Member News

The Maids Head Hotel in Norwich is hosting the visit to Norfolk of the 392nd Bomb Group Association from the USA. Thirty members of the association have made the trip to the UK to honour the memory of their loved ones, who were killed flying B24 Liberator bombers from Wendling Air Base, during World War II.

The 392nd Bomb Group flew 285 operational missions from Wendling near Dereham, from August 1943 to April 1945, comprising 7000 sorties; 781 young crewmen lost their lives.

Bob Books, President of the Bomb Group Association is making his first visit to Norfolk. His father 1/LT Dallas O Books , a pilot in 579 squadron, was killed in action on 18 March 1944, a day when the Bomb Group lost 14 aircraft and their crews.

Bob Books explained: “The 392nd Bomb Group Association was formed in 1985 for veterans, but in 2010 the group’s role was revised to become an education programme for both veterans, their children and relatives and anyone wanting to preserve the memory of the role of the 392nd Bomb Group.”

The association is supported in Norfolk by John Gilbert, who, as a young boy, lived close to Wendling Air Base. John’s family home on Unthank Road in Norwich was destroyed in a bombing raid in April 1942, so the family moved to Wendling, where John’s father was working on the construction of the airfield. His father then managed to get a job with a local farmer and John met and befriended many of the US airmen.

Ralph Winter, Vice President of the Bomb Group Association, who is on his second visit to Norfolk added: “John Gilbert is a very important member of the association, as our representative in the UK. He has built excellent relationships with local community and businesses to provide access onto what remains of the airfield.”

The association’s programme featured a visit to Wendling of Friday, with a tour conducted by John Gilbert, including the 392nd Memorial, one of the first established in the UK in 1945. The group also saw the surviving runways and visited the officers’ mess hall, with its a mural of B24s in flight. On Saturday they are heading to the Imperial War Museum at Duxford and the American Cemetery at Madingley. Then on Sunday, they return to the Wendling area for a remembrance service at the 392nd Memorial followed by a service in Beeston Church.

Larking Gowen is delighted to welcome personal tax specialist, Sally Farrow, as head of its Personal Tax team in Norwich. Sally, who is a Chartered Tax Advisor and member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, originally trained with Larking Gowen, and now returns as Senior Tax Manager, after a number of years with a national accountancy firm. Sally says, “I’ve worked with individuals and trustees for over twenty years, advising on tax planning and compliance.” She explains, “There’s a lot of satisfaction in helping clients manage their tax confidently, in an ever-changing tax landscape, ensuring they make best use of tax allowances, and taking the worry out of compliance.” With more than 16 years’ experience of advising private clients and trusts with a national firm, Sally will be leading the Personal Tax team in Norwich, and working closely with the company’s other offices across East Anglia.

“I’ve enjoyed the transition to Larking Gowen,” Sally says. “The firm has a strong personal tax team and an emphasis on client service that’s relevant to the local market place, which is particularly important to me,” she adds. “We’re delighted to have Sally working with us again, adding her considerable expertise to our team,” says Partner Richard Proctor, who leads the Larking Gowen Tax team. “I’ve worked with Sally previously and know her as someone who takes an active approach to providing tax guidance to individuals and trustees, who have the security of knowing they’re in safe hands. We are very pleased to welcome Sally back, and wish her all the best in her new role at our Norwich office,” Richard concludes.

Larking Gowen is pleased to welcome 17 new trainees for 2018.  For over 100 years Larking Gowen has welcomed new trainees to its professional training programmes.  With the exception of the War years when the country’s young were recruited for the war effort, the firm has consistently trained groups of A Level and University graduates who have gone on to have long and fulfilling careers in the profession. 

photo:

Bottom row (from left):- Dominic Heather, Beth Smith, Abi Davis, Lydia Kelsall, Amanda Ninham (Head of Human Resources), Jon Woolston (Managing Partner), Ben Horner-Glister, Jaya Ewing, Jess Mclean-Wright, Josh Chapman and Waled Ali.

Top row (from left):- Zak Hubbard, Spencer Everett, Oliver Peach, Kieran Manning and Thomas West.  

KLM UK Engineering is delighted to welcome 15 new apprentices to our team at Norwich. The apprentices will complete a 3 year programme in aircraft engineering maintenance and will start in the hangars at the end of September. We wish them good luck on this journey!

