are higher. Productivity is rising across the region and population growth is faster than the Scottish average.

The roll-out of superfast broadband is connecting more and more parts of the region to the latest digital technology and global opportunities. Infrastructure development, such as Inverness Campus, Forres Enterprise Park and the European Marine Science Park in Argyll, provide vital room for companies to plan for growth.

Not surprisingly there is growing confidence among businesses, social enterprises and communities. Key sectors such as energy, life sciences, food and drink and creative industries are going from strength to strength.

The universities sector, crucial in attracting talented young people, is established and growing. In addition to the UK’s newest university, the University of the Highlands and Islands, the region is home to teams from five other leading Scottish universities – Aberdeen, Stirling, Heriot-Watt, Glasgow School of Art and Scotland’s Rural College.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise is committed to building our future, through strong, successful businesses, social enterprises and resilient communities, and enhancing our reputation as a competitive region. We will help businesses expand their global reach and

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export markets, particularly through digital technology. We will invest in the growth of industry sectors and in the infrastructure needed to underpin a competitive region.

Examples include the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, which is helping to establish the region as an international centre for marine renewables.

Another is the plan to establish a global centre of excellence in oil and gas decommissioning in Shetland. We will also continue to support community ownership of assets and community led development.

In short, we will continue to enhance the region’s reputation, competitiveness and attractiveness to both inward investors and people who see it as a place of opportunity in which to live, work, study and invest. n

We will help businesses expand their global reach and export markets

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NEWS

MSP opens inspirational marine science centre, future looks rosy for gin distillery, bakery on the rise thanks to HIE funding, Horizon celebrates a decade of support, Shetland gets set to go global >> New centre will inspire A centre for marine science business and enterprise, near Oban, has been opened

by Fergus Ewing MSP, Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism. The European Marine Science Park at Dunstaffnage, near Oban was developed and is owned by Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Malin House, the first unit to be completed consists of 20,000sq ft of office and laboratory space and is home to Xanthella Ltd and SAMS Research Services Ltd (SRSL) – a subsidiary of the Scottish Association for Marine Science. Mr Ewing said: “The park reflects the increasing importance of life sciences to the Scottish economy to help further inspire, enhance involvement and innovation within our communities.”

Xanthella develops photo-bioreactors for use in scalable form for growing microalgae for research and industrial production of products such as cosmetics, nutraceuticals and medicines. The company has already achieved international sales to the University of the West Indies of its first PBR products.

SRSL offers a wide range of marine survey and consultancy services, including international work. Within its premises, SRSL has created a laboratory to develop and manufacture the SIMBA device. SIMBA, which stands for Sea-ice mass balance buoys, enables real-time monitoring of sea-ice cover in polar environments. SAMS’ partnership with Edinburgh-based Mara Seaweed won the ‘Sustained Partnership Award’ at the Interface Excellence Awards 2014.

>> Project will create 600 jobs Energy Minister Fergus Ewing announced a £4m grant from Highlands and Islands Enterprise for the development of a new deepwater quayside at the Port of Cromarty Firth – bringing the total redevelopment project to £25m, and creating 600 jobs. The 35-acre Invergordon Service Base, operated by the Port of Cromarty Firth, has been close to capacity for many years and this funding sees an additional nine acres of land reclaimed.

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>> Sureclean’s new home International industrial cleaning contractor, Sureclean, has now settled into its new global headquarters at Cromba House, which opened on 19 September. Sureclean managing director, John Barron, welcomed the guests to the facilities, adjacent to their original premises at River Drive, Alness where the majority of the company’s 130 strong workforce are based.

Mr Barron and Highlands and Islands Enterprise development manager Robin Gilbert opened the building, which has a 7,000sq ft office and support services base, which has increased warehouse and workshop space by 6,000 sq ft.

The new facilities are designed to minimise Sureclean’s carbon footprint and feature biomass, solar and air source technologies.

The £2m development was part-funded

by HIE. John Barron said: “Sureclean has built a long-standing relationship with HIE and we are very grateful for their support.

This project was necessitated due to the company’s increasing staff levels and provides capacity for future growth. Alness is where Sureclean was founded and remains the heartland of the business.”

>> Ortak shines again Well-known jewellery company Ortak has opened a shop in its home town of Kirkwall and is back to manufacturing its

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products. Highlands and Islands Enterprise is providing a grant of £136,400 to Ortak Jewellery Ltd for the £506,000 project which has created 14 jobs. The new business is led by majority shareholder and managing director Michael Gardens, ex-production manager of the former Ortak company, and Alison Firth, a finance professional from Castletown.

Earlier this year it was announced that Ortak had gone into administration and manufacturing ceased at the Hatston factory.

Michael Gardens, said: “It is exciting taking over the new Ortak business and being able to retain the brand in Orkney. It is very important to be able to keep some of the employees from the old business who have the necessary skills and experience and who will be vital in bringing forward the business. Everyone involved is excited about the opening of the former Ortak shop in Kirkwall town centre.”

