Leeds manufacturer, Pland Stainless, has reported a positive 10% growth in sales during 2021, despite the market challenges faced with the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit uncertainty. The business, which has been manufacturing stainless steel products, mainly for the commercial market since 1919, has seen the largest growth on bespoke made-to-measure products from all sectors including healthcare, catering, secure accommodation, and education. Pland had a busy year all round with lots of investment secured in the business too. They purchased and have been trialling two robots for welding and polishing, designed to be used for repetitive tasks, particularly where vibration causes health and safety concerns for their skilled polishers.  They have had a new guillotine machine installed, a new heavy lifting machine for stainless steel sheets, additional space heaters for the building and new racking for storage. The building, which has been occupied by Pland for over 100 years, also required some maintenance and during 2021 they re-covered parts of the roof and disposed of a 60-year-old press no longer in use.  The press, which weighed in at 80 tonnes, had to be cut in half to be removed at a cost of over £16,000.  All this as well as investing in more finished stock to secure supply and maintain lead times for customers. “2021 was a busy year for everyone at Pland, but a successful one and it’s all credit to the team that we achieved so much in very challenging and uncertain times.”  Said Steve Duree, MD of Pland Stainless, who has over 40 years of service with the business. “We have to plan our steel supply a year in advance and submit our intended usage to our supplier. Forecasting is never an exact science, but it was particularly difficult in the current climate. Our stockholding has increased by around 25% to ensure continuity of supply and all at a time when overall steel prices were running around 18-25% higher than the prior year.” Pland Stainless managed to finish the year without any price increases being passed to their customers, albeit in January 2022 they have had to succumb to a 6% product increase. In a business where there is so much fluctuation in raw material prices and a need to constantly invest in the latest, expensive machinery and technology, the experience of the team has a massive contribution to its success.  Pland’s employee retention record is certainly above average with a number of employees achieving over 30 years of service with the business. It employs traditionally skilled craftsmen and continually recruits apprentices to learn and continue the trades.  It’s this experience and knowledge, coming from years in the market, that has helped Pland make the right choices over the past two years, helping it to grow in unprecedented times.

Experts in office design, fit out and refurbishment, APSS is celebrating 25 years of supporting businesses across the country to create inspirational and impressive workspaces. Founded in 1997, Darren Crookes started out on his own with two fitters to install office partitions and storage solutions for local businesses in the Lincoln area. Laurence Barrass, Managing Director for APSS said: “We now employ over 35 people and still work in partnership with our very first customer, Siemens. It’s incredible to think we have now completed over 10,000 different projects for our customers which span from Cornwall to Aberdeen. “Since the start, we have always helped smaller businesses as they remember the quality of service they receive from us, they grow as a company, then they turn into some of our biggest customers over the years. The partnership and bond we have with them is fantastic. It’s where we want to be – recognised as the company you can trust.” APSS has naturally evolved from a partitions and storage solution company to provide a full design and fit out service across a range of sectors. It has adapted to include its own in-house joinery department to speed up delivery time on projects and decrease overall costs for customers. Recently, the company has seen a change at the helm as Laurence Barrass became the new Managing Director, taking over from Darren who took a step back from the day to day running of the company, but remains as Chairman. “To reach 25 years in business is a huge milestone for any company,” Laurence said. “We have survived recessions and a pandemic which no one could have prepared for. There was a worrying time when offices nationally were closed to workers and this being key to our business. But thanks to the knowledgeable skill of our staff and the flexibility it allows for, as a company we were able to adapt to better support our customers who were going through exactly the same challenges we were facing. “We helped businesses which sold online to adapt their warehouse to cope with the additional stock levels required. Many of our key customers, like Wren Kitchens, used the down time in the offices to create a better and safer working environment ready for the post pandemic return to the office. “It’s been a bumpy ride, but an exciting one. We know many companies have had to shift to a more flexible, hybrid way of working thanks to the pandemic. It has been great to support so many in transforming their current office space to better suit that style of working.” When the company was first founded, it was all about trying to get the message out. The location in the Yellow Pages was an important consideration. Everything was faxed and drawings were all done by hand. To build up the business founder Darren Crookes knocked on every door he could find to obtain local clients. Many of which we are still working with. However, after a while, customers started saying ‘you know you’re doing that, well can you get carpets, and can you get furniture?’ It was a natural progression from the partitions, racking and storage the company originally provided – and still does. It opened up the marketplace and APSS began to offer more of a service driven product. “During the recession, APSS helped businesses to utilise their existing workspaces, similar to now after the pandemic. The only difference back then was it was about how we could squeeze as much in to the space as possible. Now it’s more about how to create a flexible working environment with space for people to move around the office without being crowded,” Explained Laurence. APSS works with a wide range of companies across the UK including Wren Kitchens, Slimming World, Octopus Energy, Siemens, University of Lincoln and Bakkavor to name just a few. “Over the years we have installed all sorts of different and quirky things from hidden bathrooms to Google inspired slides. As fun and different as these things are, our primary focus has always been ensuring our customers have a productive, efficient workspace that leaves a great impression.”

