Member News

Thomson and First Choice announce more flights and attractive flight timings from Norwich International Airport

Thomson and First Choice have today, 26th November announced that they will be offering more choice, attractive flight times and more weekly flights for Norfolk and Suffolk sun seekers flying from Norwich International Airport.

The leading holiday company is continuing its commitment to the airport offering flights to key destinations for Summer 2014 such as Corfu, Dalaman (Turkey), Ibiza, Tunisia, Palma (Majorca) and Tenerife (which operates year round).

The big news for the region though, is that flight times are changing – meaning that customers who want to jet away to sunnier climes can now enjoy even more time in their destination with earlier outbound departures and later inbound flights. For example flights to Corfu for Summer 2014 leave at 06:00 on a Friday morning and return the following Friday at 22:45.

Paul Cooper, Airport Negotiations Manager for Thomson and First Choice, said:

“Bringing these new flight times and additional flights to Norfolk and Suffolk demonstrates our commitment to Norwich International Airport and to Thomson and First Choice customers living in the region. We know that the demand is there and we are delighted to be able to deliver what our customers tell us they want.

“Modernising our operations across the UK is a key part of our overall strategy and this move helps us to create an enhanced holiday experience for our customers.”

Andrew Bell, CEO of Norwich International, said: “We are delighted that Thomson and First Choice will be increasing the number of flights and offering improved flight times for our customers. This decision demonstrates their commitment to the airport and reflects the high level of demand from customers wishing to fly from Norwich”

Thomson offers seven night holidays to Corfu staying at the 5T Atlantica Gran Mediterraneo Resort and Spa Thomson Platinum Resort, on a half board basis from £606 per adult. Price is based on two people sharing a double room and includes flights departing from Norwich International Airport on the 16th May 2014. To find out more about this holiday or to book visit your local Thomson travel shop, thomson.co.uk or call 0871 230 2555.

Specialised Management Services (SMS Ltd), a leading specialist in hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical control systems, is pleased to announce that they have been awarded Gold for “Delivering Quality Results” by the UK arm of Aker Solutions Subsea Business at their Supplier Performance Awards Dinner and Ceremony.

The event was held on 7th November 2013 at Pittodrie House Hotel in Aberdeenshire and the presentation was made by Aker Solutions Senior Manager for Procurement and Supply Chain in the UK, Robbie Hendry.

SMS was presented with the Gold award based on their continual high standard of customer service, project management, and consistent delivery of product excellence.

Dave Howlett, General Manager at SMS comments “This award is a tremendous recognition for the team at SMS and reinforces this client relationship we have developed over the past eight years.”

Dave continues by saying “This is only possible with the input of every department within the company and I would like to thank the hard working and dedicated employees at SMS. Their ethos extends not just to Aker Solutions but to all clients, thus ensuring we are consistently delivering the message that SMS is focused on safety, quality and customer satisfaction.”

Our first Christmas Party took place at the weekend and it was a great success! Lots of lovely people, delicious food, a tipple or two and dancing the night away.

We have had really great feedback coming in all weekend which is great!

The next big event with your last chance to get tickets this week is An Evening of Soul & Motown here at BEST WESTERN Brook Hotel, Norwich £25 per person includes 3 course evening meal and an evening of entertainment with live singing from Ady Diamond and DJ sets from Platinum Sounds Friday 6th December from 7pm to Midnight A great opportunity to get together with family, friends and work colleagues for a really great night!

Call the hotel to book on 01603 741161

Norwich-based business telecoms company, Comms Supply, has launched ‘Bid for the Box’: a chance for businesses to take part in an email auction to win the use of a corporate box at Norwich City Football Club for the match on 18 January 2014, when Norwich faces Hull.

Former Norwich City player, and professional boxer, Leon McKenzie will be the winning bidder’s special guest in the box: making it a truly unique prize. All proceeds from the auction – which is open until 4 December – will go to Norfolk charity The Benjamin Foundation.

The ‘Bid for the Box’ auction is the first event in a year-long charity partnership between Comms Supply and The Benjamin Foundation. The EDP Future50 company has pledged to raise at least £5,000 for the charity over the next 12 months, to support its work with children, young people and families.