>> Future is rosy for gin The most northerly distillery on mainland Britain is getting ready to bottle its gin after a new still called ‘Elizabeth’ was installed at Dunnet, Caithness. Husband and wife team Martin and Claire Murray, the founders of Dunnet Bay Distillers, have distilled and tested the first batches of Rock Rose gin and full production is under way.

Over the next three years, the company will receive support of £83,990 from HIE to help them develop Rock Rose gin. Claire Murray has been working with experts in Caithness to research local botanicals which can be used to flavour the gin.

Claire said: “Each year we will create a new vintage. Our Caithness botanicals are dependent on our climate resulting in a truly hand crafted gin that will change year on year, but is still undeniably Rock Rose.”

Local herbalist Brian Lamb introduced the Murrays to Rhodiola Rosea, a rose in the rocks.

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NEWS

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>> Bakery raises its game A Stornoway bakery making delicious products for local customers as well as sweet and savoury biscuits for export has been funded by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, as part of a £500,000 project.

Charles Macdonald, owner of Stag Bakeries, said: “We have a clear business strategy for growth and plan to continue to capitalise on new market opportunities.

We aim to create new jobs as the company expands and represent our island community on an international platform.“ Stag sells products to 11 countries including Ireland, Canada, Belgium, Norway and Portugal. A strategy has been put in place to target emerging markets and business has already been achieved in both China and Russia.

>> Designer secures funding An innovative knitwear design studio based in the village of Hoswick, Shetland, is expanding with a new website and online boutique.

The firm was commissioned to design the garments for 100 Shetland fiddlers who performed at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in August 2014. HIE is providing grant funding of £24,882 to Nielanell, owned by designer Niela Kalra.

She said: “We aim to make highly innovative, individual items and keep the highest of standards in our design techniques and production. Sustainability of the local economy and culture is of the utmost importance to us. HIE’s support has enabled me to focus my aims and aspirations to achieve concrete results and to engage a creative team, whose experience in a wider arena is invaluable, in re-branding my business and developing an appropriately designfocused website and online boutique.”

>> Backing future stars Entrepreneurial Scotland – which merges the Saltire Foundation and the Entrepreneurial Exchange – was officially launched at the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards held at the Glasgow Hilton on 27

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November. This year’s winners were: Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year Award: Mike Welch of Blackcircles.com; Entrepreneur of the Year Award: Peter Vardy of the Peter Vardy Group, while Hall of Fame Inductees were Alan Revie of National Tyres & Autocare, and Bob Keiller of Wood Group PSN. Chris van der Kuyl, chairman of Entrepreneurial Scotland, told the audience in Glasgow: “The entrepreneurs are the greatest catalyst for change in any society.

The creation of Entrepreneurial Scotland is a seismic development for every entrepreneur and business builder in Scotland, providing an exciting platform on which to build Scotland as the most entrepreneurial society in the world.” Sandy Kennedy, chief executive of Entrepreneurial Scotland, said: “The creation of Entrepreneurial Scotland harnesses the strengths of both organisations by ensuring we identify future talent.”

>> A decade of support The Horizon Scotland Business and Innovation Centre has celebrated a decade of supporting companies in Moray.

The 12,000 sq ft facility at the Enterprise Park Forres was designed to provide a supportive environment for new and small businesses, minimising their start up and operating costs.

Horizon, which opened in 2004, is owned

by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and is home to ten businesses and 34 employees.

David Oxley, HIE’s area manager for Moray, said: “Over the past ten years Horizon Scotland has housed 32 companies employing 70 people.

“We have seen firms start out at Horizon before expanding and moving into larger office suites or commercial properties within Horizon Scotland and the wider Enterprise Park.”

More than 600 people are employed at the 100-acre Enterprise Park.

Current tenants at Horizon include: Open Brolly, 4 Sight International, BioMatrix Water, Glasgow School of Art’s Centre for Design Innovation, Firefly IT Solutions Ltd, E-availability, Lantech, Transcend Change and Extraordinary Adventure Club.

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>> Shetland thinks big Shetland is bidding to become a global leader in a multi-billion pound industry as a result of over £20m of investment announced by Cabinet Secretary John Swinney. A set of multi-million pound investments by Lerwick Port Authority and international energy logistics company Peterson aims to create a decommissioning centre of excellence around Lerwick.

Lerwick Port Authority is undertaking a £11.95m infrastructure project at Dales Voe South in order to support the development of oil and gas decommissioning in Shetland. The expansion will support around 120 permanent island jobs.

In addition, Peterson (United Kingdom) Ltd is proposing investments up to £8.64m in its ‘Deep Water Shetland’ project to support and expand its existing decommissioning capability. Working with its partners, Veolia, the project could create around 67 jobs and add around £10m to the local economy. Both projects are supported by the Scottish Government and HIE. HIE has approved £628,000 to Peterson and a further £1,195,000 to Lerwick Port Authority, including £324,416 through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). LPA has also been awarded £1.2m from the Scottish Government.

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COMPANY PROFILE

Opening up the nation for digital business The roll-out of broadband connectivity across the Highlands and Islands is having a massive impact on the ability to connect with customers both locally and globally Broadband in Scotland is changing.

