NOVEMBER 2019 £3.50 YORKSHIRE & LINCOLNSHIRE’S LEADING BUSINESS MAGAZINE www.blmgroup.co.uk VOLUME 34 ISSUE 11 Automation and ergonomics More than a moustacheProductive working 01 .qxp_Layout 1 30/10/2019 09:59 Page 1ONLINE SHOPPING Be Safe, Be Secure A padlock on the address bar is good. It no longer guarantees that the shop is legitimate. Research the organisation. Look at independent review sites, reviews on their own website could be made up! Use a credit card for online purchases. Many larger credit card companies insure you for online purchases. Limit the amount of information you give out. only fill out the mandatory fields. Keep all of your devices up to date. Don’t keep postponing them, as it leaves security holes. Always use a strong password. At least 8 characters, numbers, upper, lower case and symbols. Use a unique, different password. DO NOT use the same password as your emails or online banking. Use two-factor authentication. It adds an extra layer of protection. Use a password manager. If you have lots of accounts, passwords can be difficult to manage. Use anti-malware on every device, including your phone. Choose the one with the highest catch rate. Be careful when you receive offers through email that seem too good to be true. TIPS FOR STAYING SAFE ONLINE: antees that the shop is legitimate. sites, reviews on their own website could be made up! card companies insure you for online purchases. e mandatory fields. hem, as it leaves security holes , upper, lower case and symbols. ord as your emails or online banking. n. can be difficult to manage. he one with the highest catch rate d to be trueThey usually are! NLINE For further information about staying safe online: Tel: 01673 898001 Email: info@thearmourgroup.uk THE ARMOUR GROUP 27 Market Place, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, LN8 3HL www.thearmourgroup.uk WARNING! ACTIVE VIRUS DETECTED ALERT LEVEL: HIGH REMOVE VIRUS IGNORE 1 OFFER NOT TO MISS. The Ultimate Driving Machine FIXED PRICE SERVICING NOW AVAILABLE FOR YOUR BMW 1 SERIES. If your BMW 1 Series is 3 years or older, we now have a fixed price servicing offer available. Terms & Conditions Applies to BMW 1 Series models, 3 years and older. Excludes M Power. Does not include Brake Fluid Service and Vehicle Check Service, these are to be paid for separately should your vehicle require them. Offer valid on visits before 31st December 2019. Call 01522 690000 to book your appointment, or book online at soperbmw.co.uk MOT £39 Small Service (Petrol) Was £257 Now £203 Small Service (Diesel) Was £279 Now £219 Large Service (Petrol) Was £491 Now £387 Large Service (Diesel) Was £450 Now £364 SOPER OF LINCOLN Roman Way, South Hykeham, Lincoln LN6 9UH 02.qxp_Layout 1 30/10/2019 10:01 Page 1At the time of reading this we may or may not be in the EU – it’s still impossible to tell. Boris Johnson has sworn we will be out by October 31st, but he’s sworn a lot of other things as well, and at a lot of people. At the time of writing he’s sticking to his date but has also asked the EU for an extension and challenged Labour to a General Election, so the safe odds are betting on a random horse at the races instead. At least the horse won’t say one thing and literally do the other. At this point, businesses in the region have gotten used to it – or so it seems. Our esteemed and hard-working associations and lobby groups are still doing their best to convince politicians of the impact of their decisions, but since Sajid Javid has happily told us there’s no need for Brexit forecasting, it’s obvious our concerns are being ignored. You can’t fault our associations for trying though, even if the best bet is to prepare for all eventualities right now. With so much political upheaval going on it really is impossible for us to cover it in this month’s issue (what we write for one week might drastically change in a matter of days) so we’ve focused our attention on more robust and topical subjects instead, such as our manufacturing spotlight looking at the rise of automation and how companies can become more efficient. Our water efficiency feature investigates the environmental benefits that can also support the bottom line – important given the recent rise of the Extinction Rebellion and far more attention being paid to environmental impact. We also have a special feature this month on Men’s Health Awareness, coinciding with men’s health awareness month, with numerous businesses in the region supporting the initiative to increase discussion about the issues regarding health that many men shy away from. All that and more in our November issue Good reading, as always Michael Fisher Editor The magazine that cares We care because we want to leave our world a better place than we found it Business Link believes that being socially and environmentally responsible is the key to maintaining a flourishing business that our customers will be pleased to use and our staff will be proud to be part of. Community - From a very local point of view, we strive to be a ‘good neighbour’. We also extend that into the much broader local community, through financial support of local causes and charities. Environment - Our actions extend to: conservation of energy and natural resources, minimisation of waste and ensuring our trading partners do likewise. From the Editor 03.qxp_Layout 1 30/10/2019 10:09 Page 1NOVEMBER 2019 6 News The latest business news and success stories from around our region 12 Commercial property Business Link explores some of the most common examples of flexible workspaces and how the trend for these kinds of offices are growing regionally. 