Recently shortlisted in the EDP Business Awards One to Watch category, Comms Supply launched in early 2012, providing customers across East Anglia – and beyond – with a range of business telecoms services: from basic phone or broadband line rental to complete systems.

Karl Alderton, the managing director of Comms Supply, explained the thinking behind the company’s new relationship with The Benjamin Foundation. “When I launched Comms Supply almost two years ago, I knew I wanted to ensure that we contributed to our community wherever possible. Our team has taken part in various fundraising and community-focused activities over the last 18 months but we’ve now decided to take a more focused approach.

“The whole team sat down together to talk about what type of charity we would like to support and we all wanted to focus on children and young people. When we started to find out more about The Benjamin Foundation, on some level we could all identify with the work it does,” explains Karl.

Whilst The Benjamin Foundation provides a wide range of services across Norfolk, from homeless hostels for young people to affordable childcare, Comms Supply is particularly keen to support the Time4You service. Trained Benjamin Foundation support workers spend one on one time with children and teenagers in schools across the county.

“The Foundation helps young people make sense of really difficult situations and experiences; things like family break-up, bullying or abuse,” continues Karl. “With the support, care and kindness of the charity these young people are able to see a future and begin to be happy again. The average age of the Comms Supply team is only 25 so we can all remember how tough life can be when you’re experiencing hard times as a child: you feel you have no control and don’t really understand why things aren’t right. The Benjamin Foundation works hard to provide every single one of the people who use its services with hope, opportunity, stability and independence and we’re really committed to helping them.”

Over the next year the ten-strong team at Comms Supply will be embarking on a range of fundraising activities: from running marathons to baking cakes.

“We have purchased a corporate box at Norwich City Football club for the rest of this season,” continues Karl Alderton. “We’ll be auctioning this off for the Norwich v Hull game which takes place on 18th January and all the proceeds will go to The Benjamin Foundation. Local businesses, organisations or even groups of friends will be able to bid for the right to take over the box, which has space for 10 guests, and we’ll provide a hot buffet and generous bar tab. This package is worth at least £1300, but what makes it even more special is that Norwich City legend Leon McKenzie will join the party for the match.”

The Benjamin Foundation was founded after the tragic death of Ben Draper who was just 17. His parents, Richard and Vanessa Draper, wanted to celebrate his life in a way that would help other young people.

Richard Draper, founder and chief executive of The Benjamin Foundation, said; “We are so grateful that the team at Comms Supply have selected The Benjamin Foundation as their first ever charity of the year. As a young entrepreneur Karl has achieved a huge amount in the past two years through hard work, determination and tenacity: I know that many of the young people who use our services will find him a real inspiration.”

The online auction for use of the Comms Supply corporate box at Norwich City on 18th January 2014 will open at 8am on Wednesday 20 November 2013 and close at 8pm on Wednesday 4 December 2013. Comms Supply will be asking for bids to start at £400. Full details of the package and auction process can be found at www.commssupply.co.uk.

If you would like to get involved with the Comms Supply’s year of fundraising for The Benjamin Foundation, please visit www.commsupply.co.uk for more information or call Karl Alderton on 0333 2020 900.

For more information about The Benjamin Foundation visit www.benjaminfoundation.co.uk.

East Norfolk Sixth Form College will introduce a new BTEC Level 3 Engineering Course in September 2014. The introduction of the course is prompted by the growing needs of local economy. As we are very dedicated to providing the best educational opportunities to our students, improving services to the community and working with close partnership with local businesses we want to ensure our offer benefits young people and their future employers equally. This stakeholder meeting will offer a platform for dialogue, contribution and partnership about the units we should offer and areas of shortage. We ask that you recognise the value of having a say in the education provided to your prospective workforce by attending the meeting.

Book your place with Kasia Beblot by Friday 6 December Email:kbeblot@eastnorfolk.ac.uk or telephone 01493 662234

Staff at Norwich based Waveney Insurance Brokers wore onesies and pyjamas to work on Friday to raise money for Children in Need. Others baked Pudsey themed cakes and other assorted goodies which were sold with proceeds contributing to the £234 total raised.