More than one million businesses and households country-wide are now able to access the latest fibre optic based services, and demand for better connections is high.

These superfast services have until recently been delivered predominantly in urban and more populated areas commercially. However, in more rural areas there’s a different picture, in the Highlands and Islands commercial roll-out would have reached only 21% of premises.

To ensure better broadband reaches our more rural areas, a £410m investment is being made in the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband project. Social and economic development agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is leading on and investing in a new fibre network in its region to bring services deep into remote areas.

The first homes and businesses to benefit from the £146m project went live in the fishing village of Buckie, in Moray in February of this year. Latest figures show that more than 30,000 homes and businesses in the Highlands and Islands can now order fibre broadband as a result of the project.

Locations where roll-out has started stretch from the Shetland Islands to Argyll.

Stuart Robertson, HIE’s director of digital, said: “This publicly-funded project is building a fibre network across our region, bringing fibre based broadband to the majority of premises in every one of our local authority areas. It is a once in a lifetime infrastructure project and will change access to the digital world for some of the most remote and sparsely populated communities in Europe.”

The initiative is designed to roll out to as many people as possible as quickly as is possible within the available budget. It aims to reach 84% of

The north-east fishing community of Buckie is the first location in Scotland to become superfast broadband enabled as part of the project. Pictured here a BT engineer with secondary school pupils from Buckie

premises across the region by the end of 2016.

Given how little existing fibre there was in the region it is a huge engineering feat. A major part of the project is to build a new fibre network across the region. This involves laying 1200km of fibre – including almost 400km under the sea to link island communities.

The 20 subsea cables were successfully completed this summer and work continues on the land links.

This main network provides the ‘backhaul’ and when in place work can start on local access networks.

In the main this involves bringing fibre to green street cabinets, with the broadband services then running on existing copper phone lines to the premises.

The rollout takes the potential of the internet to a whole new level. It will bring better broadband to around 156,000 people who could not have accessed it otherwise, and the creation of the backhaul network will make finding solutions for the hardest to reach areas easier.

The initiative is designed to roll out to as many people as possible as quickly as is possible within the available budget. It aims to reach 84% of premises across the region by the end of 2016

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Funding partners include the Scottish Government, HIE, the UK Government through Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), and private sector partner BT. HIE is also delivering Community Broadband Scotland across Scotland for the Scottish Government. It is working with those communities which look least likely to benefit from the current roll-out, to help them look at community based solutions.

For the agency, the Digital Highlands and Islands project is also about more than the infrastructure.

Working with partners including Business Gateway and Citizens Online, there are events and initiatives designed to help businesses and communities make the most of broadband.

Mr Robertson said: “Good connectivity is increasingly a factor for choosing where to live and invest.

We really hope to reach beyond the 84% target.

As roll-out progresses we are continuing to look at how new technologies coming through will help us reach even more people. The social and economic benefits from digital technology will continue to grow in the coming years and we want everyone to have access to the broadband services they need.”

For more information see www.hie.co.uk

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INTERVIEW

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INTERVIEW

A MAN WITH A MASTER PLAN The £100m Inverness Campus is a vision that is part of the transformation of the Highland Capital as a world-class centre for life science, commerce and research. Kenny Kemp talks to project director Ruaraidh MacNeil >>

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INTERVIEW

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If we thought 2014 was a momentous year, then 2015 is just as significant for the Highland capital. Inverness Campus – developed by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) in an outstanding Beechwood location skirting the A9 and A96 – will open in spring, becoming the heart of Inverness College UHI in August, with other buildings on the site ready for new ventures. This campus – with its lochans and drystane wall landscaping – will be linked to Inverness’s burgeoning healthcare and medical sector, creating world-class facilities. Inverness Campus project director Ruaraidh MacNeil, who works with HIE, has been one of the driving forces behind it.

“We started thinking about the project in 2006. A group of us got together, local stakeholders from Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Inverness College, UHI, NHS Highland and the Highland Council. After a workshop, we came up with a vision document. This set the template for the new campus,” he recalls.

A partnership forum of all stakeholders was set up and chaired by John Swinney, the Scottish Government’s cabinet secretary for finance, who has kept a very keen eye on this project. HIE’s big idea was to build a new campus which would facilitate ever-growing collaboration between businesses, research and learning institutions to drive economic growth. The growing Inverness College, which was to become part of the University of Highlands and Islands (UHI), the Scottish Agricultural College (now Scotland’s Rural College) and the Centre for Health Science

were on board from the start. There were plans also for a 120-bedroom, four-star training hotel called Hotel Artysans, in social enterprise partnership between the Calman Trust and Albyn Housing, and first-class sport facilities – all set in a carefully designed landscape the community could enjoy.

“It was about bringing together a number of education, business and research partners, to make the Inverness Campus a nationally significant centre of excellence,” says MacNeil.

Shortly after, HIE acquired the 250-acre site on the east side of Inverness from the Crofters’ Commission after it was declared surplus to their requirements. HIE then developed a £100m master plan working in collaboration

A true centre of excellence The Centre for Health Science was set up by a collaborative partnership led by HIE and involving the NHS and Scottish universities. Ruaraidh MacNeil worked on this project from 2003 until it opened in 2009. The centre provides facilities for the health science community in the Highlands and Islands. It is the only incubator building in the Highlands dedicated to health and life science businesses. The centre has nine organisations and 18 departments employing over 280 staff and with 600 students studying.