TOP-PERFORMING businesses are invited to showcase their achievements by entering the Spirit of Enterprise Awards 2018, the most prestigious annual celebration of business excellence in the Great Yarmouth borough.

Organised by enterpriseGY, Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s business support service, the popular awards aim to recognise and raise the profile of the borough’s top-performing businesses, while boosting confidence in the strength of the local economy. 

Businesses of all sizes and sectors are encouraged to put themselves forward for the various awards by noon on Monday, October 15. The awards are free-of-charge to enter online at www.soea.co.uk and finalists will be profiled in a supplement in the Great Yarmouth Mercury, with winners appearing in a further supplement.

The finalists and winners will be showcased in the press and at a glittering awards ceremony and gala dinner at the Town Hall’s prestigious Assembly Room on Friday, November 23.

Each award is backed by a local organisation. Sponsors choose the winner in their category from three finalists shortlisted by a local independent panel or by the category sponsor themselves.

This year, enterpriseGY is delighted to announce that the main sponsor is Noritake Itron, who will choose the 2018 Business of the Year from the winners of the other categories.

The categories and sponsors are: • Great Manufacturing/Engineering – sponsored by P&S Personnel • Great New Business – sponsor to be announced • Great Business Growth – sponsored by Bateman Groundworks • Great Business Idea – sponsored by Aston Shaw • Great Customer Services – sponsor to be announced • Great Family Owned Business – sponsored by Birketts • Great International Growth – sponsored by Pasta Foods • Great Investment in People – sponsored by GYB Services Ltd • Great Community Contribution – sponsored by Potters Friends Foundation Cllr Graham Plant, the council leader, said: “The Spirit of Enterprise Awards help to highlight the borough’s many and varied successful businesses, supporting our priority to work with partners to help champion and enable economic growth and job-creation in the area.

“For the businesses, having the chance to celebrate and be recognised for their achievements on the public stage brings important benefits, including raising their stature and reputation, and boosting staff pride.

“This wonderful showcase of successful businesses goes from strength to strength each year and helps to boost confidence in the local economy, helping to create favourable conditions for investment, sustainable growth and job-creation.

“There are lots of brilliant businesses across the borough, so make sure you submit your entry to stand the chance of being honoured as 2018 Business of the Year. I must also take this opportunity to thank the sponsors, including main sponsor Noritake Itron, without whom this wonderful celebration of business excellence would not be possible.”

Abate Pest Management has set the wheels in motion to grow a network of pest control franchises throughout the UK. The business from Morley near Wymondham is owned by husband and wife team, Jon and Jill Blake, started operating in 1999 and has grown to be a major player throughout the Eastern region working to prevent and cure pest problems.

Abate has developed a client base throughout the region servicing domestic and commercial customers including Anglian Water, Intu Shopping, Best Western Hotels, Johnston Logistics UK and Greene King. In addition to the normal wasps, fleas, mice and rat problems they also specialise in property woodworm treatment and bird proofing solutions.

The business has created a new team to roll out and manage the franchising. In addition to Jon and Jill, Neil Foley joins, who has spent 40 years in sales and business coaching and Jonathan White who has supported Abate for the past 8 years in Sales and Marketing. The business has also appointed franchise experts Morgan Blake Solutions Limited.

Jon Blake Managing Director said “We have worked extremely hard on becoming a quality company delivering a quality service. We are triple ISO accredited, a full member of the British Pest Control Association and hold Safecontractor and CHAS certification. All of this has proved to be very successful in our client growth and retention strategies. The geographical area we work in has become much larger with client activity reaching out to Essex and Hertfordshire and we often get asked if we can cover areas which are even further afield. We can now replicate our service with our standard operating processes, quality accreditations and training programmes to other areas of the UK. Franchising is a perfect solution to support our growth.”

Abate Pest Management are looking to have their first franchise in operation by January 2019 and 15 franchises by the end of the year. Jon also said “One area we are looking at for our franchise recruitment plans are current pest controllers, who want to step up, have additional support with all the legislation and accreditations and to build a business. There are currently 35,000 pest controllers in the UK!”   

To learn more about Abate Pest Management Franchising please visit https://www.pestfranchise.co.uk/

Photo – Left to right:  Jeffrey Rafftree, David Noble, Morgan Blake Solutions Ltd. Jill Blake Director, Tracey Jeckells Senior Business Administrator, Jonathan White Director, Neil Foley Director, Jon Blake Managing Director.  

