lanarkshire incommerce iss15 issuu

CWR getting youngsters

ready for work

A IRDRIELOOKS TO THE FUTURE

Agriculture a growing concern

commerceTHE Lanarkshire CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BUSINESS MAGAZINE ISSUE 15

IN

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ContentsWelcome ..................................... 3

News in Brief ............................... 4

Airdrie: Looking to the future ... 10

Lanarkshire leads the way with tourism training programme ..... 12

Traceall Global tracks new business overseas .............. 13

Polybag tax charge ..................... 17

University of the West of Scotland ............................18-20

SFS offers two options on Auto Enrolments ....................... 23

Funding for Certificate of Work Readiness ..................... 24

Twelve new jobs at Pharmacells ............................... 25

Lanarkshire’s growing success ... 26

Electrical honours come to Lanarkshire ................................ 28

I didn’t get where I am today..... 31

Ask The Professionals ................ 32

The Political Column ................. 34

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S WELCOME

The Chamber is grateful to our partners for their financial support.

As a rollercoaster year for everyone in Scotland, not least those

running companies, draws to a close, we at InCommerce continue to focus on all the many positives which make Lanarkshire a great place to do business.

As well as our usual round-up of news stories about local companies expanding and making more prosperous the lives of our fellow-citizens, we concentrate in this issue on one of the staples of our historic county – agriculture.

Lying around the fertile core of the Clyde Valley, Lanarkshire is not only lucky in having good, productive and well-husbanded land, but for the last couple of centuries it also has had the vital market of Scotland’s largest city on its northern border.

With leading players in the UK and Scottish markets such as East Kilbride’s Müller Wiseman, potato kings Albert Bartlett of Coatbridge and the highly-innovative Clyde Valley Tomatoes, our agricultural sector is a beacon of hard work and entrepreneurial skill.

In addition, as part of our series of Lanarkshire’s significant and historic towns, we shine the spotlight on Airdrie, a fast-developing centre for service sector businesses and other organisations.

In its day, the town was a centre of heavy engineering and, not least and with

justified pride, the manufacturer of the steel pipes which carried the oil that fuelled the Normandy beachhead in 1944, and in turn, the liberation of Europe.

With this issue, we also continue to reach out to as many Lanarkshire businesses as possible who would like to share their success stories with the wider business community.

In our previous issue we ran a story on Hamilton-based Jigsaw Travel. Its founder, Lesley Millar, tells us that the article not only helped gain lots of well-deserved profile for her company but also whetted the interest of new, prospective customers for her high-quality corporate travel services.

The message is clear – a raised profile can lead to enhanced business opportunities, so please don’t be slow in coming forward to tell us of your success stories. Just contact us at [email protected]

There is much more too in this issue to inform and entertain Chamber members and we hope you enjoy it.

Neil Kennedy Chief Executive, Lanarkshire Chamber of Commerce.

lifeSKILLSc e n t r e s

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Lanarkshire Chamber of Commerce Suite 4, West Stand New Douglas Park Cadzow Avenue Hamilton ML3 0FT

t: 01698 426882 f: 01698 424699 e: [email protected]

News in Brief... Get in touch with your [email protected]

East Kilbride curling supplies business seeks to exploit new markets with new web-based buy-site

The sport of curling has really come into its own in the last decade as a result of recent Winter Olympic gold medal wins for the UK’s

women’s and men’s curling teams. And a family-owned Lanarkshire business, which has been around

for more than 65 years and supplies curling enthusiasts with the essential equipment of their sport, has high hopes of prospering with the launch of its new website.

Curlingsupplies.com is a division of Corston Sinclair Ltd, an East Kilbride-based supplier of work-wear, protective clothing and personal protective equipment. It employs 20 people.

Derek Schofield, sales director, said: “We were the first curling supply company in the UK to launch a buy-site and we have just re-designed it to make it more appealing to a younger generation of curlers.

“The website has been built by another excellent East Kilbride Company, Concept Consulting. And we are hoping that http://www.curlingsupplies.com/ will help us build market share.

“At present we sell most of our curling products into the UK market. We export small quantities into the Baltic states, but we are hoping our website will garner interest everywhere curling is played and enjoyed, usually between the months of March and August.”

Chemco aims to broaden its customer base

In the protective coatings industry, Coatbridge-based Chemco International is making a determined bid to become supplier of

choice to more companies in Scotland.For more than 30 years, it has manufactured a range of high quality

innovative speciality coatings and polymers. Most represent state of the art technology. Its products can be utilised across almost all industries worldwide including marine, offshore, oil & gas, petrochemical, power generation, water & sewage and food & beverage.

Its solvent-free, wet and rust tolerant range of coatings have, they believe, revolutionised the protective coatings industry. The company is also leading a moving away from grit blasting of surfaces towards the more environmentally friendly technique of water blasting. In turn, new approaches have resulted in huge time and cost savings through reductions in equipment use and contract duration.

Ian Gold, Marketing Co-ordinator of Chemco International, said: “In our sector, there are around four or five companies who have dominated the industry for decades, but it is our firm belief that we have better products.