While Inverness has a reputation for its expertise in diabetes, there is now a wider focus on ‘electro-chemical’ testing, an expertise that can now be used to monitor and detect a variety of conditions. There are now engineers and electro-chemists who are working on projects in emerging health-related spheres.

“The skill sets are transferable. Software, diagnostics, bio-markers and electro-chemical testing – one of our core strengths is having a workforce with these skills,” says MacNeil.

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with all the stakeholders and this went for planning consent in 2010 to Highland Council. After talks with local residents and the council, HIE developed infrastructure changes to improve traffic flow and access to the city. A key element is the ‘Golden’ pedestrian and cycle bridge, spanning 84m across the dual-carriageway A9, designed

by Ewan Anderson and his team at 7N architects. It was completed by construction firm Morgan Sindall in April 2013, and now links the campus with the city centre and the neighbouring life sciences cluster, which includes Raigmore Hospital, LifeScan Scotland and the Centre for Health Science.

“We were determined that the campus should be integrated to the wider community and not be sitting as an isolated island on its own. If you look back at our original vision, it was to be ‘part of the broader community’ and not be an intimidating place.”

Ruaraidh became project director in 2010. The scheme moved forward throughout 2011 and, in November, the first phase of the plan – 89 acres – was approved by Highland councillors, while the following month, Inverness College UHI was given the go-ahead to invest £50m in its new building on the campus, backed by the Scottish Funding Council.

“We put out contracts for the first phase of development – with 55,000 sq metres of development space. HIE’s early role was to put

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It is about creating a critical mass of opportunities

in the infrastructure and servicing for utilities, drainage, sewage. This was concluded and we now have 17 full-serviced development plots.”

Meantime, two miles of roads were built and two and a half miles of foot and cycle paths weave through this Highland landscape. With 10 hectares of open parkland, 600 semimature trees – many of them native beech trees – and over 20,000 saplings planted with 1,500 square metres of timber decking, the campus will provide a valuable asset.

The landscaped parkland with two lochans, which provides sustainable drainage for the campus, and newly-built island – An t-Eilean – accessible by a wooden walkway, was designed by Lisa Mackenzie, originally from Dingwall, and a lecturer in the School of Architecture at Edinburgh University.

“From our point of view the island is striking and unusual. It makes a perfect focal point for the whole development and the results are certainly spectacular.

“The role now for myself and my team at HIE is to fill the remaining plots with organisations who want to be part of this vibrant new development. We believe we’ve created one of the most beautiful working environments in Scotland, which also benefits from trunk road and rail access, international and domestic flights from Inverness, and superfast broadband. With all of that on offer, there’s no shortage of interest. Inverness College UHI acquired the biggest plot – Plot 1 – and their new 18,500 sq metre building opens in August 2015.”

“UHI has been successful in gaining funding for extra student places in the past few years.

“While the college is the first there are several other projects we are working on. The next one in the pipeline is 1,000sq m – on Plot 8 – which is the Advance Life Sciences Building.

This is a ‘shell’ that can fitted out to the specific requirements of a client. This is an

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advance building that HIE has taken forward specifically for the life science industry. It will be completed in April 2015.”

This building is being marketed through Scottish Development International, the international arm of Scotland’s enterprise agencies, to attract inward investment.

“It would be great to have a deal on the new building in early 2015. It is expandable by a factor of four, so it can go to 4,000sq m. When we are marketing the campus we explain that it is more than the property HIE owns. We are selling the fact that Johnson & Johnson are here with LifeScan Scotland, there is a district general hospital, Raigmore, and the Centre for Health Science on the doorstep.

The lines are blurred a bit and this is good for inward investment.

“All of this helps develop the region’s cluster of excellence. It is about creating a critical mass of opportunities.”

Work on Plot 10 started in August on the £11m Enterprise and Research Centre, a collaboration between HIE, UHI and Scotland’s Rural College, and includes a digital centre of excellence in teaching and research. Architects Sheppard Robson have designed the building, with construction by Morrison Construction, the Scottish arm of Galliford Try. It’s expected to be completed in late 2015.

“I’ve been impressed with the construction firms to date – they have not been hanging around and the steelwork for the Enterprise and Research Centre went up very quickly,” he says.

“We are hoping to open the Inverness Campus officially in May 2015 as a community facility. Then in August 2015 the Inverness College building will open for its intake of students. With a bit of fair wind we hope to have someone in the Life Sciences building by the end of the 2015, and the ERC building is due to complete in October 2015.”

“What has been especially encouraging for me is seeing how the wider community is responding to what is going on. In 2015, they will be able to get a full picture of what all the effort has been about. We’ve done 400 site tours in the last 18 months and feedback is very positive. Seeing the Inverness public using the site too – and the students and staff will be very exciting.” n

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INTERVIEW

LifeScan Scotland, a commercial jewel in the cluster LifeScan Scotland, part of Johnson & Johnson since 2001, have been a pivotal player in the success of Inverness as a centre of excellence in healthcare. In 1995, Inverness Medical was set up to design and manufacture glucose strips for the global diabetes market. Their main product, OneTouch glucose monitoring, is a worldwide product.

