The Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Board met on Monday 20 December for the first time, marking the start of a new way of working for the City Region. 

Sheffield City Region was recognised by the Government as one of the UK’s first Local Enterprise Partnerships in October, at the meeting last night the newly-appointed private sector Board Members and the Vice Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University were able to meet the local authority leaders of the city region.

The key economic issues affecting the Sheffield City Region and a number of important infrastructure projects were identified, as well as discussing a way forward for increasing the collaboration between all parts of the region. 

Heralding the importance of public and private sectors working together, local business is at the heart of the Local Enterprise Partnership with James Newman as the private sector Chairman and six private sector Board members brought together with the Civic Leaders to form a new board from scratch. 

James Newman, Chairman of the Sheffield City Region LEP said: “I am delighted to welcome all my new colleagues from the private sector to the Board. There were a large number of applications for the six places on the Board and those selected are of the highest calibre and will, I am sure, contribute significantly to the many challenges facing the Board. 

Between them, they span a broad spread of business sectors and all the geographical parts of the region, which should assist in bringing together the key industries and other partners, so essential to the success of the LEP.’’

One of the first key tasks is to communicate the aims and plans of the LEP with the private sector and to establish a way in which the wider business community can input into the future economic growth of the region in alongside and in partnership with the public sector.

Councillor Paul Scriven, Leader of Sheffield City Council said: “It was a great first meeting that focussed both business minds and public sector leaders on the job of getting the right things done for the local economy to promote economic growth and jobs. All in all, a very positive start to get our economy to where it should be.” 

The board showed their determination to ensure that the manufacturing national hub is based here in the City Region and are focused on ensuring we have great housing to drive the economy forward.

James Newman added: ‘’It was an excellent first meeting of the new Board, which is one of the first in the country to meet as a LEP, where its private sector members have been selected in an open recruitment process. 

“The task ahead is a challenging one, but I am confident that with the cooperation between the local authorities in the region, coupled with the private sector and university input, the Board will be able to set the strategic direction and economic targets and encourage and support both the private and public sector to work together to achieve these aims. ‘’  

The board will now be moving fast to get the first business plan to Government so that the LEP can get the tools to get on with the job.

The next LEP Board meeting will be held in January 2011. The board will continue to meet monthly for the initial six months.

For a list of the board members, please click here.

Team Bromley’s athletes, Shelley Rudman & Kristan Bromley have had a strong first half of this year’s FIBT Skeleton Bobsleigh World Cup competition. 

The four races in the North American leg of the competition have seen them come into the Christmas break with six medals between them from a potential eight. They also have second place rankings in the respective overall World Cup standings and as with last season the Team Bromley athletes have been the only Great Britain team sliders to win World Cup medals; adding this year’s haul to date to the eight medals won last season.

The Team Bromley athletes performance last year and their excellent form this season has contributed to an unprecedented level of orders for runners and sleds from other athletes and international teams, and currently Bromley Technologies supply 15 nations from their base at the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham. 

Given the performance of the athletes using Bromley equipment it is arguable that if there was a constructor’s championship between the two British based sled technology programmes, as in Formula One then Bromley Technologies, having won nearly every medal in the last two seasons, would be the leading constructor.  

Mike Maddock, COO of Bromley Technologies comments;

“The results from the first half of the year have been excellent, and show the consistent high quality of the Bromley equipment supporting our athletes. Although we exceeded our R&D targets in getting our athletes and also a number of clients to Vancouver in February, it was tinged with the disappointment of not topping what had been an amazing season by winning a medal at the games.

“It’s pretty much a case of ‘situation normal’ now, collecting all of the British medals so far this year, and showing that the Bromley equipment can perform well on all tracks across the world. It is great to have both Shelley and Kristan currently standing as second in the world rankings, as this is a great tribute to the technology and athlete partnership. We have great hopes for the remaining part of the season and delivering on this year equipment R&D programme and we are over the moon that Shelley & Kristan are happy with the support being delivered by our team.

“In addition to our Team Bromley athletes, Shelley & Kristan, we have had a very good year with commercial sled sales and it’s great to see our customers performing well on the World Cup, Intercontinental and Europa Cup tours.” 

In the current World Cup rankings Kristan is in 2nd place with 802 points, only 17 points behind the current leader Martins Dukurs of Latvia. Similarly Shelley also lies in 2nd place in the women’s world rankings with 814 points, 36 point behind Anja Huber of Germany. 

The World Cup competition resumes in Igls, Austria on 14th January, ahead of the final three rounds in Winterberg, Germany, St Moritz, Switzerland and Torino, Italy.

Northern Trust is pleased to announce that their 95,000 sq ft industrial scheme at Aspen Court, Rotherham is now fully occupied.

 

The announcement comes following the latest letting of Unit 12 to Skylite Packaging Ltd, who has taken a 3 year lease on the 1,588 sq ft unit. Three other companies’ have recently expanded their businesses and taken additional space on the estate. These have included:

The high quality industrial estate split into 23 industrial/warehouse units is now home to 19 companies.

 

Skylite Packaging Ltd commented “Aspen Court is lovely and we feel right at home on the estate. Everyone is very friendly and it’s a great place to work from.”

 

David Lee, Regional Property Manager for Whittle Jones, managing agents acting on behalf of Northern Trust commented “Aspen Court occupies a strategic location at Centurion Business Park, with excellent transport links. With high quality units and the ability to offer flexible tenancy agreements, the estate has attracted a range of new and existing businesses. We are pleased to have been able to accommodate a number of current occupiers in their business expansions by offering additional space. Aspen Court has proved a huge success and we are delighted to announce it being 100% let.”

 

Northern Trust’s portfolio covers over 227,800 sq ft in the Rotherham area, providing a range of high quality units ranging from 786 sq ft to 14,000 sq ft.

 

Aspen Court lies on an 8 acre site and benefits from on-site security, incorporating CCTV, own self contained/shared service yard, with generous extended circulation and car parking areas. The units offer excellent office facilities with glazed elevations and benefit from electronically/manually operated up and over loading doors.

 

Neil Keally, Director at joint-agents Burgess Commercial in Rotherham commented “Aspen Court has certainly proved a popular estate during 2010, not only to businesses within Rotherham but also to existing businesses re-locating to larger premises within the estate.  It’s been encouraging to see the estate continue its success and return to being fully let.  Aspen Court has certainly defied the general trend of difficult market conditions, assisted by continuing to appear an attractive and well-managed estate.”

 

For further information about Aspen Court contact one of the joint agents Burgess Commercial (01709 721706), or Whittle Jones (0113 245 6787)

Dormer Tools has enjoyed a significant increase in sales of more than 20 per cent for 2010 and is likely to achieve pre-recession levels of two years ago.   

 

The UK arm of the engineering firm is enjoying better than expected results two years after moving to their facility at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, which was officially opened in January 2009. 