“And since we are based in North Lanarkshire, we believe that any protective coating work that goes on around this area and in Scotland as a whole should be done by our company, including local council work. So far this is not the case, but it is something we are working on.”

Coatings of many colours: Chemco’s factory.

Sweeping up: curlingsupplies.com is taking off.TH

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Moreland Insurance hits the half century mark trading in LanarkshireMoreland Insurance Brokers in Cadzow Street,

Hamilton, is celebrating its 50th year in business Set up by Willie Moreland in a small shop front

in Merry Street, Motherwell, in 1964, it moved to Hamilton 10 years ago as the business expanded.

One of the two long serving directors is Maurice Logie, a former President of Lanarkshire Chamber of Commerce.

He said: “In the early days, Willie was kept busy, especially on Saturday mornings, when he used his small shop front premises to collect payments over the counter for home and car insurance.

“The business has certainly changed in scope over the years with 85 per cent of transactions we now handle being commercial insurance for businesses in Lanarkshire and the West of Scotland.

“Over the years, our staff has played a key role in the development of the company, with an average length of service of 10 years”.

Fellow Director Alan Johnston said: “We even had one member of staff – Arthur Connor from Wishaw – who spent 41 years with the company.”

In the past, the company has expanded by acquisition – for example taking over J. R. Russell & Co in Wishaw and in mid-2014, Knowetop Insurance in Motherwell.

Motherwell’s LAMH recycles waste and gets people back into work

Helping more than 40 people with long-term health problems return to mainstream

employment is central to the thinking at LAMH Recycle, a Motherwell-based social enterprise whose primary aim is to provide workplace opportunities for long-term unemployed people.

The business, which undertakes recycling and waste management, has recently expanded its range from Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) to other waste such as cardboard, plastics, glass, office paper and confidential waste.

Its approach to the market fits neatly with the new Waste (Scotland) Regulations which came into effect this year and require businesses to separate all metal, card, paper and glass for recycling.

Joe Fulton, Operations and Development Manager, said: “This has been a major expansion, and a successful one so far.

“We have the experience and infrastructure to offer a low-cost, comprehensive waste management service to Lanarkshire-based companies to help them ensure compliance with the new rules.

“Provision of a high quality service is paramount but we hope also that local companies will get a ‘feel good’ factor from working with a local charity and in helping local, long-term unemployed people back to work”.

For further information, please contact Joe Fulton, Operations & Development Manager, on 01698 264100 or email [email protected]

Strong team: Maurice Logie, right, with Moreland staff.

Going up: forklift driver at LAMH Recycle.

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Get in touch with your [email protected] in Brief...

Help needed for spina bifida patients in Lanarkshire

THE highest incidence of spina bifida in Scotland is in Lanarkshire. Spina bifida occurs during pregnancy. Most of

those born with the condition will be paralysed and will have to use a wheelchair. There is no cure: nobody knows why spina bifida occurs. It can afflict any family regardless of age, ethnicity or social background.

The Scottish Spina Bifida Association (SSBA) has been building connections with the Lanarkshire business community since establishing its Family Support Centre in Cumbernauld in 2006.

With less than 1 per cent funding from the Government, we need to raise £1million per year to maintain the vital services we provide to more than 550 people in Lanarkshire affected by spina bifida and hydrocephalus.

Much of our work benefits people within your community so any help you can offer will have a direct local impact.

Whether it’s volunteering, choosing us as a nominated charity for the year ahead, organising an event, partnering or holding a raffle at your Christmas night out, every single cash contribution helps us to reach our annual £1 million target.

If you would like to sponsor any of our forthcoming events in Lanarkshire – www.ssba.org.uk – please contact Dave Kennedy on 01236 794 508 or [email protected].

New inward investment website invites businesses to choose Lanarkshire

North and South Lanarkshire councils have come together in a fresh drive to attract inward investment and regeneration by

launching a new website, www.chooselanarkshire.com The two councils’ joint aim is to market Lanarkshire as a prime

location for businesses to establish themselves and to grow. North Lanarkshire Council’s Convenor for Regeneration,

Councillor David Fagan, said: “Choose Lanarkshire is an online shop window which highlights to companies why Lanarkshire is an excellent choice for business and inward investment.”

South Lanarkshire Council’s Chair of Enterprise Services Committee, Councillor Chris Thompson, shares Councillor Fagan’s enthusiasm for inviting companies to choose Lanarkshire.

“The website is a one stop business portal where information on the councils’ business support services can be found. All inward investment enquiries will benefit also from a personalised approach,” he said.

“We are keen to have a single approach to handling enquiries, so an inward investor will be allocated one contact point – a senior officer – to provide a bespoke response to their needs – planning, building control, financial assistance, skills development, recruitment or anything else,’’ said Councillor Fagan.

Councillor Thompson added: “Lanarkshire is open for business and there is a willingness within both councils to encourage businesses to come here.’’

Working together: Councillor Fagan, right, and Councillor Thompson.

