Member News

Global-leading energy services firm Proserv is celebrating after winning two prestigious awards in recognition of the firm’s outstanding business success and engineering and manufacturing capabilities.

Proserv scooped Business of the Year and Great Engineering & Manufacturing Company of the Year at Friday’s (21st November) Spirit of Enterprise Awards 2014, a high-profile awards ceremony celebrating excellence in business and enterprise in Great Yarmouth.

David Lamont, Proserv CEO, said: “We are very pleased to receive the two awards from Great Yarmouth Borough Council, a great testament to the talent, expertise and hard work of the entire Proserv global team, and especially the team based in Great Yarmouth which is a leading centre for the development, design and manufacture of some our key industry leading high technology products and services.

“We have much to look forward to as a team and through continued investment in our people, facilities and technologies, 2015 looks set to be an even greater year for Proserv.”

The awards recognise the outstanding year Proserv has enjoyed. During 2014 the company won multi-million pound contracts for work in both the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil with all manufacturing work for both deals being carried out at Proserv’s Great Yarmouth facilities.

In June, Proserv announced plans to recruit a further 40 people by the end of the year in Great Yarmouth. This will see the firm employing more than 330 people across its four sites at Gapton Hall Industrial Estate.

In addition to large scale contracts and increasing its workforce, the company’s base in Great Yarmouth has a continual focus on developing new technology. Earlier this year, the team completed and released game-changing technology for subsea control and monitoring communications (Artemis 2G), reinforcing Proserv’s rapidly-expanding subsea capabilities and world-class engineering expertise. A roadshow targeting key conferences worldwide to promote Artemis 2G was also organised and led by senior engineers from Great Yarmouth.

The Spirit of Enterprise Awards, which were held in Great Yarmouth Town Hall, recognises entrepreneurial success in the town focusing on and rewarding the achievements through innovation, entrepreneurial thinking and sheer determination of businesses of all sizes and from every sector.

This award wins come just weeks after one of Proserv’s promising young employees, Marnie Toal, won the Oil & Gas UK Award for Apprentice of the Year.

Proserv, which has a global talent pool of more than 2,200 people and operates through 31 operating centres based in 11 countries, has a 40-year track record in delivering life-of-field solutions.

The firm recently announced it had signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by major US private equity investor Riverstone Holdings LLC. Proserv will continue to operate as an independent company under the terms of the deal.

‘Abandonment’ and ‘fly-grazing of horses’ are growing problems for landowners in the UK and have both recently been the subject of extensive debate across the country. This article outlines just some of what you need to know about the subject as a landowner.

‘Abandonment’ is when a horse is left somewhere permanently or for a sufficient amount of time to allow it to end up suffering unnecessarily. ‘Fly-grazing’ is the unlawful grazing of horses on public or private land without the permission of the landowner or occupier. The horses may or may not have been abandoned by their owner; they could have been brought onto the land for free pasture or simply left there following the expiry of a rental agreement.

Fly-grazing is a serious problem for landowners, not only does it pose welfare problems for the horses and interfere with the enjoyment of the land, it can also have serious legal implications for the landowner.

If you find a horse on your land, it is important that you obtain legal advice as soon as possible. As a landowner there are a number of issues you will need to consider including your potential criminal liability arising from any welfare issues, your statutory duty of care towards any person entering your land and the strict liability imposed should a horse escape. An understanding of the law is needed to ensure the correct steps are taken to remove the horse, including The Animal Welfare Act 2006, The Occupiers Liability Acts of 1957 and 1984 and The Animals Act 1971.

Currently, there is no specific legislation in place designed to tackle the removal of abandoned or fly-grazing horses but legislative change may be on the horizon given that a private member’s bill (the Control of Horses Bill) recently passed its second reading and will soon be examined by a panel of MPs.