 

Dormer’s premises at the AMP incorporate a state-of-the-art training suite and a major research and development facility - one of only four such facilities worldwide. Both areas have played a significant role in providing customers across the UK with the right cutting tools for their applications. 

 

Dormer believes its decision to place greater emphasis on training staff and customers on their products is leading to an upturn in the amount of tools being sold to blue chip organisations as well as small and medium sized enterprises.   

 

The increase has also been supported with the recent launch of new a branding strategy for its high performance tools - Spectrum and Elect - which simplifies the decision making process for Dormer’s client base. 

 

Chris Herring, business development manager at Dormer Tools, said: “We have seen a significant increase in the amount of high performance tooling being sold during 2010. It is a case that we are not only selling more products, but we are selling more of the right products. 

 

“A couple of years ago we re-wrote our strategy to shift more focus onto research and development and training to handle any effects of the recession. Since moving to the AMP we have underlined the importance of customer’s application requirements and we are now starting to see the benefits. 

 

“Our research and development centre of excellence is tasked with identifying, devising and delivering new products and machining solutions. Products are only created if there is a market need.   

 

“As soon as a product is launched we provide an extensive amount of training for our national sales staff and distributors to help them identify what products to sell to what customers. 

“Increasing their knowledge and understanding of the machining process has enabled them to identify the optimum product for each customer’s requirement. This has then lead to positive results for the client, building Dormer’s reputation as an expert supplier.”

Dormer has its own research and development facilities and also works closely with many of the world’s leading Universities and research institutes to ensure it remains at the forefront of tool design. 

 

Further information is available by contacting Dormer on 0870 850 4466 or by visiting www.dormertools.com.

Bromley PES and Materialise UK have teamed up to show their combined capabilities in engineering design & rapid manufacturing to an international audience.

The companies had been invited to exhibit within the Sport Technology zone of the Technology World show held recently at London’s ExCeL Arena. The event in association with UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), allowed representatives from leading international companies looking to generate investment, collaboration, research and business development opportunities to meet with UK science and technology organisations during the two-day show. 

The Bromley Skeleton Challenge simulator was the star exhibit of the Sport Technology zone which saw visitors from the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games and the Kazan 2013 Universiade attend. Bromley showcased its R&D and manufacturing capability in producing Olympic winter sport equipment, and as the world’s leading commercial developer of high performance skeleton and bobsleigh products, currently supply the team’s of nearly 20 nations. It’s equipment has also provided the British Skeleton Bobsleigh team with all of its medals in the past two years of World Cup competition. 

The main focus however for the companies, based at the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham, was to showcase their capabilities for industry, as Dan Fleetcroft, design director at Bromley PES commented;

“It was an extremely successful show for both ourselves and Materialise. We had a large number of enquiries for our joint services from companies in the film production, lighting, aerospace and automotive industries, and also a potential bespoke design project using reverse engineering.”

Bromley PES is a new breed of engineering consultancy that specialises in providing performance engineering solutions by enhancing the performance of components, products and systems through integrated engineering thinking and innovation in design, materials, manufacture and testing.

Materialise enjoys a worldwide reputation for its activities in the field of rapid industrial and medical prototyping, as well as being a provider of innovative software solutions. Materialise’s Low Volume Manufacturing Solutions, allow production ready components to be manufactured in days whilst minimising investment costs. 

Together the two companies can offer a comprehensive service to clients as Philip Hudson, managing director of Materalise UK adds; 

“Shows like Technology World are important to highlight the latest developments in engineering design, rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing technologies. Techniques that were not realistic options only a few years ago are now available. In addition to exhibiting at these shows we are visiting businesses to showcase the technologies available and show how they can be applied in many processes to drive efficiency and new provide innovative ways of manufacture. We’re also keen to work with companies to understand their issues and for them to challenge us to provide a solution.”

 

To find out more about the capabilities of Bromley PES and Materialise visit www.bromley-pes.com and www.materialise.com

Rotherham based glazing specialist, Greenberg Glass and Glazing has cemented its position as a major supplier to the UKs high streets with the signing of its 100th Storeplan contract.

The nationwide Storeplan scheme fully supports and services Greenbergs completed new works installations or an existing property portfolio. Providing a fully integrated reactive store shop front emergency call out, repair, replacement and maintenance service the scheme is specifically for multiple retailers. 

Storeplan is supported and managed by a new bespoke job management system, designed and built in house specifically for Greenberg, which provides clients with up to the minute job information. 

Managing Director, John Askew, said: Storeplan offers multiple retailers peace of mind as they can be confident in the consistent service and the understanding that we have of their business. Our aim is to respond quickly and meet the clients requirements as quickly as possible with minimum disruption. The fact that we have now signed 100 Storeplan contracts is testament to this.

For more information see: http://www.greenbergglass.co.uk/

Yorkshire based company EMSc (UK) Limited is pleased to announce it has signed exclusive agreements with companies in Australia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to market and install its Powerstar voltage optimisation solution. 

 

In Australia the company has set up a joint venture with Perth based Cockburn Electrical and in the UAE it has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Wildcatos Oil services. The company carried out in-depth demographic and market research to identify countries in which to market Powerstar. 

Like the UK, there is a growing demand in both Australia and the UAE not only for a ‘greener’ approach towards energy consumption, to overcome concerns about the impact on the environment, but also from businesses that are looking to find ways of reducing their costs through a more efficient use of the power they have to buy from energy providers.

In line with the success the company has been experiencing in the UK, it has also seen sales for Powerstar grow in markets across Europe. To meet demand in Cyprus, for example, the company has had to employ a new business development manager.

To further highlight the growing international interest in Powerstar Dr. Alex Mardapittas, designer and managing director of EMSc, recently appeared on national television in South Africa, on CNBC’s Powerlunch, to talk about Powerstar. He was also invited to be a guest speaker at the South African Energy Efficiency Convention. 

Dr. Mardapittas commented; “As international interest in Powerstar increases, we will continue to identify and implement the most appropriate distribution strategy for each market. In Australia and the UAE our partners have long established businesses and know their respective markets very well.”

Powerstar is the most efficient voltage optimisation system in the world and can save up to 26.1% of total electricity consumption and related CO² emissions, all without compromising the supply to electrical equipment. The payback period is typically between 0.8 and 2.5 years.

Powerstar provides an instant solution to businesses and organisations, enabling them to save money by reducing energy consumption, at the same time cutting carbon emissions.

Leading internet service provider RiPWIRE has secured a major partnership with a Barnsley-based IT specialist to deliver superfast broadband to homes and businesses across South Yorkshire.

RiPWiRE, who are based in RiDO’s Fusion @ Magna Business Centre, provides a range of high quality internet and telecommunications services to the public sector, businesses and home user, from the latest in high speed wired and wireless broadband internet access, telephony, VoIP, mobile data and voice, managed services to cloud computing services. The company also provides leading edge applications for the healthcare and retail sectors.