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Oilfast fuel distribution business is fast making its mark

Planting a tree for every 1,100 litres of kerosene oil ordered by its Scotland-wide customer base is one way in which Motherwell-

headquartered Oilfast is making its mark.The Lanarkshire company launched its new fuel distribution

business throughout Scotland in September 2013 when it opened a depot in Crieff and has since opened five further depots in Motherwell, Inverness, Forfar, Insch and Grangemouth.

Oilfast was set up by Alan Tait and Campbell Brogan, the previous owners/directors of Brogan Fuels, and Jonathan Turner, previous owner of Bayford Oil and his colleague, Liz Slater. The distribution business of Brogan Fuels was sold to GB Oils in 2009.

The team got together and decided to start a new fuel distribution business in Scotland. Since then they have recruited more than 30 seasoned people from within the fuel distribution industry.

Oilfast supplies gas oil and road diesel to businesses across Scotland as well as kerosene oil to business premises for heating. The company buys the oil at the most competitive rates – key for customers now that the price of Brent Crude oil is heading downwards to $80 a barrel.

“With our knowledge of the fuel market we are able to purchase our oil at the most competitive rates which in turn enables us to offer great value for money,” said managing director Stephen Anderson, a chartered accountant with 10 years’ experience in the fuel distribution business and, before its acquisition, financial director of Brogan Oils.

Oilfast’s fuel card business, Diesel 24, provides a range of network fuel cards including Shell, Esso, UK Fuels and Texaco FastFuel cards. Oilfast supplies farmers with gas oil or red diesel. It also sells lubricants, tanks and lpg cylinders. It currently operates 19 rigid vehicles and one artic.

Mr Anderson said: “We have an absolutely brilliant team of drivers who are a real credit to us. We want to make sure that when customers do business with us that they enjoy the experience and are delighted with our service. The drivers are therefore critical to this ambition and we undoubtedly have some of the finest drivers in the industry.

“We are a very ambitious company and I would like to think that we will continue to grow the excellent business we have built up already and that, in future, opportunities will come our way to allow us to perhaps move into other areas either geographically, or with the products we sell.”

Thermal Images identifies wasted energyWhen it comes to energy, it is easier to save it than

to generate it, according to Tom Barbour, the 46 year-old boss of Strathaven-based Thermal Image UK, www.thermalimageuk.com which helps companies and individuals identify how the thousands of pounds spent annually on energy bills can be reduced.

A former Scottish Power executive, Tom, originally from Campbeltown and now married to a Strathaven girl, founded the business in 2007 because, he said, “no one else was doing surveys into energy losses”.

Today, his four-strong team actively assists local authorities, housing associations, builders, plumbers and private home owners to secure drastic reductions in their energy costs through the use of highly-sophisticated thermal imaging technologies.

But it’s not just all commercial properties and houses: last year Tom was approached by Edinburgh Zoo to help the staff establish exactly what degree of combustion was being generated between the two famous pandas.

“Once there we also got called on to check on a rhino with a sore leg! – which was inflamed”, he said.

“We enjoyed these projects because they’re of huge interest to a global audience; occasionally we are even asked to try to identify ghosts by their heat signatures, but that’s not quite the same.”

Oiling the wheels: the team at Oilfast. TH

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Over 25 employers from across Scotland were treated to a glittering evening reception in The Great Hall of Edinburgh

Castle, on Thursday 4th December. The Reserve Forces Employer Awards Dinner hosted and organised jointly by Lowland and Highland Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Associations, was to reward employers for their supportive attitude towards defence over the last twelve months.

During the night the audience heard from two reservists, one a Royal Marine and the second an Infantry Offi cer. Both had been on operations and recounted their experiences and the lessons they had learnt from their deployments and how they had transferred the skills gained to their civilian place of work. The third vignette was an employer who gave his view of the benefi ts to him of employing members of the Reserve Forces.

The main focus of the evening, was an opportunity to publically recognise employers in Scotland who support the United Kingdom’s armed forces by employing reservists, veterans, disabled veterans, Cadet Adult Instructors or the spouses of members of the Armed Forces. The Employer Recognition Scheme introduced by the Prime Minister this year, is awarded at three levels: the Bronze award can be gained by signing an electronic pledge on line. The Gold award is presented nationally in London but the Silver awards presented on this occasion are decided regionally. Employers can be nominated on line by anyone who believes that the company or organisation satisfi es the criteria. Once nominated a regional board determines which of the nominations will go forward to receive the award. In Scotland, we have made thirty awards this year.

Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, presented employers with Silver Award certifi cates on behalf of the Ministry of Defence and spoke to the recipients about the value of reservists in the workplace and the additional skills and training they bring to employers through their military service.

The employers represented most sectors of Scottish Business and included both the public and private sectors. The following employers were presented with awards:

Aberdeen City Council

CalMac Ferries Ltd

City Building (Glasgow) LLP

City of Edinburgh Council

Currie European Transport Ltd

DC Thomson & Co. Ltd

Dundee City Council

Forth Valley Chamber of Commerce

Glasgow City Council

Global Energy Group

Grampian NHS Board

James McVicar Printworks

Job Centre Plus

Michelin Tyre PLC

NHS Borders

NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde

NHS Fife

Police Scotland

Scottish Ambulance Service

Scottish Fire & Rescue Service

Scottish Prison Service

South Ayrshire Council

South Lanarkshire Council

Standard Life Assurance Ltd.