16 Materials handling To ensure operations run optimally, whether one is working in manufacturing or distribution, adopting the most innovative materials handling equipment is key. 19 Manufacturing spotlight With Brexit on the horizon and the economy becoming more competitive than ever, it’s important for manufacturers to be as productive as possible. • Kingston Engineering Q&A 24 Water efficiency Water efficiency and responsible wastewater treatment aren’t only environmental imperatives but will typically save businesses money. Eduction and training With the skills crisis bombarding headlines, it is no surprise that businesses are looking to invest in education and training to create talent with the skills required in today’s working world. • Lincoln International Business School Q&A Business services Business services keep a company running, but they should not be a fire and forget solution. Choosing the wrong service provider can cost in the long run. Business scene Organised by the North Lincolnshire Ambassador Programme, the inaugural Ambassador’s Gala Dinner was designed to bring together business leaders to celebrate their collective successes and to raise money for Lindsey Lodge Hospice in Scunthorpe – which is the Mayor of North Lincolnshire Cllr Jonathan Evison’s Charity of the Year Movember Foundation November is an important date in the calendar for men’s health, with the iconic Movember Foundation raising funds and awareness, and proving that growing a moustache really can save lives. Corporate hospitality Try mixing things up the next time you feel like treating a client or customer. AutoLink If you need a new set-of-wheels, or you just like cars, read on to see what we’ve been behind the wheel of since our last issue. Events We take a look at business events happening around Yorkshire and Lincolnshire And finally… Yorkshire-Lincolnshire- Business-Link @blmforum blmforum.net CONNECT WITH US 12 24 27 04-05.qxp_Layout 1 30/10/2019 10:13 Page 1Group Editor Steve Fisher (s.fisher@blmgroup.co.uk) Editor Michael Fisher (m.fisher@blmgroup.co.uk) Journalists Dominic Cuthbert (d.cuthbert@blmgroup.co.uk) Stuart Pearcey (s.pearcey@blmgroup.co.uk) Tess Egginton (t.egginton@blmgroup,.co.uk) Editorial contact newsdesk@blmgroup.co.uk Tel: (01472) 310305 Fax: (01472) 310317 Sales Director Angela Cooper (a.cooper@blmgroup.co.uk) Advertising Sam Trott (s.trott@blmgroup.co.uk) Vicky Hunt (v.hunt@blmgroup.co.uk) Kerry Randerson (k.randerson@blmgroup.co.uk) Tel: (01472) 310310 Accounts & Subscriptions Angela Sharman, John Downes Tel: (01472) 310301 Fax: (01472) 310311 Design & Production Gary Jorgensen, Mark Casson Tel: (01472) 310304 Fax: (01472) 310314 (studio@blmgroup.co.uk) E-Mail: yorks-lincs@blmgroup.co.uk Website www.blmforum.net Address Haychart Ltd, Armstrong House, Armstrong Street, Grimsby, N.E. Lincs., DN31 2QE. ISSN No: 1462-2092 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, photocopied, recorded or otherwise without express permission of the copyright holder, for which application should be addressed first to the publisher. While every reasonable care is taken, neither the publisher nor its participating agents accept liability for loss or damage to prints, colour transparencies, negatives or other material of whatever nature submitted to this publication. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily the views of those held by the publisher. COVER PHOTOS: VOLVO • ØRSTED • SHUTTERSTOCK - HALFPOINT • MOROCKO • POPTIKA www.blmforum.net 36 04-05.qxp_Layout 1 30/10/2019 10:13 Page 2Double disposal sees SIG focus on core businesses SIG, the Sheffield-based specialist building materials supplier, is disposing of two of its divisions as it focusses on its core businesses. The company will sell its Building Solutions business to Kingspan Group, an Irish building envelope solutions specialist, for £37.5 million. SIG said the disposal represents an attractive valuation of approximately 11.4x 2018 operating profit. “This disposal, on attractive terms, is in line with SIG’s medium-term strategy and completes the exit of peripheral, non-core businesses identified in our 2017 strategic review,” said SIG CEO Meinie Oldersma. The company is also selling its Air Handling Division to France Air for € 222.7 million. “We believe that the proposed sale of our Air Handling Division represents an attractive value for SIG’s shareholders,” added Oldersma. 6 Business Link www.blmforum.net NEWS Ringrose Law welcomes experienced family lawyer to the team Ringrose Law has welcomed Terina Kiss, family lawyer, to its Lincoln Office. Ms Kiss has many years of experience in family law. Particularly, she specialises in private family law including finances, divorce, separation agreements, post & pre-nuptials and property disputes between couples. Ms Kiss has a wealth of experience in law. Initially being called to the Bar of England and Wales as a Barrister and obtaining two scholarships. Following qualification, Ms Kiss initially worked for Humberside Police within the legal services unit and covert authority’s bureau before being asked to work in private practice in a North Lincolnshire law firm. She is more than capable of seeing a private family matter through from start to finish