RiPWiRE was the first ISP to sign-up to the digital region network, which is managed by Digital Region Ltd on behalf of the four local councils in Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley and Doncaster, along with Yorkshire Forward. The development is potentially the largest open-access broadband platform infrastructure in the world.

The deal will see Barnsley based Arcus Technology become a partner with RiPWiRE in helping to offer high-speed internet connectivity to the Digital Region network, which will see South Yorkshire become one of the first areas in the country to provide download speeds of up to 40Mb per second.

Arcus will provide value added services to RiPWiRE's high speed network connection's for local businesses to ensure they can take advantage of the new broadband, which will have download speeds up to ten times faster than the average broadband.

Quentin Birchall, director of RiPWiRE, said:

"The availability of super-fast broadband is a great opportunity for businesses across South Yorkshire as it will enable them to enhance their online service to their customer base and improve the way they operate.

"During the last few years there has been significant growth in the creative and digital sector in this area and the new network will enable those companies to develop even further.

"We are delighted to establish a partnership with Arcus as they will be able to reach even more customers in new markets and help build the connectivity to the network."

Dale Heath, director of Arcus Technology, added:

"This partnership is fantastic news for local businesses as it will see more people gain access to super-fast broadband which has a service level agreement.

"The industry and technology being used is constantly moving forward and it is vital that companies do the same otherwise their current internet access will struggle to cope with ever increasing demands.

"We are confident that the agreement with RiPWiRE will be the start of further collaboration between the two companies, including Cloud based services which enables lower cost delivery of services, such as IT support, security and business continuity."

To find out more about RiPWiRE please visit www.ripwire.co.uk.

A new joint venture (JV) between Rotherham-based Newburgh Engineering and Leeds-based Firechill is set to create up to 100 new jobs in the manufacture of a new energy-efficient low carbon refrigeration system in Rotherham.  The new JV, named Firechill Manufacturing, is the result of a Yorkshire Forward initiative to search for new opportunities to bring manufacturing into Yorkshire.  

The Sheffield office of national law firm Nabarro advised the JV in securing the US-developed Cooltec heat-activated technology that Firechill Manufacturing will manufacture and market to worldwide. 

Newburgh Engineering is a high precision manufacturer and it will make the units at its Rotherham site, while global distribution, recruitment and marketing will be undertaken by Firechill Trading.  

Nabarro partner Andrea Cropley, who advised Newburgh says:

"Firechill Manufacturing is set offer a new, commercial green product manufactured in our region for export to a worldwide market.  This is an excellent example of private sector growth in our local economy following assistance from a public sector initiative.

“The creation of the new jobs will depend on the success of the product in the coming years, but early estimates of up to 100 new jobs is not over-optimistic.”

Vincent Middleton at Newburgh Engineering says:

“The assistance from Nabarro in forming the JV was critical, it is now up to all the Firechill team to now deliver a world beating green product that’s Made in Sheffield.”

MTL Group is the latest investor to be helped in relocating their business to Rotherham by the Council's investment service.

MTL Group is a fast growing contract manufacturing company that works with a global blue-chip customer base in the defence, construction equipment, rail and off-shore wind energy sectors. When the company was looking to expand and relocate from its current premises in Sheffield to a new 300,000 square feet advanced manufacturing facility, they turned for help to Rotherham Investment & Development Office (RiDO), the regeneration arm of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council.

MTL Group had identified a property in Rotherham through their agents Knight Frank and RiDO helped by linking them in to other organisations such as Rotherham Council Planners, CO2Sense, and The University of Sheffield's AMRC with Boeing to ensure a smooth relocation in to the borough. MTL are currently undertaking work on the Brinsworth premises which is being project managed by Knight Frank's Building Consultancy Team and plan to be operational there in Spring 2011.

Dr Henry Shirman, managing director of MTL Group said; 

"Since 2006, our business has trebled sales to £50 million and more than doubled staff levels to 310. We needed to move to a larger facility that would both house the company's state of the art equipment and provide space for continued expansion. We wanted to stay within the same area and Rotherham offered a great option. RiDO linked up with Knight Frank to take all the hassle out of the property side of the move, and have introduced us to some key organisations in the Rotherham area."

Andrew Nettleton from RiDO, added;

"We are very pleased to welcome MTL Group to Rotherham. The Borough has an established reputation for manufacturing excellence, and having businesses such as MTL alongside our existing companies means that this reputation will be further enhanced in the future."

RiDO provides a professional and completely free service that can help with everything from finding the right sites and premises, to planning advice and guidance, from finding and training recruits to locating new customers and suppliers.

For more information visit www.mtlgrp.com

Bromley Technologies have recently completed the first international tour with their unique skeleton simulator educational experience.

The visit to Alberta, Canada was at the invitation of the South Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), together with Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, the national governing body for bobsleigh sports in Canada. 

The trip started at the SAIT Presidential Gala Dinner for over 200 guests including many influential local and national business leaders. The dinner also gave a first opportunity for the women's World Number 1, Canadian skeleton bobsleigh athlete Melissa Hollingsworth to try out the simulator. 

From their base at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, the Bromley Technologies team designed the Skeleton simulator to identify talent who have the necessary natural ability, balance, coordination and core stability, to successfully navigate the skeleton down the virtual bob track. 

The simulator, through the software, can be tuned by changing the four key engineering principles involved in designing and development of a racing skeleton. Due to this very unique design the simulator has been promoted by the Bromley team as a unique educational platform to help to promote design, sport and performance engineering as a stimulating and very real career option.

During the tour the Bromley team presented to over 600 students and parents in the Calgary area, working alongside athletes from the Canadian national s keleton squad to give the youngsters a better understanding of the sport and allowing them to experience skeleton for themselves through the simulator. 

The visit also made national news in Canada, with broadcaster CTV reporting on one of the school visits in their daily primetime sports programme. 

Dr. Alex Zahavich, Director – Applied Research and Innovation Services, SAIT Polytechnic said;

“Bringing the skeleton sled simulator to Calgary was an excellent example of international collaboration to promote this exciting, highly technical sport. The response at SAIT Polytechnic’s President’s Gala and at the high schools was beyond what we expected. 

“We look forward to expanding our relationship with Bromley Technologies and bringing the simulator back to SAIT and Calgary next year, while working on other projects.”

Mike Maddock from Bromley Technologies commented;

"The reception we got from everyone was amazing. It seemed odd at first to be taking the skeleton simulator from Britain over to a winter sports nation like Canada, but there is nothing else like it in the world.  

"It was clear that the pupils loved being able to emulate their heroes like Melissa and men's Olympics champion Jon Montgomery, whilst also learning more about the science, engineering and technology of sport. 