Stirling Council

Strathmore Farming Company Ltd

Tayside NHS Board

The Royal Bank Scotland

As well as the vignettes and awards, the audience were entertained by music from a small ensemble of military musicians who again are reservists employed in a number of different civilian organisations. Two Army Cadet Pipers played a set at the end of the evening. The audience were amazed at the very high standard of piping from the two fourteen year olds. The Cadet Forces are an integral part of youth activity in Scotland and offers boys and girls from all walks of life the opportunity to take part in challenging activities whilst gaining life skills in order to prepare them for adulthood.

Support from employers is vital to those members of their staff serving with the Reserves. Companies gain a great deal from employing reservists on their staff such as training in leadership and teamwork and development of skills including communication and decision-making – all essential to successful companies. As well as these soft skills, the reserves receive a lot of training that is readily transferable to the civilian workplace, such as driving licence acquisition, Health and Safety training and a plethora of other hard skills.

The Volunteer Reserve Forces are an integral and vital part of the UK’s Armed Forces. The Volunteer Reserve consists of the Royal Navy Reserve, the Royal Marines Reserve, the Army Reserve and the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. Members of the Volunteer Reserve, train one evening per week, approximately 2 weekends a month and a two-week annual camp and are paid at equivalent rates to the Regular Forces. Anyone who joins the Volunteer Reserve does so in the expectation that they are likely to be mobilised at some time to serve alongside their Regular counterparts.

Ministry of Defence’s Silver Awards Dinner

For further information please contact:

Lowland RFCA, Lowland House, 60 Avenuepark Street, GLASGOW G20 8LW

Email: [email protected] • Telephone 0141 945 6751 • Mobile 07979 961107

ADVERTISING FEATURE ADVERTISING FEATURE

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Cover story Get in touch if you have a cover story [email protected]

Airdrie positively bustles. When InCommerce visited on a brisk and bright autumn afternoon, the corner of Stirling Street and

Bank Street at Hendersons the Jewellers was buzzing with people going about their daily business.

Huddles of schoolchildren were wending their way home, the benches in the pedestrian landscape of Graham Street were occupied by locals in earnest conversation and shoppers were scouting assiduously for bargains.

It had the air of a town at ease with itself, a community anchored in a proud heritage which is evidenced everywhere in robust and architecturally confident Victorian buildings, with meticulous stone carvings and coat-of-arms shields in every nook and cranny.

Like many other Scottish towns, Airdrie has had its economic ups and downs over recent years. Hendersons, for instance, one of the country’s oldest jewellers which once owned 30 stores is now sadly closed, after 128 years in business.

And the shoppers in the town centre were significantly outnumbered by the hordes jostling in the car parks of the huge supermarkets which have sprung up all round the periphery of the venerable burgh.

In a town with such a rich and varied history, however, it is worth considering where it has come from before speculating about where it is going. And Airdrie’s story is certainly rooted in the mists of time.

Situated on a plateau, its name is said to come from the Gaelic for high hill pasture and it was on this bleak plain, 200 feet above where

Coatbridge would eventually emerge, that the Battle of Arderyth was fought between the King of Strathclyde and the King of Kintyre in 577AD.

History rolled gently past the quiet market town thereafter until the 1800s, when the discovery of iron and coal transformed the whole of Lanarkshire, and immigration swelled the population of Airdrie and surrounding towns exponentially.

On the back of these industries, Airdrie developed its identity as a prosperous Victorian community, with the establishment of Airdrieonians FC in 1878, a golf club a year earlier and even, for a while, a racecourse.

The fashion for self-improvement among the town’s workers was to the fore. In November 1853, Airdrie adopted the Free Libraries Act, some 13 years before any other Scottish burgh, and housed its first library in the Town Hall.

In 1893, it moved to a new two-storey building with a neo-classical frontage in red sandstone in Anderson Street, partially financed by Andrew Carnegie, whose trust also contributed to a new library in September 1925.

The Vulcan, the world’s first iron-hulled boat which revolutionised maritime design around the globe, was built in Calderbank and plied its trade on the Forth & Clyde Canal from 1819, ferrying people on the waterway until she was scrapped in 1873. A replica now takes pride of place in the Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life in Coatbridge.

Looking to the future

Airdrie, a town with a stirring past, is striding forwards confidently

Thriving: Airdrie town centre at Stirling Street.

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Heavy industry continued to form the core of Airdrie’s economy through most of the 1900s. Steel pipes were a particular speciality: the pipes used to feed fuel direct from southern Britain to Normandy in 1944 as part of the PLUTO (Pipe Line Under The Ocean) project were made in Airdrie.

Today, Airdrie is a large town and encompasses the former villages of Clarkston and Rawyards. It has an arts centre, the library, two railway stations (with frequent electric trains to Glasgow), public baths, a sports centre, a modern shopping centre, 16 churches, many public parks, a golf course and five industrial estates.