to ensure continuity, believing that in such difficult times a consistent face is paramount and, in her client’s best interests. She likes to establish a relaxed and friendly relationship with her clients whilst maintaining a professional approach. © Shutterstock/urfin Terina Kiss Final turbine installed at Hornsea One The final wind turbine has been installed at Hornsea One, the world’s largest offshore wind farm off the Lincolnshire coast, developer Ørsted has confirmed. With the component loadout taking place at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy’s factory in Hull – where the majority of blades were constructed – the components were then transported 120km out to sea by two specialist vessels. Now the final turbine is installed, the project will undergo a period of commissioning, and will be officially inaugurated in 2020 as the world’s largest offshore wind farm. Once complete, the site will be the world’s first offshore wind farm to be able to generate over 1GW of electricity – enough to power well over one million UK homes. Offshore construction started in January 2018, when the first monopile foundation was installed by GeoSea’s installation vessel, Innovation. Courtesy of Ørsted 06-11.qxp_Layout 1 30/10/2019 10:25 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 7 Using short-term lending to secure that can’t-miss opportunity FINANCE Have a client who needs funds fast? Think of us. For decades, we’ve provided more than 59,000 * personal and commercial bridging loans worth £5.9bn*. No matter how complex the case, we’ll work fast, apply a flexible, common-sense approach, putting you and your clients first. Contact your Regional Development Director: Bob Stones – 03717 052 612 robert.stones@togethermoney.com We’re the bridging loan experts. *Includes unregulated and regulated bridging loan applications over 34 years. Any property used as security, including your home, may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other debt secured on it. Planning is everything in business. But every now and then, an opportunity you hadn’t planned for comes out of the blue and it’s just too good to miss. But how do you move fast on a great opportunity if you don’t have the cash ready? Specialist lender Together has spent the last four decades helping businesses grow and thrive, with commercial loans and short-term finance designed for the pace of modern commerce. They particularly specialise in bridging loans – a great option if you can pay it back in the short- term – and use experienced underwriters, not tick boxes, to make a common-sense decision. Bob Stones, Together’s Regional Development Director for the North East & Humber, works with business professionals to connect them – and their clients – to finance at various points of the business lifecycle, as he explains: Find out more at togethermoney.com/fundingthegap At start-up Cash flow can be challenging when you’re just starting out, so short-term finance could help you get out of the planning phase and up-and-running quicker. Bridging loans can help with stock, infrastructure costs and general trading costs until the cash starts rolling in. And because you can borrow over 12 months – and in some instance can choose to make no monthly payments at all – it could be the ideal option to give you some financial breathing space in those tricky early days. In a cashflow crisis When you’re waiting on a customer to pay their bill and you’ve got a big outlay on the horizon – like your tax bill – it can be incredibly stressful. Or perhaps you’ve landed a big order and need cash to buy raw materials or pay extra staff to get the job done. If you know the money’s coming and just need cash to plug the gap, a bridging loan could be the answer. To grow your business If you’re converting a building, you can find yourself in funding limbo because it’s part-way between residential and commercial, and if there’s a spanner in the works you could run out of working cash. Short-term finance can help fund one-off costs and gaps between current and future value, and can be repaid when all that hard work pays off. 06-11.qxp_Layout 1 30/10/2019 10:25 Page 2TOWER FIELD SERVICES Cat Tech Tower Field Services offers bespoke mechanical services to oil refinery and petrochemical plants all around the world. Our team has vast experience in overseeing and undertaking the installation of all types of Tower internals. Our Tower tray, packing and other internals installation services has deep roots, with several of the senior team at Cat Tech being involved in the founding of the Cana-Tex organisation. Since 1971, Cana-Tex had been the premier global Tower speciality contractor; performing Tower maintenance and plant turnaround projects around the world. These origins, with the addition of new team members, make Cat Tech Tower Field services a global operation which is both cost effective and technically experienced. We strive to create new ways to make your Tower work safer, faster and more productive and that can make very good things happen for your business. We thrive on exceeding our clients expectations and understand the need for upfront communication in relation to timescales and costs. No-one likes surprises in this industry and we ensure that everything is done, from pre-job planning, on site activities to post job reporting in a manner which allows our customers to concentrate on their core business. Let