“We live and breathe design and performance engineering and we want to promote to the next generation. We show that it can be a great career choice as engineers and designers are key to the future economy."

Bromley have a number of booking from schools in the UK for the simulator and have presented to over 8,000 UK children and students in the last 18 months to raise the profile of careers in Design engineering and sports. 

The team are already in discussions to repeat the Canadian trip in early 2011 and are looking forward to working with more Canadian schools. 

For further information on the skeleton simulator see http://www.bromley-aet.com/page.php?31

Century Business Centre at Manvers has recently celebrated 10 years of helping local new start businesses to thrive and grow. The Centre, designed for small and new start business, offers a range of office and workshop units, and Centre staff marked the occasion with some of their current tenant companies. 

Since 2000 the Centre has been home to over 200 businesses, creating more than 600 jobs, and many of its former tenants have gone on to become larger, established businesses, operating in global markets. One of these Martek Marine have grown from one workshop unit to a world leader in the manufacture of safety and environmental emissions monitoring systems for the global marine industry, turning over in excess of £7 million per year.

Other alumni of Century Business Centre include; Wren Turbines, who manufacture miniature operational jet engines; CoMap Systems Ltd, which produce control systems for electricity generating equipment; Prototype Creative Ltd, a  graphic and website design company; and Industrial Software Limited. 

The Centre, owned and managed by Rotherham Investment & Development Office (RiDO), the regeneration arm of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council was originally developed to help local people in the Manvers area of the Dearne Valley to set up their own businesses following the decline of traditional industries.

Amanda Parris, RiDO’s Business Centre Manager said;

“This is an important milestone, not just for Century but for the fact that it started the whole culture of business incubation in Rotherham. It has been really great working with all of the businesses that have being based here over the years, and to see many of them grow and expand.

“It has also being interesting to see the developments around the Manvers area in the last ten years. Back in 2000 Century stood on its own, but now with more commercial and residential developments, the area is a great place to live and work.”   

Steve Coulson, Director at Martek Marine commented;

“Choosing Century Business Centre was a great decision in our growth story. The set-up at the Centre gave us the flexibility to develop our business in a rapid, organic way, allowing our business to incubate then accommodating our growth spurts, and eventually allowing us to fend for ourselves without bureaucracy or fuss. 

“The business centre itself is only one story; the staff are the true stars. Led by Amanda Parris they always gave us the very best service, and after leaving Century to move into a self contained unit we have continued to progress, even in the harshest trading conditions in living memory.” 

Throughout the ten years of its operation, Century has always been popular and at most times over 90% of units have been occupied. Its current tenants include a number of growing and innovative businesses, and one of these Spangles UK Ltd, a fashion jewellery company, recently finished joint runner-up in the HSBC Bank ‘Start-up Stars’ national business competition final, having previously being the competition’s North East regional winner.

The success at Century led the Council to expand the provision for small business incubator premises, and RiDO now has four centres, located across the Borough at Moorgate Crofts, Templeborough and Dinnington providing over 200 office and workshop units.   

Councillor Gerald Smith, Rotherham Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Development Services, said;

“I want to congratulate all the past and present companies and RiDO staff that have been part of the achievements at Century Business Centre in the past ten years. It has shown there is a real desire within Rotherham for high quality space for business start-ups, and that with the right supportive environment new businesses can really succeed. Century has become a blueprint for the expansion of incubation and enterprise support services in the Borough, and has played a key role in helping develop Rotherham’s enterprise culture. 

“Testament to this fact is recent Royal Mail research which shows the borough as having the second highest number of start-up businesses in the country this year and our recent success in winning the national competition for ‘The Most Enterprising Place in Britain for 2010’, awarded by Enterprise UK. The acknowledgement from this organisation, founded by the British Chambers of Commerce, the CBI, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Institute of Directors to encourage enterprise is a powerful endorsement of our enterprise activities in Rotherham.” 

For more information on Century Business Centre and its current tenant companies visit http://www.ridobusinesscentres.co.uk/century-manvers

Westinghouse Electric UK and Springfields Fuels Ltd. have enhanced its commitment to UK manufacturing, by awarding a major new contract to Rotherham based Newburgh Engineering for the supply of in-core reactor fuel components for use at existing UK nuclear power stations. 

Newburgh Engineering secured the 10-year multi-million pound contract, after successfully completing a rigorous tendering process for Springfields Fuels Ltd, which assessed its quality control, health & safety and production systems to meet the stringent requirements of the nuclear fuel industry.

As a supplier of high precision components to the nuclear industry for almost 60 years, Newburgh Engineering has the expertise and dedicated manufacturing capabilities to fulfill the needs of this prestigious contract. As nuclear is set to become a much more prominent energy source to meet this country’s future power needs, this contract provides a bright future for Newburgh’s 100+ workforce.

Vincent Middleton, Managing Director at Newburgh Engineering, said:

“This is fantastic news for our team, who have been working hard for over 12 months to secure this contract.  It is testament to the skills and expertise of our staff and the systems we have in place here that we have been selected from strong UK and international competition to work with Springfields Fuels Ltd.  We are looking forward to building on our long term partnership with them as we embark on this exciting contract.”

Springfields Fuels Ltd, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Westinghouse Electric Company and Toshiba Nuclear Power Division, is based in Preston and manufactures fuel assemblies for EDF-Energy’s fleet of Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors and produces thousands of tons of uranium hexafluoride and uranium powder for export each year. Around 15 per cent of all the electricity generated in the UK comes from power stations using nuclear fuel manufactured at Springfields’ facility.

This contract win highlights Westinghouse’s confidence in UK manufacturing and builds on their existing commitment to the region as a major sponsor and member of the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC) in Sheffield.

Vincent Middleton adds:

“We will be working closely with the Nuclear AMRC in South Yorkshire to enhance this region’s reputation for high precision engineering for the nuclear industry.”

Bob McKenzie, Product Engineering manager at Springfields Fuels Ltd, said:

‘We are delighted to maintain our partnership with Newburgh Engineering who have supplied us with quality components for many years. We look forward to working with the team of people involved in making our products so that the current high standards of excellence continue to be enhanced throughout the life of the new contract.”   

Newburgh Engineering, which has two manufacturing sites – one in Rotherham, South Yorkshire and one in Bradwell, Derbyshire, is a specialist contract manufacturer of component parts and assemblies for the nuclear, defence, oil and gas, petrochemical, aerospace and power generation industries.   The company, which recently celebrated its 70th anniversary, is renowned within the UK for its high quality precision engineering across many industry sectors.

Despite losing the vote with the People’s Millions last Monday [November 22] Rotherham will still receive £50,000 due to being the highest scoring runner up.

Rotherham Open Arts Renaissance (ROAR) entered the People’s Millions competition to bid for £50,000 to allow them to renovate Westgate Chambers in Rotherham town centre – transforming the disused space into a permanent arts hub.

