MEMBER NEWS IN BRIEF
Building at Westminster Derby brickwork boss Ian Hodgkinson was invited to Westminster to showcase his apprentices to Ministers, MPs and the UK’s leading housebuilders. The Building Britain’s Future
event last month showcased bricklaying skills by apprentices who built a wall on Speaker’s Green. The skills demonstration was
followed by a reception in Westminster that was addressed by Derby North MP Amanda Solloway and Ian. It also included speeches from Brandon Lewis, Housing Minister, and Nick Boles, Minister for Apprenticeships. Ian, who founded his
successful bricklaying business in 1990, set up his own brickwork academy with Derby College last year and has plans for a stand-alone academy.
Record year for M-EC Consulting development engineering firm M-EC has announced record turnover in its sixth year of trading. The consultancy, which has its
head office in Ibstock, Leicestershire, opened offices in Birmingham and Milton Keynes last year. It recorded turnover of
£2.55m with pre-tax profit of £430,000 for the year ending 2015, representing a 15% growth. Managing Director Eddie
Mewies said: “2015 was a milestone year for M-EC and our results exceeded expectations.” Established in 2009, M-EC
regularly works with over 200 housebuilders, contractors, planning consultants, local authorities and public bodies across the region and nationally. M-EC currently employs 48
people.
Gin is just the tonic Increasing demand for boutique spirits has a seen a rise in the number of distilleries in England, according to research by Nottingham accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young. In 2015, 28 new distilleries
opened in England, up from 21 in 2014. Gin sales in 2015 were just short of £1bn, illustrating its popularity, particularly with younger drinkers. James Simmonds, Partner at
UHY Hacker Young in Nottingham, said: “The increasing popularity of gin is very clear to see here in Nottingham as numerous pubs, bars and restaurants offer a huge variety of gins to their customers – the city even hosted the largest gin festival in the country earlier this year.”
4 business network June 2016
Ladies Day breaks racegoer records
Box09 Director Chris Stubbings, left, with new recruits Tom Chadwick, centre, and Chris Truby
Think outside the box
Derby-based facilities maintenance company Box09 has created a dedicated data cabling department and appointed a team of field engineers to meet a growth in demand. The company offers businesses an easy way of sourcing and managing
their regular maintenance requirements and building projects. Two new staff members, Chris Truby and Tom Chadwick, share a wealth
of experience in all aspects of data cabling, fibre optic and audio visual installations. Director Chris Stubbings said: “Data cabling is a niche service, so we
want to make sure that companies in and around Derby and Nottingham know we can help in this area. We’ve got background and history in this industry, so we see it as an opportunity for us to excel.” The company aims to add other specific, complementary in-house departments, focusing on security and electrical services, in 2017.
Nottingham Racecourse attracted its largest crowd of the 21st Century at Ladies Day on Saturday 7 May. The sporting venue announced
that 5,266 people attended the event – the most people to attend a race meeting at Colwick Park for 21 years. Its annual beer festival, the night
before Ladies Day, attracted 600 more people than a year ago. James Knox, General Manager,
Nottingham Racecourse, said: “Ladies Day was a fantastic occasion. The Premier Enclosure was sold out two months in advance – and the warm weather boosted the crowds in the grandstand. With almost 7,000 visitors welcomed in the space of 24 hours, we had a brilliant weekend.”
National lead for dairy research in Nottingham
Chamber patron the University of Nottingham will be taking the lead for dairy research as part of a new national Centre of Innovation in Livestock (CIEL). The CIEL is a £27.7m Government investment which
delivers world-leading research in livestock health and production, to deliver improved food security and farming sustainability. The aim is to provide a direct link between science
and practice to enable the livestock sector to become more innovative and to take advantage of new technologies and cutting-edge research.
‘We have a team of dedicated academics with a wealth of experience in livestock research at Nottingham’
Novel facilities will be created at Nottingham, including a unique dairy unit which will be equipped with a flexible interior to allow rearrangement of floors, bedding, loafing and feeding facilities. The Dairy Health and Welfare Unit will be a state-of-
the-art centre, conducting research on interactions between factors such as the environment, breed, physiology and welfare. Martin Green, Professor of Cattle Health and Epidemiology, will lead the CIEL project at Nottingham. He said: “We have a team of dedicated academics
with a wealth of experience in livestock research at Nottingham. “We are all looking forward to working closely with
colleagues in industry and academia, in order to find innovative solutions to the issues facing livestock producers and food manufacturers.”
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