The Sir John Wilson Town Hall, built in 1910 with a gift of £10,000 from the man who also paid for the laying out of the Public Park and the West End Park, has recently been renovated and now serves as a gallery and arts venue.

One outstanding example of the town’s business acumen is the Airdrie Savings Bank, established in 1835 as part of the general “thrift” movement. It is Britain’s only independent savings bank.

Operating exclusively in Airdrie until 1916, the bank began to expand into surrounding towns such as Bellshill, Shotts, Muirhead, Baillieston and Motherwell. It is a major employer and is seen to represent what Scottish banks once stood for – security of funds, a focus on savings and outstanding personal service.

Other substantial employers include Albert Bartlett & Sons, the supplier of root vegetables which started life as a beetroot boiler and now provides one in every five potatoes bought in the UK. The

company has expanded its fresh produce operations to a new site on the Stirling Road towards Cumbernauld which vastly increases their presence in the town.

Airdrie is also home to two major distillers, Burn Stewart and Inver House. Burn Stewart, now owned by South African Distell, has a warehousing and blending facility in Airdrie to deal with its famous brands such as Black Bottle, Tobermory and Bunnahabhain.

Inver House Distillers, founded in 1964 and now part of Interbev, is the group’s wholly owned Scotch whisky subsidiary. Within its portfolio there are five distilleries – Pulteney, Balblair, Knockdhu, Speyburn and Balmenach – each producing its own distinctive, individual single malt whisky.

Inver House is also highly active in the warehousing and blending of Scotch whisky, with its main warehousing and head office being centrally located in Airdrie, perfectly placed to service the international marketplace with warehousing for 500,000 barrels of whisky plus state of the art blending and laboratory facilities.

A link between Airdrie’s heavy industry past and the present can be found at the Caldervale Forge Company, better known now for its Rockeater products, the world’s finest hydraulic breaker steels.

Founded in 1902 to serve the railway and construction industry, the company now exports its rock-breaking hammers to more than 60 countries and has gained a worldwide reputation for quality and durability.

A fitting company to end with – hammering home the message that Airdrie has a future.

You’re welcome: the sign which greets visitors to the town.

A venerable town: from left, Airdrie Observatory and Public Library, Wellwynd Parish Church and the war memorial opposite West End Park.

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Lanarkshire leading the way with tourism training programme

Since its launch in May 2014, more than 100 individuals from organisations across Lanarkshire have completed a tourism

training programme, BeLanarkshire, a free scheme created by VisitLanarkshire and the Lanarkshire Area Tourism Partnership (ATP).

Encouranging greater uptake of BeLanarkshire is a key part of VisitLanarkshire’s longer term strategy to grow the county’s tourism sector which contributes around £337 million to the local economy.

The programme is designed to educate participants on the value of the leisure and business tourism sector, and to ensure that all visitors to the region receive the highest quality standard of service.

North and South Lanarkshire councils and VisitScotland are among the organisations which have signed up to complete the training (www.belanarkshire.com).

The first business to have its staff participate in the programme is the Holiday Inn Express, Hamilton, where more than 80 per cent have already completed the programme.

The hotel’s general manager and chair of the Lanarkshire Area Tourism Partnership, Mark Calpin, said: “BeLanarkshire has been designed to create tourism ambassadors and to make sure that every visitor to Lanarkshire enjoys the best possible experience.

“We have been delighted with the uptake of the programme so far, and I encourage everyone in this industry to sign up.”

VisitLanarkshire endorses business tourism Product with Britain for EventsVisitLanarkshire has signed up to support Britain for Events,

the leading promotional campaign for the UK events industry. The partnership follows the re-launch of its dedicated venues website, Venueslanarkshire.com, which further signalled Lanarkshire’s growing emphasis on the business tourism and events industry.

Through association with Britain for Events, VisitLanarkshire will have a place at, and input to, some of the industry’s leading business events and innovations. This includes development of the All-Party Parliamentary Group inquiry into the international competiveness of the UK events industry, where Scotland already rates highly.

“The business and leisure tourism sectors combined currently contribute significantly to the Lanarkshire economy and, with an estimated three million visitors travelling to the area annually, we have a diverse events destination worth shouting about,” said Mark Calpin, chair of the Lanarkshire Area Tourism Partnership.

“Our business tourism product is continually growing and we strive to develop our portfolio of venues. We have been proactive in developing our own industry initiatives and in aligning ourselves with organisations that will help spread these messages. Joining Britain for Events is a great step towards achieving this.”

VisitLanarkshire has also re-launched its dedicated venues website www.venueslanarkshire.com with a supporting Twitter handle @VenuesLan.

Booming tourism: the Alona Hotel in Motherwell, left, and The New Lanark Mill Hotel.

Traceall Global tracks new business overseas thanks to UKSE

UK Steel Enterprise (UKSE), the Tata Steel subsidiary tasked with economic regeneration, has invested a six figure sum in high-

tech tracking and monitoring expert Traceall Global Ltd to create new jobs and extend the company’s market reach.

Traceall Global Ltd provides companies, predominantly within the food and drink sector, with products and software designed to monitor multiple critical variables such as temperature, humidity, flow rate, CO2, location, and impact through the supply chain using state-of-the-art sensors and sophisticated software, as well as managing detailed supplier and product information for major brands nationally.