In the meantime, landowners have two options for removing the horses: obtaining a Court Order for their removal or exercising the right to detain straying animals. The right to detain involves attaching an Abandonment Notice to the land in question demanding that the horses are removed within 7 or 14 days failing which the landowner will do so himself. However, caution must be taken before a landowner exercises this right as it is only available when the animals are clearly not ‘under the control of any person’. The Property Litigation Team at Leathes Prior will be able to advise you on which option is more appropriate in your circumstances, what the process entails and assist you to effect the lawful removal of the horses.

As a landowner, there are some practical steps you may wish to take to minimise the risk of finding a fly-grazing horse (or other livestock) on your land:

1. Secure the land by means of adequate fencing and locked gates; 2. Put barricades in place to prevent unlawful access; 3. Dig out fenced-off ditches to prevent access; 4. Plough up empty pockets of land or use it in some other way rather than leaving large grassed areas; 5. If you are renting the land make sure you have a written agreement in place; and 6. Consider obtaining insurance that covers fly-grazing.

If you find a horse (or other livestock) grazing on your land without permission there are some important things you need to bear in mind:

1. Be careful and do not approach the animal unless necessary; 2. To avoid any criminal liability as a result of welfare issues, you should carry out an immediate visual inspection of the animal’s wellbeing; 3. If there appears to be any health issues you should contact Trading Standards, the RSPCA and/or World Horse Welfare and request their assistance to remove the horse – please note these organisations will only help where there are welfare issues; 4. Report the incident to the police (and ask them to provide you with an incident number) and your local authority to see whether they can provide any useful information or assistance; and 5. You should obtain legal advice immediately.

If you have any questions regarding fly-grazing or if you find a horse on your land, please do not hesitate to contact Darren Bowen or Sabina Haag in the Property Litigation Team on 01603 610911.

Kinnerton Confectionery Limited is expanding its Fakenham factory to meet growing demand for its chocolate products. As a result, its satellite site at South Creake in north-west Norfolk is surplus to requirements. Roche Chartered Surveyors and Pearson Commercial have been appointed as joint agents to handle the sale.

The property extends to approximately 40,900 sq ft on 4 acres which includes production and storage space, along with ancillary offices. The overall site includes two houses and there is further land of approximately 22 acres that is potentially available. Kinnerton plan to vacate the site in early 2015.

“The availability of Kinnerton’s premises at South Creake provides a relatively rare opportunity to purchase extensive food-grade premises that have been comprehensively refurbished in recent years and which comply with the stringent requirements of a number of the UK’s largest food retailers”, commented James Allen of Roche Chartered Surveyors who is dealing with the sale of the property.

James Allen Tel : 01603 756332 (DD) Fax : 01603 665096 e-mail : james.allen@rochesurveyors.co.uk

www.rochesurveyors.co.uk

Omega Holidays hosted a very special flight to view the Northern Lights from Norwich International on the evening of Friday 21st November.

During the experience passengers took a journey through a star studded sky, and heard about folklore legends in a quest to see one of the most spectacular natural phenomena known to man…….The Northern Lights.

Guest astronomers guided the passengers on a voyage of exploration and discovery through the winter night sky to view natures very own spectacular light show from the aircraft. The flight has proven to be extremely popular, with Omega Holidays already making plans to repeat the flight during 2015.

Dino Toouli, Head of Trade Sales at Omega Holidays commented “.It’s great to see such a strong demand for our Northern Lights flight from Norwich. This is probably the best and cheapest ways to experience the lights, above the clouds at 30,000 feet!” Toouli added, “The Norwich flight has been one of our best performing flights and I see no reason why we won’t be doing more flights next year.”

Andrew Bell, Chief Executive of Norwich International Airport, said “It is fantastic to be able to offer this excursion for the first time from Norwich International and we are delighted that it has proved popular. Our objective is to provide an ever increasing range of destinations and products to the travelers in our region. The addition of this special flight compliments the services we currently offer. Following the success of this flight we are hopeful that Omega Holidays will build on this and introduce further options for local travelers in 2015.”

Abellio Greater Anglia has launched a new website to improve its customer service and information provision to the 30,000 people who visit daily.