Ruaraidh MacNeil knows the business well, having been involved in supporting its growth and development.

“LifeScan have done spectacularly well for the Highlands. If you look at it, it was a Scottish start-up back in 1995. So we have coming up for 20 years from this business.

It is still employing more than 1,000 people, with 100 in R&D. They are still contributing massively to the local economy, through their workforce and the services that they buy locally. It has had a massive impact on the supply chain.

LifeScan has also been a great community supporter both in terms of developing the Inverness Campus and in other projects.”

MacNeil explains that a number of spinouts have come from LifeScan as people have set up businesses yet remained living in the Highlands.“There are companies, such as AccuNostics, now based on the enterprise park in Forres; Inside Biometrics, in Dingwall, and SureSensors, set up by Geoff Hall, in Inverness, which are all great examples of businesses set up by former Inverness Medical and LifeScan people.

There are others as well. This is part of a cluster of bright and innovative people working and living in the Highlands and Islands.” Giles Hamilton, chief executive of AccuNostics, an award-winning medical device company designing and developing self-monitoring healthcare products, particualry for diabetes sufferers, said the quality of Highland life and the access to skilled people were key attractions in both recruiting and retaining staff.

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OVERVIEW

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FLYING HIGH AT INVERNESS AIRPORT Devolving Air Passenger Duty will tear down the barriers to business and tourism, says HIAL boss Inverness Airport had its busiest year for five years as passenger numbers grew to 619,000, the result of rising demand for the airport’s domestic and international network, including a new winter service to Geneva.

The airport, operated by HIAL, has an investment of £1.4m to upgrade the runway at Inverness plus a further £961,000 to extend taxiways to allow for future expansion of the Inverness Airport Business Park development site. Meanwhile, Inglis Lyon, the

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managing director of HIAL, has welcomed proposals to devolve Air Passenger Duty to Scotland. Although flights departing from the Highlands and Islands are exempt from APD, the tax does apply to cross border flights into Inverness, which account for 87% of its passenger traffic, and to arriving and departing flights at Dundee. APD also applies to flights from Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow into the Highlands and Islands.

The impact of this tax is therefore felt right across regional Scotland.“I have no doubt that APD is a barrier for business and tourism in Scotland, and this is evidenced by detailed research which confirms that APD is choking the recovery of the airline industry in Scotland.

I believe it is right that decisions on how, and indeed whether, to apply such a tax should be made here in Scotland. HIAL has consistently campaigned alongside Scotland’s larger airports for APD to be devolved and we hope the Smith proposals are taken forward.”

HIAL, owned by the Scottish Ministers, operates a network of 11 airports across Scotland: Barra, Benbecula, Campbeltown, Dundee, Inverness, Islay, Kirkwall, Stornoway, Sumburgh, Tiree and Wick John O’Groats, and employs over 600 people. In 2013-2014, passenger numbers grew by 5.4% to a record 1,367,342. The company receives a subsidy of £21.8m. n

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COMPANY PROFILE

Highland adventure In 2004, while many of its competitors in the Scottish legal market were looking south for growth, Harper Macleod recognised the potential of being part of the economic resurgence of the Highlands and Islands. Now the firm is celebrating a decade in Inverness, during which it has gone from strength to strength.

Ten years ago, when Harper Macleod decided to set up a new base in Inverness, its mission was to become the leading full-service law firm for individuals and businesses in the Highlands and Islands.

Harper Macleod began life 15 years earlier with the vision of creating a new kind of law firm – one which was all about providing the kind of service clients wanted, rather than that which lawyers had traditionally deigned to give them.

Encouraged by existing clients in the north of Scotland and knowledge of the opportunities awaiting an innovative firm in a changing economy, the firm saw enormous potential in delivering that service from a new office.

DRIVEN TO DELIVER Chris Kerr, a Partner in the Corporate team, was tasked to lead the venture. Ten years later he is one of the driving forces behind an operation which has far exceeded expectations. When he and well known local lawyer Gary Campbell first entered the office it was a cavernous space in a building among fields outside the Highland capital. It’s now surrounded by other businesses, with the new Inverness UHI campus taking shape on its doorstep – one of many major projects the firm has advised on – as the city spreads towards it. In 2004 there were many established law firms in the Highland capital, but Harper Macleod offered something different. Kerr explains: “We knew there was a demand for specialist lawyers and a firm which could provide an alternative to more traditional, general practitioners. From the start we were

From the start we were welcomed by the local business community. That support was crucial and we’re very grateful to all of our friends and clients HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS

Harper Macleod’s team gathered for a 10th anniversary party in Inverness

welcomed by the local business community.

