WORLD FIRST TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATED AT DRPG’S BIGTALK EVENT

It was a hugely successful return for Kidderminster-based creative communications group DRPG’s annual Bigtalk event after the pandemic forced it to become a hybrid event for two years.

The Kidderminster company welcomed 150 clients from across Europe to its’ headquarters and studio complex in Worcestershire.

Now in its sixth year Bigtalk is DRPG’s flagship thought-leadership event where the team shares their industry’s latest trends, discoveries and best practices with partners and suppliers.

In what it said was a world-first for the industry, DRPG partnered with broadcast technology experts Creative Technology and German audio company Holoplot to showcase Ghostframe AV technology. This distributes content from a single

LED screen with Holoplot’s 3D audio beamforming technology to steer audio and target down to just one individual in certain environments.

The blended technology can deliver four presentations in multiple languages from one stage and presenter at the same time.

The overall theme for this year’s DRPG event was performance, following on from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games where the Group was Official Event Services Provider.

Guests listened to Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist and Team England boxer Delicious Orie, who discussed his career challenges and successes with DRPG CEO Dale Parmenter.

Dale said: “We were able to showcase some of the incredible technology that we’ll be seeing in the future event and comms landscape. Our clients got handson with realistic metaverse solutions and innovations that increase inclusivity in events and experiences.

“It’s great to get the vast array of industries together to discuss the commonalities and shared experiences to learn from and move forward collectively.”

Earlier this year, DRPG won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Sustainability category.

In its latest accounts DRPG saw a rise in turnover to more than £26 million from £20.4 million the previous year.

The year 2021 also saw the Group invest in all areas of the business, from infrastructure to new facilities and people.

Leading reusable bag designer and supplier Jutexpo announces new Chinese shareholders

The owners of Evesham-based reusable bag designer and supplier Jutexpo have sold a stake of the business to their Chinese partners.

After a five year partnership with manufacturing partners Baichuan Best Trade Group Limited and FeiFei (Lai Guang Zhou), Barrie and Sam Turner, owners of Jutexpo, have announced the Chinese firms will become shareholders in their business.

Jutexpo has become the UK market leader in reusable bags and products made with rPET (from post-consumer plastic bottles), along with Jute,Juco, Cotton, and its core principle is ‘Beyond the bag’ which focuses on integrity through ethical production, social responsibility, quality and trust.

The company supplies clients such as Sainsbury’s Waitrose, John Lewis, Tesco and Marks & Spencer.

Baichuan converts used plastic bottles to yarn, and ultimately the fabric the company uses in various standards and qualities. FeiFei manufacturers the finished products.

Chairman of Jutexpo, Barrie Turner said: “In the true sense we have become an international business, with a strong technical base, both at the core of the raw material, and in our product range.

“As senior shareholderb and chairman of the company, I believe that taking this cooperative step is good for all staff, bankers, customers and our suppliers.

Potter Space on course for major £18m expansion in Droitwich

Potter Space, which owns and operates five business parks across the UK, is on course to invest a total of £18 million in doubling the size of its Droitwich site, as construction begins on the first phase.

The company was granted planning permission earlier in the year to speculatively build an additional 105,000 sq ft of industrial units at Droitwich, to add to the existing 286,000 sq ft occupying the 38 acres.

With £10 million of investment committed to this initial phase, construction of the first two units will be complete by spring next year.

Jason Rockett, Managing Director at Potter Space, said: “Although we have had nearly 300,000 sq ft of buildings on site, we were close to 100 per cent occupancy and recognised the need to meet demand and the growing number of enquiries we were receiving for high quality warehouse units in the region.

“We are looking forward to the opportunity to develop the site further bringing new investment to the area.”

“Moreover, the blend of ownership underpins expansion and security – leaving the business free to concentrate on developing our range of unique products.”

Sam Turner, Managing Director of Jutexpo added: “Working collaboratively with our partners on the bottles to bags over the past five years has added to our success and this next stage in our business will shake up the reusable bag sector.

“We are excited in taking the first steps in reducing the globalisation of the industry, reducing the manufacturing process for our clients. Decreasing the current three to five month lead time to just a couple of weeks will be a gamechanger for our retail clients over the next couple of years.”

Worcester’s Clover HR forecasting 50 per cent growth

Worcester-based human resources specialist Clover HR is forecasting 50 per cent growth in the latest financial year after appointing eight new members of staff and securing 10 new clients on retained deals in the last six months.

Formed in 2017 Clover HR has grown to 32 staff, based at offices in Birmingham, London, Manchester, Cardiff and its Friar Street Worcester headquarters, and recently appointed Jenny Riley as its new Director of Service Delivery and Compliance.

Michael Doolin, Managing Director of Clover HR, said: “The hunt for talent has become tougher for employers and, in turn, we have seen this drive up the value of a new recruit as people want greater reassurances before taking on a new role.

“Since forming in 2017, Clover HR has worked with 150 SMEs.”

In our latest ‘new look’ edition of Figure 1 we look at a few of the forthcoming changes to the IP landscape.

First and foremost, we look at what the new proposed Unified Patent Court and Unitary Patent will mean for our clients who are doing business and protecting their inventions in Europe.

With rising costs, high energy prices and a cost-of-living crisis, saving money and maintaining cash flow is going to be a key consideration for any business. On page 10 of the magazine, Albright IP Director, Adrian Hocking, highlights some interesting figures around the use of Patent Box (or lack of it) and looks at the missed opportunity for considerable corporation tax savings.

We also talk about how IP training can help to capture innovation and hear from Patent Attorney, Cloe Loo, on why she chose a career in IP.

We hope you enjoy this latest edition.

Robert Games, Managing Director, Albright IP