The new site, which launched on Monday 10th November, will run parallel to the existing site at www.abelliogreateranglia.co.uk while the train operator listens to feedback from customers and ensures the new site is running smoothly.

The new site is accessible from the home page of the existing site, which will continue to be available for the next few weeks to ensure a smooth transition.

The new website, designed and built by marketing agency, Jacob Bailey, will improve the service offered to Abellio Greater Anglia customers as it is able to adapt to a range of different devices and offer the same level of functionality whether the customer is using a smartphone, tablet or PC.

It will also respond to each device differently, ensuring that pages fit correctly and that the most important information is on screen for the user (eg, for mobile phones it will condense the information on the home page to show mainly travel information and updates).

There are also more links from the homepage and the site has a new ‘Commuter Zone’ and ‘Business Zone’ to make navigation easier and faster.

Abellio Greater Anglia’s Commercial Director, Andrew Camp, said, “It is extremely important that we have the ability to provide customers with information when they need it and the ability to offer a fast, consistent website that is easy to use across a number of devices means that customers will be able to access accurate and timely information on the go.”

LinkedIn is a fantastic tool for online networking, job seeking and researching employers. Once a niche social media platform, in November 2014 it recorded more than 332 million members in over 200 countries and territories!

Clearly, the site is a big player when it comes to being seen by the right people: recruiters, employers and other important contacts.

But are you on LinkedIn? If not, and you are looking for new opportunities maybe it’s time to sign up and show the world your expertise, experience and qualifications. You may well attract recruiters like Pure’s consultants who are looking for someone with your background. Or an employer who frequently browses profiles, keeping an eye out for new talent.

LinkedIn is forever evolving, adding handy functions. We’ve taken a good look at its features for you, and highlighted the ones that we think will make your profile shine.

1. Customise your profile URL Creating an easy-to-remember and readable URL on your LinkedIn profile makes it easier for you and other people to share. If you don’t do this, the website will generate a generic URL, which looks clunky and untidy. A customised URL looks like this: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/tomearl. It’s a very straightforward  simply edit the URL underneath your profile photo.

2. Join a professional group LinkedIn groups are ideal getting your name out there and keeping up with industry developments. By answering other people’s questions and contributing to online discussions you’ll be demonstrating your enthusiasm and expertise. As long as you think carefully about what you’re going to say before you start typing, it can be a very valuable tool.

3. Choose your skills carefully You can select key skills that you want other people to endorse. But be careful what you choose since recruiters and employers may judge you on these. People who’ve worked with you will endorse the skills that they’ve seen you use. So if you’ve selected ‘project management’ and you’re genuinely experienced in this area, you’ll probably see ex-colleagues endorse that skill on your profile. The ones with the most endorsements will take priority on your skills list.

4. Make your headline snappy When it comes to adding the relevant careers information, lots of people only focus on employment history, education, qualifications and training courses. But you also need to work on your headline. Click on ‘edit profile’, then go to the little pencil icon next to your headline (that’s the bit underneath your name), and write something that sums up what you offer to employers. You’ve only got 120 characters, so make it snappy!

5. Ask for an introduction If there’s someone you’re dying to get in touch with, perhaps a mutual contact can introduce you. Just like networking in the ‘real world’, asking someone to introduce you to a third party can be a powerful tactic. LinkedIn has an online version of this. Remember to be professional when you make a request, and be clear about why you’d like to be introduced since the message may be forwarded on to the new contact.

6. Who’s checking you out? This useful LinkedIn feature lets you see who’s viewing your profile! Not only is it fascinating to see who’s reading your information, but you can also see how many profile visits you’re getting. Simply hover your cursor over ‘Profile’ at the top of your homepage, and ‘Who’s viewed your profile’ will automatically drop down. Click on this to see who’s visited. You can connect with new people who are already familiar with your skills.

7. Use your updates Make the most of your updates. Add a useful website article or a video for other people to view. This increases your visibility on the homepage, potentially catching the attention of your connections – and your connections’ connections!

