AIRBAND ANNOUNCES FURTHER GROWTH

Worcester-based internet service provider Airband has announced an office expansion and new recruitment drive following several large contract wins.

The move follows rapid business growth and the appointment of Mark Stansfeld as chair earlier this year, as part of the firm’s wider strategy to drive growth and invest in digital transformation in rural and hard-toreach areas.

Mark is Chair of Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, a member of the UK5G and Midlands Engine boards, among other appointments.

Human Resources Director, Miranda Peel, said: “We want to attract the best engineering and digital talent, who will thrive in a vibrant and rapidly expanding business like Airband.

“Our mission is transforming connectivity for people and communities who deserve better and in order to do this we need to grow our engineering teams and our sales team.”

Automotive software company expands Malvern HQ

Global automotive software company Sofico, is expanding its UK headquarters in Malvern.

The company develops software for automotive finance, leasing management, fleet and mobility management companies.

Established as a start-up in Belgium in 1988, Sofico now turns over £39 million a year developing mobility software for companies and leasing fleet management in 24 different countries.

Sofico employs 310 staff in eight offices worldwide, in countries including Japan, Australia, France and Mexico.

Its UK headquarters currently employs 12 people and the business hopes to nearly double that number within the year.

The business based its UK headquarters in Worcestershire because of the county’s location and reputation as a tech hub.

Sofico was supported by Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership and the Department for International Trade, which connected the business with Hewett Recruitment, to support the early recruitment of Sofico’s workforce.

An invention which could revolutionise how people fuel their homes and businesses by converting domestic rubbish into energy could prevent 13.5 million tonnes of valuable resource entering the UK’s waste system, says its inventor.

And now, following more than 8,500 hours of testing and six months of field trials, Nik Spencer says the initial results are pointing to his invention HERU (Home Energy Resources Unit) as a major breakthrough technology.

The HERU takes everyday items, which would have been destined for disposal, such as coffee cups, plastics and nappies, and converts them into energy to heat water for the home or commercial buildings.

The HERU operated five days a week, every week for six months at Wychavon District Council, which covers the towns of Pershore, Droitwich Spa and Evesham.

To date it has processed up to four kilograms of resource per day, equating to 420 kilos of diverted resource from entering the waste system.

Nik Spencer said: “I am incredibly pleased with the reliability of the trial unit. The effort that went into testing before we delivered the HERU into the field has paid dividends.

“Through policy change to behavioural change, the HERU has the potential to change our relationship with what we currently discard, misbelieving it to be rubbish,” Nik added.