Colleagues at Waveney’s Lowestoft branch joined in with a dress down day and Managers making tea and coffee throughout the day in return for donations.

Schemes Managing Director David Malone said ‘It was all a bit of light hearted fun in the name of a good cause. We’re aware of several local community based projects that have benefitted from the support they’ve received from Children in Need and are always happy to do our bit’.

Norwich International Airport is inviting all businesses in the region to help deliver greater choice of direct business flights to key domestic and European business centres from its local airport.

The aim? – Improved connectivity from their local airport, helping their business to grow more efficiently. To achieve this, business input into new route development is vital and the airport is asking businesses to engage with the airport so we can deliver the air links which local businesses and their business partners need.

To realise this the airport needs local businesses to help them inform airlines of where they need to fly to from Norwich, their local airport and to this end would be grateful if as many business people as possible could spend no more than 60 seconds of their time completing a very basic multiple choice on-line survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/K8RSF7T

As a thank you for completing the survey, contact details will be entered into a prize draw for a valuable prize – 50 business lounge tickets for your company to use when travelling from Norwich International Airport. The survey will run until 22nd November 2013 and the winner will be notified on 29th November 2013 and the prize will be valid for 12 months from this date.

Bernard Matthews, Britain’s No.1 turkey producer, has today announced an exciting brand refresh, to coincide with the retailer Back to School season. Supported by a multimedia campaign that will cover national press, outdoor, online and in-store, the new food-focused look, starting with cooked meats, will begin rolling out to all major supermarkets from 8 August 2013.

The new activity includes:

• A new modern Bernard Matthews logo
• An eye catching new pack design for all its cooked meats, frozen and fresh breaded poultry products
• Innovative new cooked meat lines
• Million pound marketing investment.

The contemporary new logo and pack design gives the brand a new identity and provides excellent visibility on shelf. The new design has also been developed to reinforce the brand’s provenance and quality, its farming heritage and showcase the great taste and versatility of the products.

At the same time, Bernard Matthews is also introducing new flavours to its cooked meat lines starting with Wafer Thin Turkey Curry and Hickory Smoked Turkey Breast Slices. The first press ads will kick off in October, supported by outdoor, digital and in-store activity.

The new packaging will also include the Government’s new traffic light labelling system to help people make healthier choices.

Deborah Ewan, Bernard Matthews Commercial Director, says “Our new brand refresh gives the brand a distinctive new look, excellent stand out on shelf and a real point of difference. It also reinforces our farming heritage and product provenance, something that customers have continually told us is important to them. It is also essential that we support and create awareness of the new branding, and so we are delighted to be running a million pound campaign to showcase this new look and the launch of exciting new products. “

Petans are running a schools competition to design a new livery for our helicopter. We would like an aspiring graphic designer / artist from a local school to give it a fresh new look! In return we are offering the winning student a summer design internship and cash prizes to the schools with the top three entries.

Petans is a registered charity and one of our aims is to invest our time and resources into education and skills. We are undertaking this project to raise awareness amongst school children of the oil and gas and wider energy sector in Norfolk and Suffolk. We feel it is important that local children are aware of what industries are on their doorstep and the opportunities that are available to them for future careers. We would like the competition and internship to provide a platform for an aspiring young graphic designer to develop a portfolio for their future career.

We are inviting selected schools to fill the first 4 places, with the 5th place being offered as part of a competition at “Choose your future” on 28th November at the Norfolk Showground.

We are delighted to announce that from 1 November 2013 Cole & Co Solicitors will join forces with Leathes Prior Solicitors.

This is very exciting for Leathes Prior and by welcoming the Cole & Co team the firm will add strength in depth to its Conveyancing and Private Client teams enabling the firm to offer an improved range of legal services to its clients. For the clients of the former firm of Cole & Co, not only will they know that they are still able to call on the services of those who they have dealt with at Cole & Co over many years, they will also benefit from access to a wider range of services whether through the firm’s Commercial & Corporate, Dispute Resolution, Employment, Family or Corporate Recovery teams.