8. Look the part Don’t use a personal party snap on your profile! Get a friendly, professional-looking head shot taken. Since people’s eyes are naturally drawn to images on the web, your photo needs to give the best possible first impression.

We think that you’ll agree that these LinkedIn features are just brilliant for your professional reputation. But remember there’s no substitute for getting off the internet and picking up the phone to speak directly to recruiters who have a wealth of available jobs in the East of England.

Agricultural update: Ensure your compliance with changes to rules on Plant Protection Products

The law and regulation on using a plant protection product (PPP) is a rapidly changing area. As new chemicals and technology develop, so too does the governance of their use and application.

‘Grandfather rights’ ceasing

In 2015 ‘grandfather rights’ (which allow anyone born before 31 December 1964 to use PPP’s authorised for professional use without holding a certificate of competence) will come to an end. The Plant Protection Products (Sustainable Use) Regulations 2012 (The 2012 Act) allow ‘grandfather rights’ to continue until 26 November 2015. After this date, everyone who uses PPP’s authorised for professional use must have the certification required for that PPP. Practically, this requirement is likely to have greater effect on small farms where there are no certified employees or contractors carrying out crop protection work. Those who are currently relying on ‘grandfather rights’ are advised to get the relevant training and qualifications well before 26 November 2015.

Obligations on PPP buyers

Even if farmers do not apply PPP’s themselves, The 2012 Act creates an obligation on those buying the PPP’s to ensure that those applying them have an appropriate training certificate (or will be working under the direct supervision of someone who does). Clearly, if the buyer is using the PPP’s himself, he must ensure he holds the required certification to use them. Likewise, buyers must also ensure that any employees using the PPP’s have the correct certification (including those who previously made use of ‘grandfather rights’). This obligation is likely to be a particular issue for farmers who buy their own chemicals and then get a contractor to apply them. The contractor must have the correct certification and farmers will need to be assured of this when the chemicals are purchased (practically, it is best to ask to see contractors’ certification before hiring them).

Storage and Disposal of PPP’s

According to The 2012 Act farmers have a duty to take all reasonable precautions to ensure that the storage, handling and disposal of PPP’s, remnants (old chemicals and unused tank mixes), packaging and cleaning of equipment does not endanger human health or the environment. All PPP’s should be stored in a chemical storage unit which is lockable and reduces the risk of unwanted releases.

It is advisable to keep up to date on which chemical licenses are being withdrawn, for example the recent EU ban on neonicotinoid compounds. It may be that approval for a PPP is withdrawn whilst it is in storage on the farm. Often there is a period during which stored supplies of a withdrawn substance can be used but this is not guaranteed and storing products that are no longer approved can constitute an offence. This highlights the importance of seeking legal advice wherever there are concerns.

Disposal of PPP’s is highly regulated, particularly for out of date products or products classed under the Hazardous Waste Directive (European Council Directive 91/689/EEC). After a product has been used, its container should be thoroughly rinsed and the empty container should be kept in the chemical store until it is disposed of properly. Farmers should engage a licensed hazardous waste removal contractor to dispose of left over, restricted or out of date chemicals or take the waste to a licensed waste disposal site. Your local authority will be able to provide information on sites with such facilities. Whichever method of disposal is used, farmers should record what has been disposed of or ask the waste removal contractor for a consignment sheet detailing what has been taken.

Inspection and maintenance of equipment

The 2012 Act has also introduced a requirement of owners of PPP application equipment to have the equipment inspected. The inspections will make sure the equipment has been maintained correctly and is in good working order. The requirement applies to people who own, or lease, sprayers and all other application equipment (except for handheld and knapsack sprayers). It is important to note that equipment that is not in use or is not used for applying pesticides is not affected. Equipment that is 5 years old or more on 26 November 2016 will need to have one inspection before that date. From 26 November 2016, equipment must have an inspection every 5 years and, after 26 November 2020, inspections must occur every 3 years.