That support was crucial and we’re very grateful to all of our friends and clients.” The office has grown substantially, now offering the most comprehensive range of legal advice to businesses, organisations and individuals throughout the Highlands and Islands – all delivered by specialists in their fields and backed by the weight of one of Scotland’s largest firms. Just as important as its impressive client list the firm has made a significant contribution to the local economy, beyond simply creating jobs. Kerr said: “We immersed ourselves in the local community, business and otherwise, making vital contacts while learning about the issues, challenges and opportunities facing the area. Many of our lawyers, have taught at local further and higher education institutions and we made Inverness a regular ‘seat’ for our trainees, welcoming more than a dozen over the years. Two of our Partners are on the boards of local Chambers of Commerce. Ten years on, we’re part of the fabric and continually learning more to make us better advisers to our clients.”

HIGHLIGHTS The past 10 years have delivered many great moments and achievements, which were celebrated at an anniversary party in the city in November. If one venture encapsulates the Harper

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Macleod story in the north, it is the Scottish Highland Renewable Energy Conference (SHREC).

Now approaching its sixth year, SHREC is a highlight of the renewable energy calendar, having welcomed more than 1,000 industry figures to the city. The event promotes the region’s role as a hub for the sector while cementing Harper Macleod’s position as a thought shaper in renewables.

Meanwhile, in 2012, the firm added to its presence in the north by opening an office in Thurso.

THE FUTURE The Harper Macleod business has come a long way in 10 years, in no small part down to its presence in the north of Scotland. The original mission has long since been accomplished, and the firm recently doubled its office space in Inverness with a view to expanding the team further. “We’re very proud of what we have achieved over the decade, but in truth it’s just the start,” says Kerr.

- Alder House, Cradlehall Business Park Inverness, IV2 5GH, Tel: 01463 798 777 - 10 Sinclair Street, Thurso, KW14 7AJ Tel: 01847 500 130

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INTERVIEW

GROWING THE BUSINESS ORGANICALLY Steven Jack, the managing director of Nessgro, can see the fruits of his labour after working with SMAS Growing vegetables in the Highlands for the nation’s premium retailers is not an easy task.

Yet Nessgro is a shining example of a business that has increased its share for fresh produce.

Nessgro’s owner and managing director Steven Jack was shortlisted for ‘Outstanding Farmer of the Year’ in the BBC’s National Food and Farming awards and he featured on County File, interviewed by fellow farmer Adam Henson. Nessgro, farming on 120 hectares of fertile coastal soil at Dalcross, has been going for ten years, starting with growing organic carrots. It opened its own wash factory and packing house and won Grower of the Year in 2007. As Christmas approaches, December is the busiest month for the firm with around 45 staff.

“The first four years were mainly organic produce and there was a steady expansion.

Then, in 2009, we outgrew our premises and decided to build a large extension. That gave us the opportunity to put in more capacity and this coincided with a move outwith the organic sector.”

“We’ve always been innovative with new products but we found the size of the organic market too small for us to grow our business.

We took our innovation out into the specialist, conventional premium end of the vegetable market. This has allowed us to grow more aggressively over the last three or four years.”

This meant new product lines and new

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activities for Nessgro with carrots, parsnips and potatoes, with about 18 different product formats for the supermarkets.

“Over three years ago, a suggestion came from one of our connections at HIE who had worked with us on a number of projects. She recommended SMAS could help us with the processes of expanding our business.”

With SMAS, Nessgro looked at its efficiencies and introduced value-stream mapping.

“SMAS introduced a different way of communication and helped us introduce tools to measure productivity. We created actions that were geared to a continuous improvement mentality in the business.”

Steven says a change in culture was fundamental – it was about tackling waste.

“Often the hardest things for small businesses is not the introduction of new measures but sustaining the change. That’s what SMAS’s involvement has done ever since. It has really embedded the new processes and created our culture that is constantly challenging.”

“We are never satisfied with the gains and the pace of change. We can never be complacent.

Our staff know their input is valued because they have been brought into the decisionmaking process. It’s been very positive.”

SMAS practitioner Calum McCafferty, who worked with Nessgro, said:“We focused on communication and how well the team works, and what KPIs the team works

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towards.” Despite the systems and process, it continues to be hard and laborious work.

Growing food for consumption faces unique pressures on margins and brutal deadlines.

“The produce sector operates to a daily deadline and in order to meet the expectations of your customers you have to be able to hit these deadlines. So you are operating under constant pressure, and that pressure makes it difficult for everyone to accept that there are processes in place for good reasons. Even under extreme pressure, these processes are absolutely essential to our business.”

Nessgro delivers fresh quality products that must meet the customer’s exacting expectations and they must be delivered exactly when requested. For Steven and his team, anything other than that is a failure.

“This time of year tests all the work we’ve been doing with SMAS. We’re keen to continue our involvement with SMAS, although it might not be on specific projects.

It’s usual to have a SMAS practitioner dropping in on a regular basis to keep an eye on the issues,” said Steven.

