Mechan delivers fleet of jacks to capital
Rail depot equipment specialist, Mechan, is giving a busy London maintenance depot the lifting power to tackle a new heavy overhaul programme.
The Sheffield-based manufacturers have supplied 20 of their flagship lifting jacks to GTR’s Selhurst Depot in Croydon, enabling five-car trains to be overhauled.
Mechan has worked with Govia Thameslink for almost 20 years and the new jacks join a raft of other equipment that has been supplied during this time, including a bogie press, bogie rotator and wheelset drop.
The 15-tonne mobile jacks are designed to operate as a set of eight, 12 or 20, giving Selhurst maximum flexibility when servicing different vehicle types. Mechan worked with the Fleet Infrastructure Team and depot to install a combination of floor and wall-mounted socket boxes along its allocated lifting road, enabling trains to be split either side of the existing wheel drop for maintenance.
This set of jacks is one of the first to be supplied with the latest version of Mechan’s control system, which has been developed to include input/output (I/O) technology, reducing the size of cables and 4G connectivity, allowing for remote diagnostics.
Lindsey Mills, Mechan’s sales director, said: “Selhurst has been using four of our jacks to lift single carriages for many years, so when this new heavy overhaul programme came along, the team knew our equipment would give them the ability to raise multiple cars safely and efficiently. Commissioning was undertaken successfully by our engineering team and feedback on the new control system has been extremely positive.”
Mechan will continue to visit Selhurst to maintain the new jacks, alongside the wheel drop and bogie rotator it supplied previously.
Taylor Emmet and TravelMaster continue long-term partnership
Leading independent Sheffield City Region law firm Taylor Emmet and South Yorkshire transport ticket provider TravelMaster has announced the continuation of a long-term partnership that provides accessible travel for the law firm’s staff members.
The partnership began in 2017 and has seen Taylor Emmet staff take advantage of the CityWide ticket that gives them travel to and from work.
The ticket forms part of the law firm’s impressive employee wellbeing package that includes benefits including generous holiday allowance, hybrid working and a fully paid day off to volunteer at a charity of their choice.
TravelMaster’s CityWide ticket allows members of the Taylor Emmet team to access travel to work. It forms a broader commitment from the travel organisation to partner with businesses in the city to keep car usage down.
Lauren Partridge, People Advisor at Taylor Emmet, said: “We’re delighted to be extending our partnership with TravelMaster to give our employees more accessible travel.
“Now more than ever, it is vital that firms do their bit to help reduce their carbon footprint. The ticket partnership with TravelMaster is just one of many green initiatives to meet our green targets.
“We look forward to continuing our partnership with TravelMaster and allowing more people to access the ticket when travelling into the office.”
TravelMaster’s General Manager John Henshall said: “It’s fantastic to work with a distinguished firm like Taylor Emmet to provide their staff with one of the most advanced travel tickets in Sheffield.”
“Partnerships like this ensure that travel is more accessible for employees, and we’re delighted to be offering this to the employees of Taylor Emmet.”
Widd Signs announces eleven appointments
Leeds-headquartered signage manufacturer Widd Signs has made eleven appointments to its team following a host of new business wins.
The traditional and digital signage specialist has hired four people to its installation team including three former employees. Gavin Taylor, Kevin Miller, and Paul Wilkin have returned to the business with new recruit Konnor Oldfield joining for the first time. The teams are responsible for installing signage for the company’s clients across the UK and overseas.
Joining the installation team are five recruits to the company’s North West base including project manager Colin Davies and project coordinator Olivia Arnold-Woolham. The duo have doubled the existing project management team in St Helens which is responsible for ensuring the efficient processing of orders through the factory and the highest standards of delivery for customers.
New apprentices Kai Bednarski and Jamie Heeson also join the St Helens manufacturing facility where they are studying Signage Technician Level 3, a 24-month distance learning course at Walsall College.
Phil Johnson also joins as assistant paint sprayer in Widd Signs’ North West paint and finishing team.