Chief Executive for ROAR Karen Sherwood said: “I’m delighted that Rotherham has still been awarded the money – this means the town centre is still a winner and it’s thanks to those of you who voted, Rotherham Borough Council and partners for all of their support. 

“The money will make a significant difference to the town and its community. Growing the arts and cultural offer in these small centres is critical to differentiate them from competing areas.

“I hope the new arts space will draw people into using the town and give something back to those in the creative world wanting space to work, exhibit and sell from whilst encouraging beginners to take advantage of the opportunities that will soon be here within Rotherham.”

The money, which was awarded to ROAR for being a close runner up to York, will convert 5,000 sq ft of town centre empty office space on the top floor of Westgate Chambers into low cost artist’s studios and community space – suitable for workshops and temporary events which will be accessible to all.

The site is virtually opposite the emerging mini arts hub in the stunning Imperial Buildings and next to the newly developed Old Market, offering fantastic opportunities to enlarge the independent artistic offer for Rotherham town centre. 

Burgess Commercial has successfully negotiated the sale of Energy House, Fitzwilliam Road, Eastwood on behalf of Roger Appleyard Ltd to WPS 5 Ltd.  The property comprises workshops and offices of some 10,600 ft2 together with a secure self contained yard.  

The purchasers are a newly formed company headed by Nigel Dace, who has over 30 years experience in the printing industry.  WPS 5 Ltd will create 12 – 15 new jobs, with the business being primarily commercial printing, which will serve the whole of the UK.

Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, has officially launched building work on the new Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre during a visit to the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham.

Her Majesty donned a set of virtual reality glasses to remotely activate a digger from inside the AMRC's MANTRA (Manufacturing Transporter). MANTRA is a customised lorry and trailer designed to give aspiring young engineers a hands-on experience with state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies, including a 3D virtual reality system used for product design, simulation and training.

The Nuclear AMRC is a new collaboration between the University of Sheffield and the University of Manchester, with the backing of the Government and leading companies involved in building the new generation of civil nuclear power stations. Based on the same collaborative model as the AMRC, the Nuclear AMRC will help UK companies become global leaders in the production of components and systems for the new generation of nuclear power stations. 

The Nuclear AMRC building will sit alongside the established AMRC Factory of the Future, on the AMP, the UK’s premier advanced manufacturing technology park. It will incorporate 8000 sq m of factory-scale research facilities, laboratories, and office and meeting space. The landmark building is scheduled for completion in autumn 2011 and is expected to create circa 100 direct staff, including academic researchers, technicians and apprentices, with hundreds more in supply chains across the region.

During their visit, Her Majesty The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh toured the facilities of the AMRC Factory of the Future, and viewed research projects that AMRC researchers are leading for partner companies including Boeing, BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce. Her Majesty also met with AMRC apprentices, who talked about how they are benefiting from the apprenticeship programme. 

Professor Keith Ridgway OBE, founder and research director of the AMRC and programme director of the Nuclear AMRC, said: 

"We are very proud to welcome Her Majesty to the AMRC at this very exciting time. Over the past decade, the AMRC with Boeing has supported hundreds of manufacturing businesses and helped make sure that British engineering knowhow can compete with the world's best. The Nuclear AMRC will take this technological excellence into new markets, and help British companies supply the new generation of power stations worldwide."

Funding totalling £22million for the NAMRC was announced in December 2009 by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and Yorkshire Forward with the investment into Yorkshire and Humber’s manufacturing industry expected to put the region at the very heart of the UK’s energy sector.

Terry Hodgkinson CBE, Chair of Yorkshire Forward attended the event and commented: 

“We are honoured that Her Majesty The Queen can join us today to launch the construction of the NAMRC, a facility which will put this region at the very heart of the UK’s energy sector for many years to come.   

“Yorkshire Forward has worked closely with partners and Government to secure investment for the NAMRC and in doing so, the cutting edge facilities at the AMP and the quality of our region’s academic and business skills base have been recognised.

“The UK's nuclear programme is expected to create over 4,500 engineering jobs over the next 25 years and well over a £1bn a year to the industry. Today’s start on site cements Yorkshire and Humbers position as a centre of excellence for manufacturing, to a global marketplace, securing and creating jobs now and in the future.” 

Yorkshire Forward’s investment in the NAMRC is the latest in a long line of strategic investments supporting advanced manufacturing across Yorkshire and Humber, including over £80million in the AMP since its inception. 

The Vision for the AMP was also recently extended for a further three years, with partners UK Coal, ensuring that ‘a platform for the exploitation of current and new manufacturing and material technologies to strengthen the regional economy and provide a competitive advantage to tenants and their partners in selective industry sectors’ until 2013.

During Global Entrepreneurship Week Rotherham Enterprise Board highlights a successful year and launches a major event - Rotherham Means Business 2011.

Over the past year the business led Rotherham Enterprise Board have concentrated their efforts on driving the spirit of enterprise within the borough, this has been achieved through a variety of innovative initiatives including Tablecloth Enterprise and Dragons’ Den events both of which have been funded by UK Steel Enterprise and a FREE mentoring programme.

Many individuals have benefited from these initiatives and with more planned for late 2010 into 2011 the benefits are set to continue.

2011 will see Rotherham Enterprise Board host the borough’s first Enterprise & Business Show. The event, which is FREE for delegates to attend, will be delivered in partnership with Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council and Business Link Yorkshire.

The event will take place on the 10th March 2011 at Magna between 8:30am – 4pm and will offer pre start, early stage and established businesses excellent networking and development opportunities.

The event will boast a range of inspirational keynote speakers and practical seminars. In addition the show will feature a major Meet the Buyer opportunity for a whole range of businesses, key public sector organisations will be on hand to give large and small businesses alike an opportunity to pitch for business.

John Wainwright, Chair of Rotherham Enterprise Board said: “We envisage that Rotherham Means Business 2011 will offer budding entrepreneurs, early stage and established businesses the inspiration and vision to turn their dreams into reality.”

“The event will offer practical advice to anyone who is interested in setting up their own company, improving sales, developing local supply chains or achieving expansion plans. It will also offer excellent business to business networking opportunities alongside an extensive seminar programme.”

“The Board recognises the challenge thrown down by government for the business sector to lead us out of the deficit situation and is seizing this opportunity to put Rotherham and South Yorkshire squarely on the map.”

Further details of the event, including keynote speakers, will be released over the coming months via a dedicated website www.rotherhammeansbusiness.co.uk, which goes live on the 19th November 2010.

Delegates will also be able to reserve their FREE place at the event via this website or by contacting Business Link on 08456 048 048.

Rotherham Work and Skills Board, The Source and UK Steel Enterprise have all committed to support this unique event and with sponsorship and exhibitor packages still available anyone interested in taking advantage of the competitive rates are encouraged to visit the dedicated website or contact Rotherham Enterprise Board’s Enterprise Events Co-ordinator.