“Like many small businesses, we asked ourselves if SMAS was applicable to us and more suited to larger corporates, but I would recommend anyone working at our level to look at what SMAS offers because these management concepts are very useful.” n

SPECIAL FEATURE | WINTER 14

INTERVIEW

WINTER 14

THE MAGIC OF MIDTON Craig Cameron, the General Manager at Midton Acrylics, explains how the company in Lochgilphead has been helped by SMAS

There is a touch of brilliant visual magic about the extraordinary work at Midton Acrylics. The company embeds objects into pillars of acrylic with startling impact. Last year it produced 4,000 Manchester United’s Theatre of Dreams commemorative souvenirs complete with a real piece of the Old Trafford turf. Stunning stuff indeed. Ewen Cameron and Brian Johnston, an engineer and a print maker, are the two directors of the firm created 35 years ago in Glasgow. The company was founded as a polyester-resin manufacturer in Springburn, Glasgow, but one of the founders decided they wanted to move to Lochgilphead, a beautiful Argyllshire village on Loch Gilp, beside Loch Fyne. The company is based on the Kilmory Industrial Estate on the fringe of the town. Originally, the firm made paper-weights, cigarette lighters and other polyester based items before making the transition to cast acrylics. Craig Cameron, General Manager, and a graduate of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee, oversees much of the work. “The firm started out putting things inside resin, then switched to acrylic, which is a much higher quality. This led us into the brewing industry and embedding bottles in acrylic in ‘glorifiers’. This was what the business did for the first ten years. It was quite a specialism.

Bottles are difficult to embed because of the varying quality of glass and hard metal caps with sharp edges.” Since then Midton has been constantly improving and developing what it can do: from corporate awards and commemorative gifts, to sophisticated corporate projects for the oil and gas industry and the likes of F1 and Rolls-Royce. The company turns over about £3.3m a year. “The corporate awards market grew as the brewery market declined. That led us off in all sorts of other directions. We do a lot of R&D work to get things right and that’s down to the nature of Ewen and Brian who have

SPECIAL FEATURE | WINTER 14

The changes we’ve seen over the last ten years have been dramatic always had a ‘can-do attitude’ to figure things out. That’s been passed into the business. We spent a lot of time making sure things work well. All our business is outwith the Argyll area. Around 55% goes to London, the rest is spread through Europe, the Middle East, Nigeria and Australia. Our sales have gone up 10 to 12% year on year for the last six years.”

Craig said of the Manchester United contract: “It was a very interesting job, a little mad at the time, but a fascinating project. We were running a big job for the Royal Mint’s celebration of Kenyan independence at the same time, which added to the fun.”

The company employs around 45 and is one of the most significant private employers in Lochgilphead. SMAS has worked with Midton on two occasions. “We had SMAS in five years ago to do the 5S programme [sort, straighten,

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shine, standardise and sustain]. It is about going into different areas of the factory and sorting them out. You strip everything out that is not required for the job. You put the things you need back in order. And you have systems to ensure that you are using materials and the space correctly. It’s been such a great thing for everyone.

“The changes we’ve seen over the last ten years have been dramatic. But we’re still not good enough. As you bring new people in, things can fall by the wayside, so you have to re-visit things again.”

SMAS has been back in to help with ‘shot interval’ control. “This is fascinating. We’re switching from being a craft-style company that has done things by feel, to a much more data-driven organisation. There will always be an element of feel, but the latest project has made a dramatic improvement in how we plan.”

Working with SMAS practitioners, Midton Acrylics found that its company structure needed upgrading and roles and responsibilities were re-written, bringing new possibilities for jobs.

Finding key staff in such a beautiful rural location can be challenging for such a specialist business. “We are utilising a lot of what HIE can do or us. They have been brilliant. HIE and Skills Development Scotland allows us to train people. We’ve brought a lot more training in house and we can start building the careers of people working in Midton.

Everyone steps up a level and that’s great for the company, as long as they have the right attitude. “At the heart of the success story has been the brilliant design and the fulfilment of a concept through to completion. We have a vast range of technical and artistic skills in Midton.”

The magic at Midton goes on – suspending belief in pillars of polymer. n

HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS

WINTER 14

OVERVIEW

FORGING A CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE WORKPLACE Lean manufacturing techniques and continuous improvement can add an average value of £12,000 a day. David Howie, lead practitioner for Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service’s North team, explains how this works. Kenny Kemp reports Let’s be blunt. National productivity in the UK has been falling behind other advanced nations. That’s a concern for politicians and policy-makers – but it has to be tackled on the ground in Scotland’s manufacturing workplaces. “Scotland generally is behind the curve on productivity. The UK and Scotland is not what is should be, so we have some catching up to do with the major players,” says David Howie, lead practitioner for Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service’s North team.

Howie has been with SMAS for over a year.

Originally from Glasgow, his forte has been in manufacturing across Scotland. He was one of the early employees at Inverness Medical, which became LifeScan, the medical device manufacturing centre of excellence for Johnson and Johnson in Inverness.

“Latterly, at LifeScan/Inverness Medical, I was leader of the engineering team during the extensive ramp-up that they had. In just over two years we increased the output tenfold while also increasing the team fourfold. It was a hugely rewarding experience.

Previously, David, a graduate chemist from Stirling University, spent time in various manufacturing industries, mainly in technical, engineering and product development roles and support services. He also worked with the supply-chain companies in sourcing materials.