The company is further strengthened by the appointment of graphic designer Matt Leyland who joins the company with three years’ industry experience and Kay Dickson joins as project coordinator at Widd Signs’ Leeds base following a career in project management for several print companies.
The appointments have come as the business continues to experience strong demand for its signage services, which include consultancy, design, production, installation, and maintenance.
The company continues to invest in its 20,000 sq ft St Helens factory which it acquired in 2020, including the purchase of new technology to further enhance the firm’s capabilities, as well as the growing team.
Commenting on the appointments, Gary Williams, managing director at Widd Signs, said:“Whilst we’re all navigating a changing business landscape, we’re committed to investing in talent and equipment to continue our place as a leading signage specialist.
“We’re continuing to deliver sizeable projects across the retail, construction, education, and leisure sectors, and we’ve made these eleven hires to further strengthen our team and ensure we’re best placed to meet the strong demand we’re seeing for our services.”
Returning installation team member Gavin Taylor commented:“I left to try something new and have a new challenge, I always knew in my heart I would return to Widd Signs but had no idea just how much I would miss the Widd family until they weren’t around me anymore.”
1.75 million sq ft development plans revealed at iPort, Doncaster
Verdion has revealed a major £300 million speculative development programme that will deliver all remaining warehouse capacity at iPort, the 6 million sq ft multimodal logistics hub just outside Doncaster.
Totalling 1.75 million sq ft, this final stage of development at iPort will offer five buildings from 82,000 sq ft upwards, with delivery from June 2023.
The largest of the five buildings will extend to 848,250 sq ft and complete in June 2024 – one of the largest speculative logistics units ever developed in the UK offering a significant proposition for businesses looking for a new national hub.
John Clements, executive director of Verdion, said: “This is a major investment that underlines our unwavering confidence in both iPort and the UK market. Demand for high quality, efficient space in strategic locations remains extremely strong and this programme addresses the current scarcity in Yorkshire market and further afield head on.
“Speed of delivery is important and we have a fantastic on-site construction team, planning permission is in place and contractors’ agreements are signed.”
The decision follows recent lettings at iPort as well as the completion of the final building in its previous speculative phase, iP10, which is located adjacent to the on-site rail terminal. Woodland Group, Euro Pool Systems and Maritime Transport have all signed leases for new space at iPort this year.
Gent Visick, Colliers and CBRE are the retained leasing agents for iPort.
Verdion’s longstanding partner in the development of iPort is the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP).
Doncaster to host Rugby League World Cup 2021
Doncaster is set to host three fixtures of the Rugby League World Cup 2021 and bring top class international rugby league to South Yorkshire. The tournament was postponed in 2021 due to Covid-19 and will now be held between Saturday 15 October and Saturday 19 November 2022.
Doncaster’s three fixtures and revised dates are confirmed as:
- France vs Greece (men’s)– 17th October 2022
- Samoa vs Greece (men’s)– 23rd October 2022
- Papua New Guinea vs Wales (men’s)– 31st October 2022
What’s more, Doncaster will be hosting the Samoan team during the tournament!
Set to be the biggest and best Rugby League World Cup in history, the inspirational moments of England 2021 will capture the imagination of all. The Rugby League World Cup has been the pinnacle of International Rugby League since 1954. Now contested every four years, with a series of qualification tournaments leading up to it, the RLWC is open to all full and affiliate members of the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF). The RLWC2021 tournament, for the first time, will see the Men’s, Women’s and Wheelchair competitions staged in a single, celebratory event, culminating in an epic Finals Weekend to crown the champions of each. The host country is England and Doncaster will host three group stage matches at the home of Doncaster Rugby League Club – The Eco-Power Stadium. More teams than ever will compete to be crowned Rugby League World Cup Champions with four pools of four nations competing in up to 14 stadia.Head to Rugby League World Cup 2021 to find out the latest news and ticket information.
Historic Leeds bakery supplier in expansion drive after new building acquisition
A wholesaler and distributor of catering and bakery supplies is expanding after acquiring a fourth building at Seafox Court, in Sherburn in Elmet, which will enable the business to continue growing its product range and creating new jobs.