The Enterprise Board is funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

For more information on Rotherham Means Business 2011 or Rotherham Enterprise Board please contact the Enterprise Events Co-ordinator at Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council on 01709 823816 or via email on RothEntBoard@rotherham.gov.uk

A town that teaches four-year-olds about enterprise has beaten off stiff competition from across the country to be crowned as “The Most Enterprising Place in Britain” 2010. 

Rotherham wowed a panel of tough private sector judges to take the top prize in the prestigious “Enterprising Britain” competition for their innovative model for creating a culture of enterprise.

Rotherham Ready, the enterprise education programme, entered the competition under the category of ‘enterprise culture’ showcasing the town’s achievements over the last five years to inspire children and young people about business, enterprise entrepreneurship. 

On Monday November 15, the results of the competition were announced at a ceremony at the House of Lords attended by Dragons Den star Peter Jones and BIS minister Mark Prisk. 

A delegation from Rotherham including Rotherham Council’s Enterprise Projects Manager Jackie Frost, Rotherham Ready Project Officer Catherine Brentnall, Lauren Stanley (11) and James Wass (13) from St Bernard’s Catholic High School, their enterprising teacher Kevin Wright and Rotherham young entrepreneur Dominic Beck (18) were there to hear the results. 

Jackie Frost said: “Winning this award is richly deserved recognition for the effort and passion of everyone involved in developing enterprise in Rotherham. 

“Young people in Rotherham need to be enterprising, more so now than ever, and we thank our schools and colleges, our local businesses, entrepreneurs, our partners and colleagues from the council that work so hard to help create a culture of enterprise in the town.”

Three judges visited the town in October to learn more about Rotherham Ready, hearing from Infant, Primary and Secondary school pupils and college students about how they are mentored by local entrepreneurs to develop their enterprise skills and develop businesses. 

Local businesses, entrepreneurs, teachers and partners also showed how they work together to support the development of enterprise in education from 4-19 and beyond. 

Their stories showed how Rotherham has the complete package for developing enterprise, with Rotherham Ready inspiring children about business as soon as they start school, and Rotherham Youth Enterprise providing all the support young people need to make their business dreams a reality. 

Rotherham was also able to demonstrate that its success could be replicated elsewhere, having successfully launched “Hull Ready” in 2008 and exporting “Inspire” enterprise training to Sheffield, Barnsley, Doncaster, Warrington, Liverpool and even Spain!

Rotherham has been undergoing a profound shift in culture, due to almost 54,000 enterprise interventions in schools between Rotherham Ready and Rotherham Youth Enterprise in the last five years.  

Catherine Brentnall, Rotherham Ready Project Officer said: “Creating a culture of enterprise is a national aspiration and we have shown in Rotherham how that can be done. 

“Over the long term there will never be more entrepreneurs or more business start ups unless we excite children about these opportunities, and help them develop the skills and aspirations to chase them.”

Rotherham Ready, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund, has trained hundreds of teachers to develop enterprise in schools and colleges, and harnessed the passion of the business community to promote enterprise and entrepreneurship in education. 

An astounding 103 schools and colleges in Rotherham have also achieved the Warwick Award for Excellence in Enterprise Education, the quality mark for enterprise learning. 

Rotherham Youth Enterprise provides start up support, business coaching and incubation workspace for young entrepreneurs, enabling 232 youngsters to start businesses in the last five years. 

Now these achievements have been recognised by the town winning the top prize in the national Enterprising Britain awards. 

Now in its sixth year, the nationwide competition run by Enterprise UK through the Regional Development Agencies, including Yorkshire Forward, rewards cities, villages, towns and neighbourhoods that have tackled the economic downturn head on and are successfully creating jobs, boosting local business and nurturing entrepreneurial talent as the UK emerges from recession. 

John Fox, Director of local pub chain Foxman Pubs, commented: “This is absolutely brilliant news. I’m delighted that Rotherham is well and truly on the map for this work. 

“Being a member of the business community in Rotherham it means a lot to be able to contribute to inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs and help make the town a better place.” 

John Healey, one of the town’s MPs, who played a critical role in launching Rotherham Ready five years ago added: “Rotherham Ready has had such an impact that it is shaping the curriculum and it will shape the future of Britain.

“Enterprise has been used as a legitimate learning tool and has put the borough at the forefront of innovative teaching on a global scale by enabling students to bridge the gap between business and education.”

Mori Seiki, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of metal cutting machines, has opened an office at the AMP Technology Centre on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham.

The facility next to the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing will provide a base for Mori Seiki’s support of the Strategic Affordable Manufacturing in the UK with Leading Environmental Technology (SAMULET) project.

The aim of SAMULET, which is a collaborative project led by Rolls-Royce between industry and academia, is to ensure that the UK aero-engine industry remains competitive in the face of new 2020 emission targets. It will focus on productivity and environmental improvements, including efficient advanced manufacturing processes and lower engine fuel consumption. By applying science and technology throughout the supply chain, its goal is to help overcome the threat of climate change and promote sustainable living.

Mori Seiki’s collaboration on the project will help to develop growth within the industry and local communities, ensuring that the UK continues to play a leading role in aerospace in the 21st century.

Steve Finn, Vice President – Sales, Mori Seiki UK said;

“We are pleased to strengthen our relationship with the AMRC, and links to the AMP by opening our new office in the Technology Centre. To be part of a vibrant facility with so much activity in an important manufacturing arena is going to be a great commercial benefit to our company.”

As well as supporting the AMRC, Mori Seiki will make the new facility available to local companies to help them improve productivity and in turn generate further employment for the local community.

Joe Anwyl, Senior Business Development Manager at the AMP welcomed the arrival of Mori Seiki to the Park;

“It is terrific that a company with the reputation of Mori Seiki has moved to the AMP and has joined the other world-renowned companies located here. Mori Seiki has long being linked to the AMP through its AMRC membership and we are pleased that they have seen the value in the Park and decided to increase their presence here. 

“The SAMULET project will be significant, both in terms of the new technology and processes it will develop, but also for the opportunities that companies in our region will have to considerably benefit from the results of the project.”

This announcement follows the recent news that the AMP’s joint venture partners UK Coal and Yorkshire Forward have agreed a three year extension to the AMP’s ‘Vision’, which means that only companies operating in industries and technologies relating to high tech engineering and advanced manufacturing can locate their businesses onto the AMP.

The Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) is the UK’s premier advanced manufacturing technology park, providing world-class technology solutions to ensure repetitive advantage for advanced manufacturing industries.

Virgin Racing announced today that Marussia Motors has acquired a significant shareholding in the team, securing its long-term future and ensuring that it can continue to go from strength to strength in pursuit of its racing ambitions. From the 2011 season the team will be known as Marussia Virgin Racing.