New research carried out by the British Chambers of Commerce of more than 1,000 businesses has highlighted a host of issues with the UK’s trade deal with Europe. The BCC believes urgent steps should be taken to address these problems so the UK Government’s ambition to increase the number of firms exporting can be met. Overall, just 8% of firms agreed that the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) was enabling their business to grow or increase sales, while 54% disagreed. For UK exporters 12% agreed that the TCA was helping them while 71% disagreed. When asked to comment on the specific advantage (for those that agreed) or disadvantage (for those that disagreed) of the trade deal, 59 firms identified an advantage, while 320 cited a disadvantage. Of the 59 comments received on the advantage of the TCA, firms said:

• It had allowed some companies to continue to trade without significant change
• It had encouraged firms to look at other global markets
• It had provided stability to allow firms to plan.

Of the 320 comments received on the disadvantage of the TCA, firms said:

• It had led to rising costs for companies and their clients
• Smaller businesses did not have the time and money to deal with the bureaucracy it had introduced
• It had put off EU customers from considering UK goods and services – due to the perceived costs and complexities.

This follows BCC research in October 2021, which found that 60% of exporters were facing difficulties adapting to the changes from the TCA on goods trade, while 17% found the changes easy. Reacting to the findings, William Bain, head of trade policy at the BCC, said: “This is the latest BCC research to clearly show there are issues with the EU trade deal that need to be improved. Yet it could be so different. There are five relatively simple steps that UK and EU policymakers could take to ease the burden placed on businesses struggling with the trade deal. “Nearly all of the businesses in this research have fewer than 250 employees and these smaller firms are feeling most of the pain of the new burdens in the TCA. “Many of these companies have neither the time, staff or money to deal with the additional paperwork and rising costs involved with EU trade, nor can they afford to set up a new base in Europe or pay for intermediaries to represent them. “But if both sides take a pragmatic approach, they could reach a new understanding on the rules and then build on that further. “Accredited Chambers of Commerce support the UK Government’s ambition to massively increase the number of firms exporting. If we can free up the flow of goods and services into the EU, our largest overseas market, it will go a long way to realising that goal.” The BCC’s five key issues, and the solutions needed, to improve EU trade are: ISSUE: Export health certificates cost too much and take up too much time for smaller food exporters. SOLUTION:  We need a supplementary deal on this which either eliminates or reduces the complexity of exporting food for these firms. ISSUE: Some companies are being asked to register in multiple EU states for VAT in order to sell online to customers there. SOLUTION: We need a supplementary deal, like Norway’s with the EU. This exempts the smallest firms from the requirement to have a fiscal representative and incur these duplicate costs. ISSUE: As things stand CE marked industrial and electrical products will not be permitted for sale on the market in Great Britain from January 2023. The same is true for components and spares. SOLUTION: We need action from the Government to help businesses with these timelines. Many firms are far from convinced about a ban on CE marked goods in Great Britain. ISSUE: UK firms facing limitations on business travel and work activities in the EU. SOLUTION: Government needs to make side deals with the EU and member states to boost access in this area as a priority for 2022. ISSUE: Companies starting to be pursued in respect of import customs declarations deferred from last year. SOLUTION: We need a pragmatic approach to enforcement to ensure companies recovering from the pandemic do not face heavy-handed demands too quickly on import payments, or paperwork.