Leathes Prior will operate from its 3 offices; the existing Cole & Co office in Tombland will house the firm’s centre for the Conveyancing team, the existing Leathes Prior office in Tombland will remain its Commercial & Corporate office and all other teams will operate from Leathes Prior premises in the Cathedral Close.

Mike Barlow Managing Partner of Leathes Prior said:

The Partners and staff of Leathes Prior are very pleased to welcome David Clarke and his team into the fold. I am sure that the clients of our combined firms will very much benefit from this exciting venture which reflects the confidence that the firm has in the strength of the legal sector and the economic outlook for the region.

David Clarke, Partner, formerly of Cole & Co, adds:

I and the staff of Cole & Co are delighted to have joined forces with Leathes Prior. Not only will this further strengthen our highly regarded and successful conveyancing and private client teams, but it will also allow our clients access to Leathes Prior’s renowned expertise in a wide range of legal services. It is a ‘perfect fit’ for both firms.

Leading independent vehicle and contract hire company Burnt Tree has today achieved its target of working 1 million working hours without any reportable accidents or incidents at either its Shrewsbury head office or any of its 18 branches in England, Scotland and Wales.

Having achieved this first target of 1 million working hours, Burnt Tree is now planning to reach its second target of 2 million accident and incident free working hours across all the company premises.

Announcing details of this significant milestone, Richard Metcalfe, Chief Executive at Burnt Tree said, “Following the RIDDOR guidelines laid down by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), we have been able to achieve this impressive target by raising the awareness of hazard identification internally and proactively managing accident and incident rates, companywide.”

It was in February 2012 that the last reportable incident took place at Burnt Tree. The launch of a ‘Zero Accident’ campaign, aligned to the company’s core values, has also had a significant additional impact on the minor injuries frequency at the company, which have reduced by 34% over the corresponding period.

“This important initiative was designed to encourage Burnt Tree staff to become more aware of the consequences and impact of accidents in the workplace. By actively participating in the changing of the culture towards HS&E, our staff have been the driving force behind this marked improvement in the last 18 months,” added Richard Metcalfe.

RIDDOR – Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 – is part of the Health & Safety Executive’s programme that puts emphasis on businesses to report certain serious workplace accidents, occupational diseases and specified dangerous occurrences (near misses).

Burnt Tree is the UK’s largest independent commercial vehicle rental and contract hire company, offering the widest range of vehicles in the industry, all backed by flexible products that put its customers in control. The company operates a 15,000-strong fleet out of 18 strategically located sites throughout England, Scotland and Wales.

Refrigerental’, the brand-new dedicated temperature controlled vehicle rental operation from leading independent vehicle hire company Burnt Tree, made a triumphant debut at this years’ leading industry specific trade show, TCS&D 2013 in Peterborough.

Visitors to the stand were attracted not only by the offer of free ‘Refrigerental’ branded tubs of ice cream but also by the news of the launch by Burnt Tree of its comprehensive range of brand-new, state-of-the-art temperature controlled rental vehicles, ranging from car derived vans and panel vans, right up to 18tonne and 26tonne rigid trucks, covering both single and multi-temperature applications.

Burnt Tree’s Contract Hire Director Mark Howell said, “Following an extensive and detailed market appraisal, we felt that there was a major opportunity for Burnt Tree to expand its vehicle rental business into the temperature controlled market sector. The overwhelmingly positive reaction of visitors to the stand proved that we are on the right road with Refrigerental and we left the 2 day show with substantial new customer interest in our refrigerated vehicle rental business proposition.”

All the refrigerated vans and trucks in the Refrigerental fleet are brand-new 63 plate models, covering vehicle sizes from small vans up to 26tonne rigids, and as Mark Howell explains, “We have carefully chosen a comprehensive range of vehicle types and models to give customers the optimum choice of vehicles covering the majority of temperature controlled applications from chill to heavy chill and deep frozen. Refrigerental vans and trucks are available with a choice of single and multi-temperature refrigeration systems, and each vehicle uniquely features Silent refrigeration kits fitted as standard, making them ideal for typical noise sensitive urban deliveries.”