 

Virgin Racing was established last year when Manor Motorsport joined forces with WR Technology Limited (Wirth Research) and Virgin to compete in the FIA Formula One World Championship. Marussia Motors is not new either to Formula One or to Virgin Racing - the nascent Russian sportscar company, headed by ex-racer Nikolay Fomenko, has been a partner of Virgin Racing since the F1 team was launched in December 2009. 

 

“This is definitely a good news story for Virgin Racing and for Formula One,” said Graeme Lowdon, Chief Executive of Virgin Racing. “Marussia Motors has been a much-valued team partner throughout the 2010 season and we are delighted to introduce them formally as the significant shareholder in Virgin Racing and a major force in the team’s future. This announcement cements our place on the Formula One grid and is testimony to the hard work and dedication of every single member of our team.”

 

For Moscow-based Marussia Motors, the purchase of this shareholding reflects the new sportscar manufacturer’s ambitious plans to position itself firmly on the worldwide automotive radar. The aim is to utilise Marussia Virgin Racing as a powerful international marketing platform. This also means that there will be a major Russian presence in the Formula One paddock during the build-up to the inaugural Russian Grand Prix, to be staged in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi in 2014. 

 

“This is the realisation of a dream for Marussia Motors”, confirmed Fomenko. “While manufacturing, launching and marketing the Marussia B1, B2 and other concepts in Europe, we will have a Formula One team to promote these activities and demonstrate to the world that a new car manufacturer has arrived from Russia with truly international ambitions.”

 

The investment by Marussia Motors, alongside strategic investor LDC, will enable the team to plan more ambitiously for the longer term. Specifically, there will be no significant change to the team’s organisational structure as it prepares for its second season in the FIA Formula One World Championship.

 

Virgin Racing Team Principal, John Booth, who has overseen the team’s development throughout the season, is confident that the investment from Marussia gives the team the stability and focus to strengthen its position within the sport. “I am extremely proud of what we have achieved with Virgin Racing in what is really only 16 months since the team was founded. I am delighted that the significant efforts of the team have been recognised and have attracted the commitment of Marussia Motors, which will enable us to move forward and deliver against our five year target for success.”

 

Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin group of companies, commented: “Our first year in Formula One was always going to be tough - even more so as we were launching in the midst of a worldwide recession. Virgin is delighted to have secured a partner which shares our vision and spirit for challenging the establishment and we look forward to working together to move the team up the Formula One grid.”

The Powerstar voltage optimisation system is set to help three local councils to lower their energy consumption and reduce the size of their carbon footprint. 

Rotherham based EMSc (UK) Ltd have secured agreements with Tower Hamlets Council, Cotswold District Council and Derby City Council to install the Powerstar system in some of their buildings. The Councils are set to save more than £24,000 in electricity bills, 240,000 kWh of electricity consumption and over 153 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

Tower Hamlets Council, in London’s East End, has installed a Powerstar system at Albert Jacob House, after Powerstar identified an opportunity to save a minimum of 12% in electricity consumption. Following the installation, an annual saving in electricity consumption of 54,065kWh will be achieved, equating to savings of £6,411 in annual electricity charges and 30 tonnes of carbon emissions per annum.

Derby City Council is aiming to reduce its carbon emissions by 25% by 2013/14 as part of a ‘Climate Change Strategy’. Due to this, the Council decided to install Powerstar systems in the Eagle Centre market, the Environmental Services Parks Management depot and the Market Hall. The council is set to save at least £10,000 per annum in electricity costs, 128,972 kWh in electricity consumption and 69.2 tonnes of carbon emissions, with the system installed at the Eagle Centre market alone expected to reduce electricity consumption by 14.6%.

Cotswold District Council has a carbon management plan that aims to cut CO2 emissions by 25% by 2015. Powerstar was commissioned to install a unit at Cotswold Leisure Centre, enabling savings in energy consumption of 57,614KwH and an overall energy saving of 8%. The Centre has also decreased its carbon footprint by reducing CO2 emissions by 54 tonnes. In monetary terms, Powerstar is projected to make an annual saving of £7,800 on the Leisure Centre’s electricity costs. 

Councillor Mark Tufnell, cabinet member for environment and communities, Cotswold District Council commented, “The introduction of the Powerstar unit at the Leisure Centre building is a significant contributor to Cotswold District Council’s energy saving programme. I am particularly pleased that we have reduced costs while contributing to our goal of achieving a 25% reduction in harmful carbon emissions by 2015.”

Powerstar is the only voltage optimisation system designed and manufactured in the UK and is the highest rated with an efficiency of 99.91%

Xeros Limited, the company that has developed an entirely new clothes cleaning process, has successfully secured £3.5m of future funding.

Xeros, based at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, is the brand name for a patented polymer-based cleaning that creates a step change advantage in the cost and environmental impact of aqueous wash cleaning.

Water scarcity is an urgent issue across the planet and conventional laundry accounts for 15% of domestic water consumption. Achieving more for less is the obvious imperative, yet the last major lower water technology was front loading washing machines over 50 years ago.

Xeros’ washing innovation saves up to 90% of the water compared to front loading laundry systems and gives the same performance as conventional washing. The University of Leeds spin-out has a patented process which uses reusable plastic beads alongside a fraction of the detergent, to absorb and remove dirt, so has the potential to provide significant benefits in energy and water efficiency and lower effluent.

Over the last 12 months, Xeros has developed a prototype machine that removes the beads from clothes after washing; has confirmed manufacturing and distribution partnerships both in the UK and US; and is gearing up for an initial launch in the commercial laundry market by the end of 2011. The company is also continuing to work towards the development of a household washing system.

The funds were raised from new investors including Entrepreneurs Fund, who led the round, and Parkwalk Advisors Ltd, as well as existing investors including IP Group, and funds managed by EV Limited.

Bill Westwater, Chief Executive of Xeros, said:

“We are delighted with this funding completion. Of course, it’s a vindication of our fast progress to date but, more importantly, we now have the funds to step up our technical development, particularly towards our ultimate goal of developing a washing system for the household.

“Genuine innovation in the laundry category is pretty hard to come by so Xeros stands out as a game-changer. The opportunity is to provide consumers with lower cost cleaning; dramatically reduce the considerable environment harm of laundry; and provide incremental revenue streams throughout the supply chain.”

Please visit www.xerosltd.com for more information about the Xeros technology

Industrial Personnel ltd, one of South Yorkshire’s most successful recruitment agencies has another accolade to add to the list. With a download speed of 66Mbps Industrial Personnel have the UK’s fastest broadband connection. This exceptionally high speed internet connection was provided by Digital Exchange Ltd in partnership with DRBSY Ltd. The connection makes use of the revolutionary new South Yorkshire fibre optic network, a unique collaboration between Yorkshire Forward and the four local authorities in South Yorkshire.