The whole team at Tudor Lodge Consultants are delighted to announce that we are working with the Transparent Umbrella Company on their new website. With the introduction of new employment rights legislation by the government, covering England and Wales, it is more important than ever that freelancers and contractors ensure they and their respective employers are up to date with IR35 laws and legislation.

We are working with the Transparent Umbrella Company on their online positioning, using Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) techniques, their lead generation, website performance and development and online offering to workers, recruiters and contractors alike. There have been a number of challenges with their website.

The Challenges

The Transparent Umbrella Company’s previous website (which we started with) was developed abroad and was not designed to be ranked on Google and other UK search engines. This posed the challenge that the entire build and nature of the website needed upheaval. However, aware of the interruption to a business’ online presence that an entire new site can cause, we worked with the development team at the Transparent Umbrella Company to ensure minimal interruption.

Furthermore, the site, having been around and live for a number of months, was not ranking on Google at all and this meant that we needed to address both the build and the content of the website as well as how content was presented to Google and other search engine ‘spiders’ which crawl websites.

What We Have Achieved

We designed a new website design within the confines of the branding and business goals of the Transparent Umbrella Company. The new website is fully responsive, supportive of content, media and user engagements; unlike the old website. Furthermore, the new Transparent Umbrella website has more useful information than ever and provides contractors, recruiters and workers with all the information they need to sign up to the Transparent Umbrella Company.

Furthermore, the website is now SEO and Google friendly and this means that it is being ranked for various high-value terms including ‘umbrella company.’ This has all been achieved through the use of clean and efficient SEO techniques and practices which we are continuing, to a great degree of success.

How We are Achieving Success

Having picked up the Transparent Umbrella Company’s old website, we undertook a number of SEO-focused actions and activities alongside the various in-house marketing teams they possess. This has included:

Responsive Website Design – The new website is focused on user experience, information and allowing interactions with the brand which means that the website is now fit for purpose and users can easily convert to a lead for the Transparent Umbrella Company.

Meta Data – One of the most important factors when it comes to SEO, the meta data is one of the first aspects that search engines crawl to determine where pages should rank. We therefore updated all of the meta data on the Transparent Umbrella website to make it more focused, relevant and SEO-friendly, which has already boosted rankings for the website.

Website Content – The Transparent Umbrella Company website was previously almost devoid of content. However, we have undertaken a strong and effective content strategy to ensure that there is both relevant and optimised content across the website in various forms. This allows users to engage with the site in a variety of ways. The website now plays host to content that includes landing pages, useful information and core navigation pages such as contact and about pages.

How Our Work Has Improved Rankings

Since beginning our work with the Transparent Umbrella Company, they have seen themselves go from not ranking at all to ranking for more than a dozen relevant and important terms organically. Climbing up the rankings and improving n an almost daily basis, we look forward to continuing to build on the progress with the Transparent Umbrella Company for the future.

We are delighted to announce the opening of a brand new Select Appointments office based in Lowestoft, Suffolk.

Select Appointments have been operating in the recruitment industry for over 35 years and Lowestoft will mark our 16th office in the UK. We have seen great potential in the Lowestoft region for a long time and this new office has been formed from the hard work and tenacity of the team. Select Appointments Lowestoft will be the only national recruitment company present in the area and we will be bringing a wealth of opportunities with us.

The office will be equipped with state-of-the-art recruitment technologies and bolstered by the 12-strong support team at our head office in Norwich. Driven by quality, value and service, the business will be headed up by highly experienced Consultants, Rebecca Roll, Helen Pitcher, Rebecca Belcher and Tania Plank.

Boasting over 40 years combined experience in personnel solutions and many years’ experience of recruiting staff in the local area, our Lowestoft team will offer a quality recruitment service that includes, but is not limited to:

• Accountancy & Finance
• Administration & Secretarial
• Call & Contact Centre
• Marketing & Communications
• Procurement & Supply Chain
• HR
• Sales
• Hospitality
• Engineering & Technical
• Marine & Renewables
• Warehousing & Logistics
• Manufacturing & Production

The office is open to candidates and clients alike as of Monday 3rd September and is located at Riverside Business Centre, Riverside Road, Lowestoft, NR33 0TQ.

If you are looking for a new role or to fill a gap in your team, then please give the team a call on 01502 442939 or email lowestoft@select.co.uk.

As parents look forward to children going back to school, the UK’s leading specialists in IT support for independent schools including Eton, Harrow and Westminster, have chosen MIGSOLV’s data centre in Norwich to house their data.