The company has already employed three members of staff since the start of the year and is recruiting a further three this month with the intention of creating another 14 jobs by the middle of next year due to Traceall Global’s rapid growth.

The additional members of staff will include software developers, installation and support engineers, commercial and support staff and administrative support.

Famous names including The Coca Cola Company, Jamie Oliver Group and Selfridges are already using Traceall Global’s services to monitor their products and better manage their business.

Scott Webb, regional executive at UKSE, said: “Traceall Global is providing unique and innovative technology and services from Scotland to some of the biggest brands around the globe.

“It is very exciting for UKSE to be investing in a company with such huge potential and an already strong market presence.

“While the company is making deals worldwide, the management team is committed to creating jobs for local people in

Lanarkshire which is exactly the kind of business we are keen to support.”

Traceall Global has recently secured a seven figure contract with The Coca Cola Company to provide the drinks giant with global asset tracking and is about to embark on a major pilot project in the US with one of the world’s biggest brands.

Alan Steele, managing director at Traceall Global, said: “This is a really exciting time for our business and we are looking forward to seeing where this investment takes us.

“The investment will allow us to introduce our technology to new international markets and we have already been able to put our brand in front of companies across the Atlantic, with several new exciting

business opportunities arising as a result.

“ I t i s ex t reme ly encouraging to have UKSE’s support and the financial backing has given us a platform to promote our business and to put ourselves in front of key industry contacts.”

Traceall Global is based at UKSE’s Grovewood Business Centre, within S t ra thc lyde Bus iness Park, in Lanarkshire. Alan added: “UKSE’s managed workspace has given the company a real sense of identity and purpose.

“The space adapted well to our business requirements and having such a base has enabled us to progress as a team. And being based in Bellshill has not hindered our growth into global markets at all; in fact, it has helped the team to service our customers far more effectively.”

UK Steel Enterprise was the first organisation to introduce the managed workspace concept into steel areas.

UKSE offers office and workshop accommodation in a range of different-sized units while offering tenants a variety of business support services.

Scott Webb (regional executive at UKSE), Claire Nelson (senior vice president at Traceall Global) and Alan Steele (managing director at Traceall Global)

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BRUICHLADDICHPROGRESSIVE HEBRIDEAN DISTILLERS

WE BELIEVE TERROIRMATTERS.

THE ISLAY BARLEY EXPLORATION SERIESBRUICHLADDICH DISTILLERYISLE OF ISLAY, SCOTLAND

©2014 BRUICHLADDICH DISTILLERY CO. LIMITED. BRUICHLADDICH® WWW.BRUICHLADDICH.COM | � PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

®

The Islay Barley Exploration series: Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2007. Harvested in 2006 and distilled in 2007, the grain for this iconic whisky was grown in the ministers field at Rockside farm 1 mile from the Atlantic ocean on Islay's west coast. A painfully slow distillation to gently coax the delicate oils and flavour compounds from the barley, coupled with casks carefully selected to preserve those flavours, has resulted in a whisky of exceptional complexity.

Bruichladdich is trickle distilled through tall, elegant stills and matured for all of its life in warehouses on Islay’s Atlantic coast. Chosen by hand, eye and taste rather than a process or formula, every drop is hand crafted by our team of artisans, led by proud Ileach and Master Distiller Jim McEwan.

The only major distiller to bottle spirit on the island itself, Bruichladdich never add colour or chill filter, retaining the vital natural oils which give the spirit its complex flavour profile and unctuous mouth feel.

With a reputation for producing cult single malts that challenge the malt convention, Bruichladdich produce three different brands – Bruichladdich – always unpeated. Port Charlotte, heavily peated and Octomore – the most heavily peated spirit in the world.

OUR AIM IS TO MAKE THE MOST THOUGHT PROVOKING SINGLE MALT WHISKY POSSIBLE.

WE BELIEVE THAT ISLAY WHISKY SHOULD HAVE AN AUTHENTICITY DERIVED FROM WHERE IT IS DISTILLED AND WHERE IT IS MATURED, FROM THE PHILOSOPHIES OF THOSE WHO DISTIL IT.A SENSE OF PLACE, OF TERROIR THAT SPEAKS OF THE LAND, THE BARLEY AND THE WATER FROM WHICH IT WAS MADE, AND OF THE HUMAN SOUL THAT GAVE IT LIFE.

Cuthbertson Laird Group provide a nationwide calibration service. We also hold authorised repair centre status for many of the main manufacturers inc. Meggers / Seaward, Testo & G.M.I.

Your Partner For Success• 17th Edition & PAT

Testers• Digital & Bench

Multimeters• AC/DC Clampmeters• Pressure & Process

Cuthbertson Laird GroupParkburn Court, Glasgow Rd, Hamilton ML3 0QQwww.uk-calibration-services.co.uk / www.cuthbertsonlaird.co.uk

“Our quality systems are registered to BS EN ISO / IEC 17025:2005 & ISO 9001:2008”

Contact us on 01698 829711 or go to our calibration website and complete the online contact form.Alternatively, email your requirements to us at: [email protected]

• Earth / Ground Testers• Low Ohmmeters• AC/DC HV Test Sets• Live Line / HV Detectors• Temperature / Termal Imaging• Airfl ow, Torque & Dimension &

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• Competitive prices• Quick turnaround available• Calibration reminders• Free local collection and delivery service• On-line Certifi cates available to download

Don’t get caught out by an inspection…

…make sure your instruments are calibrated.