Walker Humphrey was established in 1964 and predominantly supplies products to craft bakeries, independent businesses, farm shops and specialist retailers that are located across Yorkshire, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and the North East.
Today the family run business employs a 33-strong team and offers an extensive range of ambient, chilled and frozen products and ingredients, along with packaging solutions.
In 2009, Walker Humphrey relocated from Morley to Sherburn in Elmet after acquiring its first unit at Seafox Court. In 2015 and 2017, the company expanded into adjacent units following the launch, and success of its frozen range, which includes quality unbaked pastry, savouries and thaw and serve confectionery products.
The company has just acquired its fourth unit at Seafox Court, which means its premises now extend to more than 28,000 sq ft of warehouse and distribution space and office accommodation. Walker Humphrey was advised on its latest acquisition by Leeds property consultancy, GV&Co.
Martin Humphrey is Managing Director at Walker Humphrey, which was founded by his late grandfather, Joseph Walker Humphrey. Martin said: “I’m delighted that we were able to successfully acquire a fourth unit in Sherburn in Elmet, which will enable further expansion without the need of a costly site move.
“It significantly increases our loading area for our fleet of HGV multi temperature delivery vehicles and, as we enter a global energy crisis, the additional unit means we can increase our frozen and ambient capacity, as well as investing in a secondary solar system. This will reduce our electricity bill by an impressive 50%, which will make us even more competitive in the supply of goods, keeping storage costs under control to help minimise any further price increases to our loyal customers.”
Finally, Martin added: “It’s an exciting time for Walker Humphrey and we’re now recruiting for several positions, ranging from forklift truck drivers and sales personnel, as we aim to grow by another 20 per cent, which will give us a 40-strong team, in the next three years.”
Paul Mack, director at GV&Co, said: “It’s been a privilege to advise Walker Humphrey on this latest acquisition. They were seriously considering relocating away from the area, as they needed to secure larger premises.
“This property offered a rare opportunity to procure a freehold industrial unit on Sherburn Enterprise Park and ultimately secures Walker Humphrey’s future in Sherburn in Elmet, as well as offering much-needed expansion space.”
Walker Humphrey was represented by GV&Co as well as Marcus Kaye of Blacks Solicitors, whilst the vendor was represented by Jake Pygall of Avison Young and Alison Batty of Clarion Solicitors.
Yorkshire & Humber manufacturers call for seismic Emergency Budget as growth forecasts for 2023 slashed
Yorkshire & Humber manufacturers are calling for a seismic emergency Budget on Friday on the back of a substantial revision downwards of prospects for 2023 in response to the eyewatering increase in energy and other business costs companies are facing.
The revision downwards comes in the Q3 Make UK/BDO Manufacturing Outlook survey which is forecasting growth for manufacturing of just 0.6% in 2023, down from 1.7% being forecast as recently as June. Make UK has also slashed its GDP forecasts from 3.6% this year to just 0.3% in 2023.
In the last quarter, the performance of manufacturers in Yorkshire & The Humber held up reasonably well compared to the national picture with all survey indicators, apart from output, above the national averages. In particular, investment intentions and job prospects are especially strong, reflecting the exposure of the region to the food and drink sector which has recovered strongly from the pandemic. Demand for steel and other metals products for construction projects is also strong.
Looking forward, however, given the potential for the economic situation to deteriorate and force the sector into recession next year, Make UK re-iterated its call for Government to bring forward a ‘shock and awe’ package of policy measures on a scale in line with those seen during the worst points of the pandemic. This is essential to prevent a permanent scarring of the economy, help protect viable companies in Yorkshire and The Humber and avert significant job losses.
The measures in the statement tomorrow must set out concrete and specific actions to help business deal with escalating energy costs, as well as a range of measures to aid cashflow, provide greater access to Labour and encourage investment, especially in energy efficiency technologies.
In a worst-case scenario of companies being asked to stop production or, a reduced working week, Government should also introduce an energy furlough scheme similar to that introduced during the pandemic.