Professional users must conduct regular calibrations and technical checks of the PPP application equipment they use. When doing this, they must have regard to the nature of the equipment and carry out checks in accordance with the training that they received to gain certification.

Clearly, some of the requirements implemented by The 2012 Act and developments in regulation will involve significant costs to farmers, particularly regarding training and proper disposal of PPP’s. However, the possible ramifications of non-compliance are great, not only in expense, but stress and damage to reputation.

Note: The content of this article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Specific legal advice should be taken in any specific circumstance.

If you need any advice on the above please contact our Agricultural Team on 01603 610911. The team has extensive working knowledge of PPP Regulations, the practical implications of The 2012 Act and experience in protecting businesses against enforcement action taken by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Following a recent successful challenge against the actions of the HSE inspector the business owner said: “Thanks to our outstanding legal team, headed by Darren Bowen a Partner in Leathes Prior’s Dispute Resolution and Agricultural Teams, we can now start trading again”.

SMS growth results in construction of larger manufacturing facilities Specialised Management Services Ltd (SMS), a subsidiary of Alderley plc, officially announces today its plan to relocate to larger facilities to accommodate company growth. SMS are internationally renowned in the oil and gas industry as leading specialists for the supply of hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical control systems.

The £3 million state of the art building will be constructed on a 100,000 sq.ft. plot at the Beacon Park business park in Great Yarmouth, almost double in size to the existing base on the Harfreys Industrial Estate. In addition to the main plot SMS have purchased adjacent land for future expansion. The construction of the workshop and office facilities will commence at the end of November 2014.

The much needed increase in capacity will allow SMS to service the needs of its expanding client portfolio as well as strategically introducing new product lines ensuring SMS maintains it full growth ambitions.

The larger purpose built facility will feature two dedicated test bays for pressure testing and operational testing with modern observation zones for improved safety and the workshop will be equipped with a built-in overhead lifting crane. The move is expected to create at least 50 new jobs in engineering and manufacturing in the region.

Dave Howlett, Managing Director of SMS comments. “This investment by the Alderley Group underpins an ongoing support and commitment to the growth and development of SMS and will help strengthen SMS’s position and expand its offering to the oil and gas industry worldwide. We have a strong and talented pool of people that have helped us achieve our current success and, with larger production facilities, we as a team look forward to continuing our expansion in order to meet the rising global demand for our products and services.”

Cllr Trevor Wainwright, the leader of Great Yarmouth Borough Council, said: “The fact that so many businesses in the energy sector supply chain are continuing to grow within and expand into the Great Yarmouth borough represents a huge vote of confidence in the local economy, the skills of the workforce, the port and business park facilities, and the Enterprise Zone status.

“The borough council is pleased to welcome the news that SMS Ltd have chosen Beacon Park for the development of their prestigious new office and production facility. The council looks forward to the doors opening for business and sees the news as support for its continued promotion of the park as the location of choice for businesses expanding in the borough.”

“Now is a particularly exciting time for Beacon Park, as construction on new units continues apace, new occupiers move in, and work starts on the new A12/A143 link road, thanks to both private and public investment, including a significant contribution from the borough council.”

2015 is forecast to be another busy summer for Thomson at Norwich International Airport with the introduction of a new weekly service to Menorca every Saturday May to October, bringing their total number of seats on sale to circa 36,000, an increase of 11% on prior year.

Norwich International Airport is delighted to be included within the new Thomson ‘discover your 2015 campaign which has recently been unveiled and tells the story of a well-loved bear called Miles who has been ground down by everyday life, before he is whisked away on a Thomson Holiday. From this week Miles is bringing a smile to Norwich International passengers and visitors alike with new artwork adorning the front of the main terminal entrance.