RivaNET provides technology and infrastructure, IT support and cyber protection for Independent Schools.  The Surrey-based company boasts many of the top-ranked British private schools as clients and have chosen MIGSOLV to secure their servers, infrastructure and data.

“Protection is everything for our clients” says Nick Donoghue, Managing Director of RivaNET.  “High-profile parents entrust schools and colleges with their children’s education and safety.  We must provide the same level of assurance for their data and MIGSOLV’s first-class facilities help us do just that.”

RivaNET deliver tailored IT solutions ranging from managed outsourced services, to infrastructure projects and cyber security protection.  With an impressive customer list, they help their schools optimise their use of technology, whilst demonstrating exemplary IT governance.

“We’re very proud that RivaNET have chosen our The Gatehouse data centre” says David Manning, MIGSOLV’s Managing Director.  “Their whole ethos is based on world-class IT for some of the world’s greatest educational establishments.  We’re delighted they saw the same qualities in our services and the level of protection we can provide their critical IT.”

MIGSOLV’s The Gatehouse data centre is the East of England’s only purpose-built commercial data storage facility.  The heavily guarded building stores business’s computer servers and IT equipment, protecting them from threats including theft, extreme weather and power cuts.  RivaNET’s equipment is housed in air-conditioned and humidity control racks, with eight days back-up power and some of the fastest connectivity in the region.

“MIGSOLV’s cost were very competitive, but our decision was based purely on service and protection” continues Nick Donoghue.  “David and his team couldn’t have been more helpful, and the attention to detail in The Gatehouse is exceptional.  It matches the level of service and assurance our customers demand.”

“RivaNET is another example of an industry-leading business looking for a safe, secure and well-connected home for their data” concludes David Manning.  “It’s a pleasure to protect such a diverse range of businesses, whilst they focus on being such a success in their sector.”

More information on RivaNET can be found at www.rivanet.com.  For more details of the data centre services MIGSOLV provide, visit www.migsolv.com.

New Direction, Fresh Look!

Peerless Plastics and Coatings are relaunching with a Fresh look, new capabilities, new products, new ownership and investment.

Over the last two years Peerless have invested heavily and diversified into new areas such as large format digital print whilst also expanding existing areas such as plastic fabrication, screen print and developments works.

 We have been quietly building a stronger, skilled and more experienced team to provide our customers, new and old, with the best quality and service possible. We continue to develop our processes and offering, to provide new solutions and improved efficiencies so that we remain at the forefront of hard coatings, providing commercial solutions to our customers.

As a result of our improved quality management systems we have been able to quickly transition to the ISO 9001-2015 standard and stay committed to striving for continuous improvement.

The company is now embarking on a new period of growth with the backing of it’s majority shareholder Martyn Bromley and Managing Director Peter Llewellyn-Stamp.

Peerless will be expanding throughout existing markets such as Automotive, Rail, Aerospace, Healthcare, POS, Signage and Electronics in the UK and Europe, working closely with project partners and key suppliers.

Movement into new areas of industry are also a key focus with new applications for hard coatings becoming apparent all of the time.

Plastics and their usage are under scrutiny at present and we, as members of the British Plastics Federation and British Coatings Federation, are keen to spread the message that hard coatings should be used more on plastics.

The resistance against chemical, abrasion and UV degradation provided by hard coatings extends the life of plastic products significantly, resulting in lower usage/replacement of materials used. When hard coated plastics come to the end of their useful life, they can still be recycled just like uncoated material.

Throughout our development, Peerless will remain committed to using technology which is better for the environment. That is why our coatings are cured with UV technology rather than thermally cured. UV technology is significantly more efficient, requires lower energy levels and a smaller footprint meaning it should be the favoured coating option, ahead of thermal cure technology, for those interested in the environment.

We thank all of our customers, suppliers and contacts and look forward to working with them as we move into this new phase.

For more information on our products and services please visit our website at www.peerless-coatings.co.uk/

Email us at sales@peerless-coatings.co.uk

Or call – 01842 750333

03 September 2018

Last chance for rural Norfolk businesses to apply for nearly £3 million project funding

*Link to photos of one of the projects to receive funding at end of release*

Just over £2.8 million is still available for rural Norfolk and north Suffolk businesses to apply for through an initiative managed by Norfolk County Council.