Commenting, Dawn Huntrod, region director for Make UK in the North, said: “Whilst industry has recovered strongly over the last year, the storm clouds are gathering in the face of eyewatering costs and a very difficult international environment. This threatens to shatter expectations of a sustained recovery from the pandemic and put many perfectly viable businesses in Yorkshire & The Humber at risk.
“Clearly some of the factors impacting companies are global and cannot be contained by the UK Government alone. However, we have already wasted a substantial amount of precious time over the summer playing the fiddle while Rome has started to burn. As a result, urgent and decisive action is needed by the Chancellor to help shield the economy and protect companies and jobs, otherwise we risk a permanent scarring of the economy.”
Steve Talbot, head of manufacturing at BDO in Yorkshire and Humber, said: “Manufacturers in Yorkshire and Humber continue to show resilience with strong investment and recruitment intentions. However, we are now seeing input prices at near record levels for the second quarter in a row as profit margins continue to fall. The manufacturing sector is, like all sectors, awaiting details on how the new Government will help with soaring energy prices in the long term.
“We hope the Government will understand the uncertain position UK manufacturers find themselves in with respect to the soaring energy costs, which alone reflects the unquestionable need for short- and long-term support for the sector. Greater tax incentives to encourage investment in energy-saving plant and machinery would be helpful in the current circumstances.”
The immediate measures being proposed by Make UK include:
- Reverse the decision to increase National Insurance Contributions that came into force in April 2022.
- Extend the business rates relief to include manufacturing and extend to the end of 2023
- Simultaneously undertake a full and fundamental reform of Business Rates
- Expand the current tax exemption for work-related training into a Training Investment Allowance, providing a tax rebate on investment in training for existing employees
- Commit to a full review of the Apprenticeship Levy
- In order to help companies invest make the increase to the Annual Investment Allowance permanent
Mayor of West Yorkshire leads trade mission to India
West Yorkshire’s strong economic and cultural links with India will be strengthened as a regional trade mission led by Tracy Brabin begins.
The trade mission, running from 21-28 September, will see the Mayor meet with key businesses, cultural groups and the Indian government in Bangalore and Mumbai. This will unlock growth opportunities, encourage inward investment, create new jobs, and drive forward innovation and entrepreneurship in West Yorkshire.
She will be joined by Mark Roberts, chair of the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership.
The Mayor will also give a high-profile address at Asia’s largest media and entertainment convention in Mumbai. Speaking to an audience of global business leaders, she will launch the West Yorkshire Creative Industries Showcase, a profile of the region’s significant creative industries to land further investment from the Indian sector which already has strong ties to West Yorkshire.
India is the second largest source of foreign direct investment into the UK after the US, with trade in goods between West Yorkshire and India estimated to be worth £363 million. Strengthening relationships with the country represents a huge opportunity for businesses in West Yorkshire.
Tracy Brabin, the Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “I am proud that my first international trade mission as Mayor of West Yorkshire is to India.
“Our region is home to world-class businesses and I look forward to developing even stronger links with India, so we can boost the economy in our region, the North, and the UK as a whole.
“I’ll be championing West Yorkshire’s incredible cultural and creative businesses that are leading the way to help land further investment to supporting growth and creating jobs in the region.”
The trade mission represents an ideal opportunity to build on the continued, significant investment and expansion by Indian companies in the region, with recent activity that includes:
- India-based global streaming platform Clean Slate’s new partnership with Yorkshire Cricket, announced in May 2022, currently in the region shooting for its upcoming Netflix film “Chakda ‘Xpress”
- The launch of global technology and business process outsourcing company Mphasis’ new UK Centre of Excellence in Leeds in 2021
- Global tech company Mastek’s significant presence in Leeds, which includes ambitious new graduate programme alongside expansion plans
- The Leeds-based UK headquarters and new state-of-the-art Media Centre for Prime Focus Technologies
- The UK manufacturing site and active pharmaceutical ingredients plant for global pharmaceutical company Dr Reddy’s, based in Kirklees.