“I’ve always been around processes and companies making stuff all of my working life.

I was aware of and I saw it as an opportunity for me to apply my experience to support manufacturing businesses to become more profitable, competitive and successful,” he says. SMAS is working to help manufacturing businesses grow and improve performance and efficiencies but Howie and his colleagues

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David Howie

also want to challenge the lazy perception of the manufacturing sector. “It is not billowing smoke stacks and guys in greasy boiler suits with big spanners. It has moved on and is a main driver for growth in the Scottish economy.”

“From our point of view, what a company produces is not necessarily the most important thing. Sometimes it is about the waste between each production step, which we are looking to eradicate,” he says.

“It’s an exciting time for manufacturing once again in Scotland with output surpassing levels not seen since the 1970s. The sector is vital to the economy – it drives most of our innovation, growth and accounts for around 60% of what we export. “However, firms must continually improve their products, operations and value proposition in order to grow.”

It’s a personal quest for Howie and fellow practitioners to ‘do their bit’.“I couldn’t resist the opportunity to get involved. Being part of the SMAS team and the wider HIE & Scottish Enterprise network gives me a chance to be at the heart of a manufacturing renaissance.”

How does it work for a business?

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“A typical company might be in the oil and gas supply chain. It could be a medium-sized engineering company producing sub-sea equipment or well-heads or it could be a chocolatier making artisan confectionery.

“We will work with any business that has a production process – it’s about understanding how to increase value by eliminating waste and streamlining production. Most of the SMAS practitioners are qualified coaches, particularly in manufacturing leadership.A different mindset and leadership is needed to support continuous change programmes.

We use methodologies which require a fair amount of coaching and up-skilling. When we are promoting cultural change, we have a broad toolbox. Our first engagement is usually a free review looking at the business process.

From that we provide an action plan with key improvement areas highlighted. A project can be a couple of days to over 100 on larger projects. Typically, we generate around £1215,000 per day in value add for the company.

So a 100-day project could save a major firm £1.2m. The longer the engagement, the better the value add.”

What is the spread of SMAS’s team in the North? “There are seven practitioners in the North team, three dedicated in the Highlands and Islands, and while we work with large oil and gas service companies across the NorthEast, we also support single person operations in more remote parts of the West coast and on the islands, and everything in-between.

In any one week the team can cover from Unst in Shetland to the islands to Campbeltown – it is a challenge providing support across such a large geographical area – but it is very satisfying.” n

SPECIAL FEATURE | WINTER 14

A WEEK IN THE LIFE

WINTER 14

BQ: Good morning, John. It’s Monday morning, tell us how your week is panning out?

John Johnston: I’m in Campbeltown working with a manufacturing company in the renewables sector. Tomorrow I’ll be heading over to Aberdeen to work with a service supplier to oil & gas and implementing standard operating procedures. On Thursday I’m presenting at a Business Breakfast.

BQ: Can you tell us more about your background in manufacturing – and when you joined SMAS? JJ: I started as an engineer in the whisky industry then moved into the contract electronics industry during the boom of the Nineties before joining Motorola, where I worked for ten years. I then moved north to Inverness and crossed the divide into a production management role with a medical device manufacturer and the world of ‘compliance’ where I became the operations manager for their distribution centre.

BQ: Have you lived in the Highlands all this time?

JJ: I had the opportunity to get involved in a start-up company in the Central Belt.

However, the call of the North was too much and I headed back when the opportunity to join SMAS came along.

BQ: How many miles a year do you have to travel and what’s the geographical spread?

JJ: In the North team we cover from Campbeltown to Shetland and down to Tayside. On average about 15,000 miles a year, not including trains and planes.

BQ: You’ve been working in Lochgilpead with Midton Acrylics. Can you tell us more about this?

JJ: It has been a great company to work with. They have a global client base for their corporate branding work with a great reputation in the marketplace. We were involved to look at introducing a method of performance measurement controls. Once we had the controls in place we looked at how best to manage the bottlenecks to increase

SPECIAL FEATURE | WINTER 14

FRESH THINKING

BQ puts SMAS practitioner John Johnston in the hot seat productivity. There’s been an improvement of over12%. An internal development opportunity was given to one of the team to move into a production manager/ scheduling role and I have been working with them in a coaching capacity to develop their leadership skills.

BQ: How has the relationship evolved?

JJ: As with most projects, there is the initial apprehension from the client and as a practitioner you need to gain their trust quickly. Initially, our role is as teacher, introducing the teams to the lean tools.

The client was very specific about what was needed. Now the conversation is more about coaching the teams and how the firm can drive improvements.

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BQ: Is this typical of your work with SMAS? JJ: It’s typical to try and gain a client’s trust as quickly as possible. However, no two projects are the same.

BQ: What has been your biggest professional challenge?

JJ: Having the confidence going into a company for the first time and believing you can help to drive the business forward.

BQ: What is the most satisfying part of your work?

JJ: The client suggesting a follow-up project.

If they have any concerns about your performance or the benefits they’re seeing in their business they will not progress with another project. n

HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS