Gainsborough-based Eminox has acquired UK and US based SaveGuard (formerly Culimeta-Saveguard). The move enhances Eminox’s ability to deliver pioneering emission reduction technologies to customers, worldwide. SaveGuard, known for its highly technical, cutting-edge thermal and acoustic insulation products, has manufacturing facilities in Ashton-Under-Lyne, UK, and Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA. It designs and produces a range of automotive products used in vehicle exhausts, including acoustic and thermal insulation materials, Katpak, Thermolastic, knitted products, bespoke sleeves, insulation jackets, and heat shields. The acquisition also includes the FireHalt product line, known for its cavity fire barriers designed and manufactured in the UK. “The acquisition of SaveGuard aligns with our vision of expanding our value offering and enhancing our technological capabilities,” said Jonathan Griffith, Managing Director of Eminox. “SaveGuard’s renowned products and expertise complement Eminox’s mission to continue the development of innovative emission reduction solutions for our customers, globally. “In addition, the strong alignment of values between SaveGuard’s operational teams, Eminox and the wider Hexadex Group further reinforces the strategic fit of this acquisition and we are excited to welcome SaveGuard into the Hexadex Group.”

Farmers and rural communities will benefit from health and wellbeing support across the North of England over the next two years, following a successful £150,000 funding bid by a consortium of well-established agricultural organisations. The six-figure sum, awarded by Defra is being shared between the Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s Yorkshire Rural Support Network, The Farmer Network Ltd, the Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland, Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Services and Field Nurse, operating across Lancashire and North Yorkshire. The funding comes at a time when farmers are working hard to meet the challenges of adapting to major changes to government farm payments, while recent months of wet weather has damaged crops and resulted in high losses over lambing. Using the funds, the bid partners seek to enhance their collective mission to build connected and resilient farming communities, and “keep farming stronger for longer”. To do so, they will deliver 14 farming focused first aid training courses, 10 mental health awareness courses for farmers and those working with farmers, and activities to reduce isolation in rural communities such as social events, lunch clubs, farm visits and other trips. There will be support for groups, such as women in farming, the over 50s and younger farmers over the age of 28 who are too old to attend Young Farmer Club events. Almost 40 events will be organised by UTASS, The Farmer Network and the Yorkshire Agricultural Society. Regular outreach clinics will be set up at seven auction marts across Cumbria, Yorkshire and Durham before the end of 2024 to provide useful information about farm support schemes, to help farmers access their Rural Payments Agency account and to signpost to other support. One-to-one advice will be provided to 22 farm businesses, and four workshops will help farming communities become more resilient by focusing on topics such as succession planning and health and safety on farms. Field Nurse will be recruiting two more Field Nurses and an extra trailer to extend its service into two new auction marts in Cumbria and North Yorkshire, and to expand its’ ‘Farming Stronger for Longer’ campaign into Cumbria and Yorkshire. Allister Nixon, Chief Executive of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society said: “The Yorkshire Agricultural Society is delighted to be harnessing this collaborative approach alongside key partners in the North of England to make health and wellbeing support accessible to as many people in the farming community as possible.”

Northern Trains says the iconic, orange ‘magstripe’ train ticket could be a museum exhibit within as little as five years.

The train operator says its customers’ ever-growing preference for digital tickets and the introduction of actual ‘paper’ tickets has seen them use 2.3m fewer ‘magstripes’ in the last 12 months.

Fewer than 20% of journeys on Northern services in 2023-24 were made using a ‘magstripe’, with the number in-use falling by 12% compared to 2022-23, from 20.3m to 18m. During the same period, the number of people using digital tickets on Northern services grew by almost 19%, from 54.8m to 65.2m.

A spokesperson for Northern said: “All of our standard tickets are available in electronic format and people clearly enjoy the flexibility of buying their ticket ‘on the go’ and being able to store it on their mobile phone or tablet.

“We’re also increasingly able to offer actual ‘paper’ tickets from our ticket offices and vending machines for those who prefer a physical proof of purchase.

“Whilst ‘magstripes’ might generate a sense of nostalgia, it’s important to remember that because they’re made from more than one material, they’re less recyclable and could ultimately end up in landfill – whereas paper tickets can be easily recycled with other paper products.

“At the current rate of decline and with an ever-greater focus on digital and paper alternatives, ‘magstripes’ are definitely nearing the end of the line. They could be something of a museum exhibit within five years.”

Deaf-owned and deaf-led organisation SignLive is partnering with the Council to enhance the organisation’s translation and interpretation services. The organisation has a pool of about 120 qualified and accredited interpreters trained in anti-fraud and safeguarding measures, which the community can access this service 24/7. Fiona Mackay, COO of SignLive, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Sheffield City Council to enhance accessibility for the Deaf community. This collaboration signifies a major step towards inclusive communication, ensuring that Deaf individuals can easily access essential services and support. We look forward to working together to break down barriers and create a more inclusive environment for all residents.” Users will be able to call the Council for free, following a one-time registration on the SignLive app, where they will be able to access the service. Through this partnership, the Council is now implementing a new video relay service and a new video interpreting service, which is supported by SignLive. This new functionality improves the experience of our Deaf citizens and those with a hearing impairment- supporting them with a live, on-demand British Sign Language (BSL) qualified interpreter when contacting the Council. Cllr Tom Hunt, Leader of Sheffield City Council, said: “The launch of SignLive is a brilliant step in making our services more accessible to everyone in our communities. We are paving the way to make sure everyone has the support they need when contacting us.  Introducing this functionality will make make our services more accessible to our deaf community.”

York Handmade Brick Company has signed up to the Ceramics UK Net Zero initiative. This is another major commitment towards sustainability and Net Zero by York Handmade, who are based at Alne, near Easingwold. Managing director Guy Armitage explained: “Here at York Handmade Brick, we are very proud of our sustainability record as we strive to do our best to hit the Government’s target to reach net zero by 2050. This will require a concerted effort and I am tempted to quote John F Kennedy’s famous and apposite comment: We are doing this not because it is easy, but because it is hard. “That is why we have just signed up to the Ceramics UK Towards Net Zero initiative. The UK manufacturing industry is making a really big effort to achieve net zero by 2050 and I believe us smaller members have a big part to play, as we have advantages over our larger peers. “Our work into effectively recovering heat from intermittent kilns for intermittent dryers will be shared across the industry, with other research being shared via Ceramics UK. “All of this is yet another reason for our customers to buy UK manufactured brick, leaving aside for now the appalling conditions in which brick is manufactured in South-East Asia. I really believe that we are ahead of the curve on this with our ambition in comparison to the rest of the world.” This Ceramics UK campaign is a key support programme to help its members to work together in delivering further ceramic sector decarbonisation action in a progressive but realistic manner. In the first few months since launching the initiative, an ever-growing number of members, including many SMEs, have signed up and are willing to work together, share ideas and approaches, and show the sector’s collective commitment to the decarbonisation challenge. The scheme is free for members, voluntary, and has a simple sign-up process where participants self-declare against a set of light-touch principles. The initial tools and activities being provided include a Business-to-Business Sector Partnering and Mentorship scheme, which involves sharing ideas and approaches in a non-competitive and collaborative manner, and an Employee Engagement and Awareness training material, which aims to raise employee awareness and engagement in energy reduction and decarbonisation. Guy Armitage continued: “There is no doubt that the energy and emissions policy landscape, and how this is implemented, is critical to the UK ceramic sector and all member companies. This new campaign by Ceramics UK will help members understand complex issues and upcoming changes, supporting the industry’s continued collaboration and response to growing challenges driven through the UK’s net zero. “Here at York Handmade, we are very proud to be putting these objectives into practice, having recently been awarded a grant to improve our energy efficiency and to reduce our carbon emissions. “We successfully applied to the “game-changing” Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) for £38,800 to pursue our sustainability agenda. We are completely committed to improving the energy efficiency of our factory site at Alne and are currently undertaking a detailed techno-economic feasibility study. This extremely welcome grant minimises the cost and risks of the study and of any subsequent capital investment.” The special project aims to improve the energy efficiency of the site by capturing the high-grade (high temperature) waste heat from the kilns and utilising it in the dryers. This will offset/replace the need for gas-firing in the dryers and lead to significant energy, carbon and cost reductions. The kilns operate at high temperatures (up to about 1100 degrees C) and the exhaust gases from the kilns carry substantial amounts of heat which is currently being wasted. The solution involves installing a heat exchanger in the exhaust stack of each kiln to capture this heat into high pressure hot water or thermal oil. This hot water/oil will then be stored in a thermal battery. The thermal battery can then provide heat to the brick dryers using a radiator system on demand and allow the operations of the kilns and dryers independent of each other. Guy added: “Sustainability is extremely important for energy intensive businesses like York Handmade as we are seeing an eight-fold increase in our energy costs. The government has already announced withdrawing financial support for industry with energy bills and many similar businesses are facing existential threats due to high energy costs, inflation and reduced spending power of their customers. “The government’s commitment to net zero by 2050 will require industry emissions to reduce by nearly 90 per cent from the present value. We are both happy and proud to play our part.”