- Filming the Bollywood movie “Gold” with Akshay Kumar in Bradford with over 2,000 local extras involved in the production
SME homebuilders offered alternative route to finance through launch of new scheme
A new fund has been launched to help SME housebuilders to add more than 5,000 properties to the UK’s housing stock when traditional funding is not available.
Homes England, alongside Greater Manchester Pension Fund, listed wealth manager Mattioli Woods and other private institutional investors, have committed £80m to the Initial Close of the Newstead SME Real Estate Lending Fund.
The Fund is to be managed by specialist fund manager Newstead Capital and the intention is to grow the fund to £300m in subsequent capital raised and deliver £1bn of funding over the Fund’s lifetime.
It is intended to help to meet Homes England’s mission to accelerate change in the housing market by bringing in new sources of institutional capital and more lending channels to the SME housebuilding sector, whilst enabling the construction of over 5,000 high-quality, affordably priced, and efficient new homes throughout England.
Peter Denton, Chief Executive of Homes England, said: “This partnership is our latest intervention to offer SME housebuilders a route to finance that may otherwise be unavailable through traditional means.
“Introducing new sources of institutional capital to support SME house builders is a priority for Homes England and our cornerstone investment in this fund signals government support for accessible and competitive finance to meet the needs of SME developers across the country.
“We look forward to working with our new partners and welcome further institutional capital to help grow this fund and give SME housebuilders the helping hand they need to get more quality homes built in our regions.
“By empowering smaller regional housebuilders, the Fund will help to encourage the creation of sympathetic and environmentally responsible projects while supporting the regional SME house building sector and boosting regional job creation. The Fund employs a robust underwriting process overseen by Newstead, incorporating its own credit, environmental, social and governance metrics and will encourage the development of sustainable housing by taking new homes’ energy efficiency into account at the underwriting stage. Simon Champ, CEO at Newstead Capital, said: “This is an exciting step for Newstead. Our fund is the first of its kind. We are providing a conduit for long term institutional investors to gain access to a market which until now has been out of reach. “The Newstead RELF is aimed exclusively at the unfulfilled need for capital from regional housebuilders. Regional housebuilding has historically been critical to the economy, providing the country with a diverse range of smaller housing communities. The fund gives pension, insurance, and wealth management institutions an appropriate long term investment platform to support this vital industry.“By meeting this demand, we will provide an attractive return for investors, the taxpayer and Manchester retirees, while also empowering local SME builders to compete with larger housebuilders. The Newstead RELF fund will allow more new homes to be built, tackling the housing shortage and contributing to levelling up by allowing smaller sites to be developed, with the associated environmental benefits.”
New shipping route links Immingham and Lithuania
Associated British Ports and Unifeeder, owned by DP World, have launched a new service from Klaipeda in Lithuania to Immingham.
The service has been launched by Unifeeder to transport containerised cargo from the Baltic port. The new route is a weekly sailing offering faster transit times, with the vessel leaving Klaipeda on Friday and Immingham on Monday. The maiden voyage saw the Elbspring vessel arrive in the Humber on 15th September. Simon Bird, Regional Director for the Humber ports said: “We’re delighted Unifeeder has launched this new route. This is great for the market, again showing the proximity of Immingham to the European markets and the need for customers to bring their goods in through faster and more direct routes.” Martin Gaard Christiansen, European CEO for Unifeeder, said: “We’re delighted to bring the benefits of a faster transit time between Klaipeda and Immingham directly to our customers. In close cooperation with Immingham Container Terminal, Unifeeder offers a reliable, competitive, and environmentally friendly connection between the important markets of the Baltics and the UK.” This new route enables more cargo to be moved by sea to reduce the number of land miles laden and empty containers are required to travel, providing sustainability benefits across the value chain. Over the past five years container volumes have increased by over 40% as more and more businesses choose to benefit from improved access to UK, European and global markets, as well as the state-of-the-art facilities and value-added services ABP provides.