TRIBUTE NIGHTS2015

Rubix Cubes 80’s Night | 31st Jan

A: Ayr Road, South Lanarkshire, ML9 2TZ T: 01698 791111 E: [email protected]

Supreme Motown | 17th April

Viva Las Vegas | 4th Sept

Jersey Tones | 13th Nov

Michael Jackson | 30th Oct

Rod Stewart & Tina Turner | 22nd May

Diana Ross & Whitney Houston | 21st Feb £25ppPrice includes 2 course mealand fantastic entertainment.

Polybag tax charge just a first step to protect our environmentNew rules requiring all retail outlets in Scotland to charge a

minimum of 5p for a “single use” carrier bag came into force on 20th October 2014.

The aim is to reduce the visible impact of litter in our cities, towns and rural areas. But will it really ease pressures on our environment?

The environmental impact of plastic bags has long been debated. All bags currently being offered by retail stores have an impact on our environment, some more than others; analysis carried out by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) of the “bag for life” offered by some retailers suggests it has an even greater impact on the environment than the single-use carrier when resource depletion, transportation, manufacturing, processing and, ultimately, disposal are taken into account.

This means that, to ensure your “bag for life” does the job it is meant to do, you would need re-use it at least five times to match the effects of the single-use bag in terms of environmental impact; woven and cotton shoppers have an even higher environmental impact.

To counter the continuing environmental effect of single-use polybags, including the visible damage they cause – hardly a day goes by without us seeing them being blown along the street or stuck in hedgerows – needs greater commitment from the Government to allocate adequate resources into funding environmental education

among both children and adults. It is our responsibility to empower future generations to protect the environment they inherit from us.

The money generated by charging unprepared consumers is not assigned to a particular organisation by the legislation; retailers are simply advised to donate the profits to charities through the Carrier Bag Commitment set up to accompany the legislation by Zero Waste Scotland.

Up until now, Scotland has used a staggering 800 million single use carrier bags every year. Under the new rules, this would generate, in theory, £40 million for good causes in Scotland. In practice, just as in Ireland, likely usage will fall steeply.

In my view, all monies generated from the charge should be spent on environmental education, greater awareness and preservation.

Every little helps, as they say, but it is our environment that suffers.What do you think of this new legislation? Will it affect your

business?Please write to:FAO Anita BrownlifeSKILLS CentresSuite 3West Stand, Ballast StadiumCadzow AvenueHamiltonML3 0FT

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Unsightly: discarded carrier bags have been blighting communities.

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UWS officially launches new corporate strategy

University of the West of Scotland officially launched its new corporate strategy at an event at the Scottish Parliament on 7 October 2014.

The event, which was formally sponsored by George Adam, MSP for Paisley, saw UWS Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Craig Mahoney outline the University’s exciting plans for the future and how it aims to become Scotland’s most student-focused higher education institution.

UWS has developed an unashamedly ambitious strategy with stretching targets. By 2020, the University aims to be the best

Scottish university for student satisfaction and for students going into professional jobs.

The strategy also highlights that UWS wants to significantly increase its number of international students and that it aims to double annual turnover from £100m to £200m, which will include boosting income from knowledge exchange, research and consultancy.

For more information visit www.uws.ac.uk/corporatestrategy

University shortlisted for national award for contribution to local community

UWS was shortlisted in the “Outstanding contribution to the local community” category of the prestigious, national Times Higher

Education (THE) Awards 2014. The THE Awards 2014, which took place on 27 November

at The Grosvenor House Hotel in London, celebrated the extraordinary things that are going on in the country’s universities and colleges on a daily basis.

The “Outstanding contribution to the local community” award was given to the institution that has made the most imaginative attempt to aid the wider community socially, culturally or economically.

The University had been shortlisted for this award due to its innovative work in the area of dementia. UWS, which is set to become Scotland’s first Dementia Friendly University, has undertaken a range of projects to raise awareness and understanding of the condition and to increase the knowledge of current and prospective nurses to help them assist people with dementia, their carers and families.

UWS collaborated with South Lanarkshire Council’s Education Department to deliver the Dementia: through the eyes of a child research project in 2012-13. This involved UWS nursing students working together to deliver interactive dementia awareness sessions and workshops to 270 primary and secondary school children. Pupils learned about the brain, reminiscence therapies and assistive technologies and undertook a simulation exercise, developed by the University’s School of Health, Nursing and Midwifery, which enabled the pupils to experience some of the potential cognitive and sensory deficits that affect those living with dementia.

Delivering health education on such a sensitive topic is challenging for any student. However, it was vital that the language was pitched at the correct level for the children involved. Results from the pilot

Delivering: Professor Craig Mahoney outlines the new corporate strategy.