Andrew Bell, CEO of Norwich International commented, “We are proud to be working closely with Thomson to promote their holidays from our airport. The addition of Menorca to Thomson Holidays product range from Norwich International such prominent branding is most welcome and further demonstrates the strength of the growth in charter flights. We are certain this popular destination which is already selling well and ‘Miles the bear’ will prove a hit with our customers. The image of Miles will make a great backdrop to family photographs depicting the start of a holiday from their local airport and we actively encourage our passengers to share these with us”.

Last week Wayne Rooney, the Captain of the England Football team, was given a special treat in preperation for his 100th England cap when he spent an afternoon with the guys from Lambda Films.

Ok, so maybe it wasn’t quite like that…

On Wednesday 12th, Lambda Films headed down St George’s Park, the 330-acre English Football Association’s national football centre, in Burton-upon-Trent. There, the Lambda production team worked with the The FA, Vauxhall and YouTube football celebrity Steve Roberts of STR Skill School to produce an exclusive one-on-one interview with the England Captain about his upcoming 100th cap, and his top five goals.

The video was edited overnight and released the following morning to take advantage of Rooney’s impending 100th game. With the help of tweets and Facebook updates from the FA, the England Football team, Vauxhall and Rooney himself, the video garnered over 83,000 views in just a couple of days and continues to increase.

As well as the interview, the Lambda team worked with Steve Roberts and Wayne Rooney to produce a series of football tutorials for the STR Skillschool YouTube channel, one of the most successful football channels in the world.

Lambda Films is a video production company in Norwich. We produce online video content and video marketing services, so please get in touch for more information at hello@lambdafilms.co.uk or 01603 665527.

Norwich Sunblinds have been donating a £1.00 for each curtain, blind and roman fold sold to a charity each month.

The East Anglian Air Ambulance was the charity for the month of October 2014 and we managed to raise £1128.00.

Alan Smith received the cheque on behalf of The East Anglian Air Ambulance he gave the staff at Norwich Sunblinds a brief talk about the work the Air Ambulance and crew manage to do and the work that he as a volunteer does to get funding. Very worthwhile cause, we were very proud to be able to contribute to them and their work.

01603 615945www.sunblinds.co.uk

Norwich International Airport has become one of the first in the UK to transition to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) aerodrome regulatory regime, underlying its growing reputation as one of Britain’s most progressive airports. Only the fourth UK site to transfer to the system, which all European airports must adhere to by December 2017, Norwich is among a small group of pioneering aviation hubs setting the pace for the industry.

“Norwich has always worked hard at being one of the country’s most progressive airports, which is why we agreed early this year to become part of a pilot initiative mapping the approach required to transition to the new European wide system,” said Richard Pace, Operations Director at Norwich International Airport.

“While our existing procedures and approach to safety made the process relatively straightforward, taking the initiative not only kept us ahead of the game, but will also enable airports around the UK to learn from our experience and best practice.” EASA is the centrepiece of the European Union’s aviation safety system, working alongside the European Commission and the National Aviation Authorities (NAAs) to improve standards. The Agency develops common safety and environmental rules, monitors the implementation of standards through inspections and provides the necessary technical expertise and training to support the system.

All UK Aerodromes open to public use and which serve commercial air transport and where operations using instrument approach or departure procedures are provided fall within the scope of the EASA regulations, which came into force on 6 March 2014. Norwich participated in a pilot scheme designed to identify best practice for UK airports transferring to the scheme early this year, then became one of the first to formally make the switch a few weeks ago.

Richard Pace added: “I felt it was important for us to play a key role in the process. Despite their importance to local communities and economies regional airports are often drowned out by the noise generated by larger sites, and we wanted to ensure that our voice would be heard.” Norwich owner Regional & City Airports (RCA) – the airports division of Rigby Group PLC – believes that the announcement will also deliver benefits for its operations at Coventry and Exeter.

John Spooner, Director of Airport Management at Rigby Group’s airports division Regional & City Airports (RCA) said: “One of the key benefits RCA offers its airports is shared experience and expertise. With Norwich having so successfully completed its role as an industry pathfinder, the knowledge gained during the exercise will greatly ease the transition process at Coventry and Exeter Airports.”