Phillip Buckley, managing director of Industrial Personnel ltd said, “Like most businesses we are heavily reliant upon the internet to operate. Whether it’s email, accessing recruitment websites or online banking we need to have access at all times. We have been using a standard broadband connection for the past couple of years but we were only getting a speed of around 3Mb. Prior to our IT support company (Digital Exchange) making us aware of the new South Yorkshire capability, our only option for a higher speed connection was a leased line which carried with it installation and rental costs running into the thousands. This simply wasn’t an option for us. Now we have a high speed internet connection that is not only cost effective, but will allow us to grow our business in ways we couldn’t have before. We are already looking at the possibility of video interviewing candidates via Skype or Microsoft Messenger as a way of streamlining the recruitment process.”

Neville Wilkinson, Technical Director of Digital Exchange commented “We have been rolling out DRBSY VDSL connections for a couple of months now with an average connection speed of 35Mbps. We always run a speed test in front of the client to demonstrate the dramatic increase in performance in comparison to their old connection. We were expecting a very quick connection with Industrial Personnel ltd due to their proximity to the street cabinet. When we saw the test results, even we were a little surprised to see such high figures! This level of connectivity at this level of price is simply unmatched anywhere else in the UK, giving South Yorkshire businesses a real competitive advantage. Remote Data Storage, Cloud Computing and High Definition Video Conferencing are just some of possibilities when you are not confined by poor connectivity.”

George Taylor, CEO DRBSY Ltd commented "This is an excellent illustration of the unique capability we have in South Yorkshire, DRBSY are extremely happy to confidently say we have the fastest broadband in the region! People are now starting to realise that this new ultra fast service is not a pipe dream, Digital Exchange are delivering living proof by bringing on new connections daily.

It’s now even easier for people in Rotherham who are in the early stages of their business to find an ideal location for their venture thanks to a new website from Rotherham Investment & Development Office (RiDO).

RiDO operate a number of business centres across the Borough that provides a range of small offices and workshops, ideal for new businesses that can benefit from a secure and supportive environment in which to develop their business successfully.

The new RiDO Business Centre website (www.ridobusinesscentres.co.uk) includes interactive plans of each of the four centres, immediately showing potential tenants the options of available space at each location. The interactive plans also identify and promote the other companies already located at each Centre.

RiDO’s Business Centre Manager, Amanda Parris says;  

“We wanted to make it easier for those new businesses looking for potential office or workshop space to see exactly what is available, and to provide easy access to the teams at each centre who can help potential tenants.

“We offer a number of benefits for companies looking to expand into their first business premises. These include easy in / easy out terms so businesses aren’t tied into long lease arrangements, professional premises without the high costs and modern facilities that help enhance the image of the business.”

When RiDO decided to commission the new business centre website they kept the work ‘in house’ by inviting three of the  tenant companies within the Centres with web design skills to pitch for the work. The successful company were website specialists Castus Design, from the Matrix @ Dinnington business centre.

Gary Hides, one of Castus’ Directors explains how the project was close to his heart;

“It was great to be awarded the Business Centre website project, not only to work with RiDO but also the opportunity to show how good the centres are as locations for young, growing businesses such as ours.

“We’ve have been based here for 18 months now and it really is ideal for us. Thanks to the support available from RiDO, taking the leap to our first office premises wasn’t as daunting as we had expected.

“The novelty still hasn’t worn off when I arrive at work each morning in such a plush building. Obviously this helps to give potential clients the right impression when they visit us. I like to call it the ‘wow’ factor which is the message we wanted to communicate through the website.”

RiDO has a 20-year pedigree of running business centres and helping new and young businesses to survive and prosper. There is documented evidence that new start businesses benefit from being located with like-minded business people, and support is provided by RiDO’s dedicated centre staff and professional business advisers, available at any time to act as mentors and business coaches.

For further information, visit www.ridobusinesscentres.co.uk

Visitors to the recent TCT Live show were able to learn more about the latest developments in low volume manufacturing and additive manufacturing software technology, courtesy of Rotherham based Materialise UK Ltd.

Materialise is the world leader in rapid prototyping and low volume manufacturing solutions, offering expert services in these areas as well as being a provider of innovative software solutions. Amongst its clients it boasts many leading companies from the aerospace, automotive, medical technology and consumer electronics/ consumables sectors. 

Visitors discovered how the comprehensive range of additive manufacturing software solutions contained in the Magics e-Solution Suite can maximize efficiency, minimize lead-times, and automate the design processes, removing bottlenecks whilst boosting quality and repeatability. Visitors also witnessed the release of the most recent version of software from the Magics e-Solution Suite. TCT Live saw the UK debut of the Magics 15 software, the latest Windows 7 compatible version of the market leading software solution for the rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing industry. Magics 15 optimises core additive manufacturing software operations to help you work faster and smarter, by streamlining additive manufacturing and rapid prototyping set-ups with tailored and integrated software solutions.

In terms of additive manufacturing and rapid prototyping solutions, Materialise not only offers customers obvious cost and lead-time advantages, but also provides increased design freedom and the possibility to personalise products aimed at a niche markets.

Its Low Volume Manufacturing Solutions enable production ready components to be manufactured in days, with minimal investment costs. Such solutions are already used in the production of concept cars, patient-customised medical implants and bespoke design products, where the quantity of products required are too small to justify a conventional production mould investment.

Materialise has the innovative technologies to build single piece products up to 2100x680x800mm, allowing large components such as automotive dashboards and bumper assemblies to be cost-effectively produced. The technology was also used earlier this year to produce a full sized replica of King Tut’s mummy for an exhibition in New York.

Philip Hudson, Managing Director of Materialise UK said;

“The show was very successful, and a great opportunity to show the latest capabilities of our rapid prototyping and low volume manufacturing services, in addition to our additive manufacturing software solutions.

“Techniques and materials have advanced in such a way that they can be used in production environments and allow our manufacturing solutions to rival traditional subtractive production technologies, whilst also offering degrees of customisation unthinkable only a few years ago. The technologies have applications across a wide range of industry sectors and the interest in the solutions we received at the show reflects this fact.”

The centrepiece of the Materialise stand at the TCT show was a Skeleton Challenge where visitors were able to experience the thrills of extreme winter sport. Materialise manufactured the composite sled, which combined with head mounted 3D technology and incorporating sophisticated balance and movement systems developed by Bromley Technologies, provided the Challenge’s unique immersive skeleton simulator experience. Over 30 riders took part in the Challenge on each of the show’s two days, with the daily winners being Joe Stuart of Spoke BMX on Day One and Paul Suttle of Inneo Solutions on Day Two; both winners receiving Flip HD Camcorders.

For more information on Materialise’s low volume manufacturing and additive manufacturing software technologies visit: www.materialise.com