This European ‘LEADER’ funding has been guaranteed by the UK government for all projects that are contracted by 29 March 2019 and expressions of interest are needed by 27 September 2018. This project outline is the first in the two-stage application process, and full applications will be needed by 15 November 2018.

Eligible projects need to deliver against individual Local Action Group (LAG) area priorities and must support one or more of the following: increasing farm productivity; micro and small enterprises and farm diversification; rural tourism; provision of rural services; cultural and heritage activity; increasing forestry productivity.

Since Norfolk and north Suffolk’s LEADER programme started, the five LAGs (Brecks, Broads, Waveney Valley, Wensum and Coast and West Norfolk) have approved 112 projects and committed £5.3 of the £8.1m budget.

Cllr Barry Stone, Chair of Norfolk County Council’s Business and Property Committee, said: “We are still looking for exciting projects that make a real difference to the local rural economy and help create new jobs.

“Norfolk County Council is continuing to lobby government for funding solutions post March 2019, but in the meantime we want to make sure that businesses take advantage of their last chance to apply for the current LEADER funding available.”

Duration Brewing was successful in applying for LEADER funding and will use their grant from West Norfolk LAG to establish premises for a new start-up brewery in West Acre.

Miranda Hudson from Duration Brewing explained: “Receiving LEADER funding is really helping us to establish a farmhouse brewery at West Acre, which will mean jobs and new industry for rural Norfolk and the restoration of a historic site. Our aim is to create a family venue where locals and tourists alike can come to learn about the brewing process enjoyably, over a beer, with stunning priory views.

“The LEADER team is helpful and approachable and the sums given if you’re successful are considerable. The application process does take some dedicated time and attention – but that only helps shape your strategy. The benefits are many and I’d strongly encourage people to apply for this generous fund before it dries up!”

Other recently approved projects include: • Brecks LAG – The Painted Barn, Barnham Broom – awarded a grant to support a project to restore a barn into a home and interiors shop with a café and to restore an old milking parlour into a studio available for hire by health and wellbeing practitioners in Barnham Broom • Broads LAG – The Museum of the Broads, Stalham – received funding for a replacement, more efficient steam engine for their existing steam boat, and also a new electric day boat with the aim of helping increase visitor numbers • Waveney Valley LAG – Horham Dairy and Care Farm CIC, Horham – given a grant to construct a building that will house a goat’s milk processing room and a communal/ packaging area, to connect the unit to mains electricity, and to purchase a pasteuriser for making goat’s cheese • Wensum & Coast LAG – Create, Cook and Prosper, North Walsham – awarded funding towards a project to restore an ancient listed building in the heart of North Walsham. It will provide the setting for a cafe and an arts centre with a community workshop and space for classes and performances

Rural businesses can find out more about their Local Action Group, how to apply for funding and see a list of all the application deadlines at www.norfolklags.co.uk

Notes to editors

Photos credit: Mark Newton Photography

Local Action Groups The Local Action Groups (LAGs) deliver this funding under the ‘LEADER’ approach, which means that LAGs enlist the energy and resources of local people and organisations in public, private and third sectors, through forming a partnership. This decentralises the decision and funding powers to the local level presenting a ‘bottom-up’ approach.

The five respective LAG areas comprise: • The Brecks (including parts of northern Suffolk) • The Broads • Wensum and Coast • Waveney Valley (including parts of northern Suffolk) • West Norfolk

LEADER (“Liaison Entre Actions de Développement de l’Économie Rurale”), meaning ‘Links between the rural economy and development actions’), is a ‘bottom-up’ approach which enlists the energy and resources of local people who come together as an empowered group to develop an area.

This funding is from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) delivered via Defra (https://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/rurdev/index_en.htm). In the UK this fund is managed by the Rural Payments Agency and distributed via the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE).

The overarching aims of the programme are to: • Contribute towards improving the environment and the quality of life in rural areas • Strengthen the rural economy by helping micro and small businesses to create and sustain employment within the area • Improve competitiveness, particularly in the agriculture and forestry sectors

More information can be found at www.norfolklags.co.uk

For political comment Cllr Barry Stone (Conservative), Chairman of the Business and Property Committee, on 07434 905963 Cllr Colleen Walker (Labour) on 01493 782272 Cllr John Timewell (Liberal Democrat) on 07450 680879

For further information please contact: Communications Team at Norfolk County Council Tel: 01603 228888 Email: pressoffice@norfolk.gov.uk  

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