us show you what we can do. We work hard to maintain an industry reputation for safety, speed and dependability. Ours crews have been trained by us, this allows us to staff a project with the proven skills necessary to produce customer satisfaction. It is our intention to demonstrate the benefit of utilising Cat Tech for all of your Tower work. The benefits of engaging Cat Tech are: l Experienced Tower specialists. l Proven track record. l Ability to supply spares and replacements. l Spade to Spade service. l Revamps or modifications to Towers / Internals. l Inspection of Tower internals. l Supervision of external/client labour force. l Detailed inspection reports. l Cleaning of tower internals. l Reactor tray field services. l Turnkey reactor tray field services. At Cat Tech, we continue to create new ways to make Tower work safer, faster and more productive. And that can make very good things happen for your business. Contact us for further information. Our well established sales team have a wealth of experience. We take pride on ensuring all enquires are dealt with quickly and efficiently. UK: Cat Tech (Europe) Ltd., 1 South Park Road, South Park Industrial Estate, Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, DN17 2BY UK Phone: +44 (0) 1724 871747 Fax: + 44 (0) 1724 861928 Bulgaria: Cat Tech Services (South Eastern Europe) Ltd., Devnia, Varna District, Povelyanovo, 20 Droujba Str, R Bulgaria, 9160 Phone: +(35) 9519 92052 Fax: +(35) 9527 46770 China: Cat Tech Services (Shanghai) Ltd., Room 1230 No.1, 58 Nong Huachi Road, Putuo District, Shanghai 20061 CN Phone: +(86) 2152 9175 08 Fax: +(86) 2152 9175 05 Singapore: Cat Tech Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., 17 Fan Yoong Road, Singapore 629794 Phone: +(65) 6264 6261 Fax: +(65) 6264 6401 South America: Please contact the UK office on +44 1724 871 747 Thailand: Cat Tech Services (Thailand) Ltd., 2/1 Soi Banbon Nuenpayom Road, Maptaphut Sub District, Muang Rayong District, Rayong Province 21150 TH Phone: +(66) 894 064 100 Fax: +(66) 638 692 382 MAKING YOUR PLANT WORK… SMARTER www.cat-tech.com PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/KAWINNINGS 06-11.qxp_Layout 1 30/10/2019 10:25 Page 3www.blmforum.net Business Link 9 NEWS Food engineering research centre launched in Sheffield Sheffield Hallam University has launched the National Centre of Excellence for Food Engineering (NCEFE). The new multi- million-pound cutting-edge facility designed to improve current food engineering processes, address the sector skills gap, and boost the competitiveness of the country’s largest manufacturing sector and was officially opened by Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis MBE MP. The Centre’s facilities and expertise will focus on tackling food industry challenges such as productivity, sustainability through minimising waste and reducing energy use, and addressing the health agenda. It will also support the food and drink industry by developing new and enhanced facilities, processes and equipment, and creating a knowledgeable and skilled workforce. The new research-led centre, which is based in Attercliffe, includes pilot-scale production facilities, laboratories, workshops and teaching spaces. Students and engineers can also access the plant room – the beating heart of the facility – to control and study the building’s bespoke environment. Listed US firm swoops for Wakefield comms consultancy Listed US business, Gallagher, has acquired Wakefield- headquartered communications consultancy, AHC (Anthony Hodges Consulting), for an undisclosed amount. Founded in 1996, AHC is a private, family-run company with close to 100 employees and offices in the UK, USA and Australia. The consultancy aims to help some of the world’s largest brands to simplify complex information in order to engage with their people and deliver positive measurable outcomes. “It was really important to us that we found a partner where we could maintain the family feel that our people and clients so value,” said Tony Hodges, Chairman and founder of AHC. “It soon became clear in our discussions with Gallagher that we have found this, and that they also share our values of ‘doing the right thing’ for our clients, colleagues and the community. This is what sealed the deal for us.” © Shutterstock/S_L © Shutterstock /Karl Everett Hull is set to become one of the smartest cities in the world after the City Council partnered with smart city operator Connexin. The plans would link services including waste management, traffic and parking to deliver improved public services for residents. Using Connexin’s Smart City platform, the local authority will be able to integrate information from a range of council services and systems into a single intelligent dashboard. Information from data-producing sensors linked to smart lighting, parking, traffic, waste management and Wi-Fi deployments are to be integrated into the “single pane of glass” software platform. The information will also made available to the public to encourage new ideas to benefit the economy in Hull. “Developing Hull as a smart city will give us the opportunity to work with public and private sector partners to deliver real benefits to communities, businesses and visitors to Hull,” said Councillor Daren Hale, Deputy Leader of Hull City Council. Partnership to make Hull one of the smartest cities in the world 06-11.qxp_Layout 1 30/10/2019 10:26 Page 4Next >