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Research reveals that sunlight combined with nitrate-rich foods improves athletic performance

A study undertaken by University of the West of Scotland has revealed that exposure to sunlight combined with the

consumption of nitrate-rich foods significantly boosts exercise performance.

The study, “Acute Whole Body UVA Irradiation Combined with Nitrate Ingestion Enhances Time Trial Performance in Trained Cyclists”, saw nine competitive amateur male cyclists completing a number of performance tests at facilities at the University’s Hamilton Campus.

The performance trials, which were preceded by ingestion of either 120ml of commercially available nitrate gels or a low-nitrate placebo, consisted of 10 minutes of cycling at a moderate intensity before completing a 16.1km time trial as quickly as possible.

Prior to the performance trials, participants were also exposed on one side of the body to UV-A light for a total of 22 minutes. UV-A light is a specific wavelength of light found in natural sunlight. In the

control conditions, the UV-A light was blocked from reaching the skin using aluminium foil.

During the trials, the researchers measured the rate of oxygen used by the body (VO2), and heart rate using a metabolic analyser. In addition, blood pressure was measured and blood samples taken prior to the start of each trial to analyse how effective the nitrate gel and exposure to UV-A light had been at increasing nitrite levels in the blood. The levels of nitrite provide an indication of the amount of nitric oxide in the blood; a molecule that is vital in many biological processes, including relaxation of the muscles surrounding blood vessels.

The findings of this study, which have been published in the journal Nitric Oxide – Biology and Chemistry, showed that ingesting nitrate gels in combination with UV-A light lowered the amount of oxygen consumed by the body (VO2) during exercise and enhanced the time trial performance of the cyclists.

research indicate an increase in the knowledge and understanding of dementia among the schoolchildren, teachers and student nurses involved. Furthermore, the students were able to develop teaching skills and benefited from peer review and peer support.

The University also plays a key role in the Dementia Champions Programme, which it delivers in partnership with Alzheimer Scotland. The Dementia Champions were established to improve the journey of the person with dementia through general hospitals. The Dementia Champions Programme forms an important part of the Scottish Government’s National Dementia Strategy, which drives a range of initiatives aimed at enhancing the quality of opportunities and support for people with dementia and their families at all points in their journey, from diagnosis to end of life.

Dementia is a growing health concern with around 800,000 people living with the condition in the UK, and numbers projected to rise to over a million by 2021. The University’s work in this area is hugely important as it is vital that as many people as possible are aware of the condition, the challenges people with dementia may face and the positive steps we can all take to make a difference to their lives.

Professor Craig Mahoney, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of University of the West of Scotland, said: “It is hugely exciting and satisfying to be shortlisted for such an important national award. UWS is committed to making an important, transformational contribution to its local communities and society in general and it is extremely encouraging to see our highly innovative work in the area of dementia being recognised in this way.”

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Scotland’s first simulated primary care environment launched by UWS

University of the West of Scotland has developed a primary care community orientated resource for nursing and

midwifery pre and post registration students at its Hamilton Campus – a first for the Scottish university sector.

The resource, known as ACORN (A Community Orientated Resource for Nursing), provides students with an opportunity to experience, through simulation, community practice.

Acute simulation is well established within the University’s school of Health, Nursing and Midwifery. This development, which will be rolled out across all four of the University’s campuses in the coming months, provides nursing and midwifery students with access to a simulated primary care environment where they are able to replicate events which commonly take place within a community setting.

Used in conjunction with the University’s existing Acute simulation, ACORN is the missing link to simulate the complete patient journey.

ACORN features four designated areas; the DOMUS home care environment, reception space, GP consulting room, and treatment room. In addition to this, UWS has collaborated with NHS 24 and is in the process of developing an ‘out of hours’ telecommunication station which will support students and provide opportunities to further develop prioritisation and decision-making skills.

Simulated exercises undertaken in the facility see students take on the role of District Nurse within the home care setting, treating patients with long term conditions and hospital discharges. They also take on the role of receptionist and are required to triage mock ‘patients’ who call or ‘drop in’ for appointments with the GP or Treatment Room Nurse. The triage system replicates that used in primary care practice. The GP and treatment room stations allow students to develop the skills of clinical assessment, investigations, interpretation of blood results, prioritisation, decision making, health promotion, and communication. Additionally, it affords the opportunity for students to practise clinical skills within a safe and supported learning environment. The immersive nature of ACORN equips students with hands-on practical skills as well as problem solving skills to prepare them for clinical practice.

Winnie McGarry of the University’s School of Health, Nursing & Midwifery, who is a key co-ordinator of the ACORN facility at UWS, said: “The feedback we have received from students as well as NHS partners who have visited the facility has been excellent.

“The resource, which is unique in the Scottish university sector, gives students the invaluable opportunity to gain an insight and practical experience of the primary care environment before having to enter it in a professional capacity.”

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ITC TRAINING ACADEMYSkills for Tomorrow

ITC Training Academy provide a wide range of training and educationopportunities for Modern Apprenticeships at all levels for 16 to 24 yearolds in the following disciplines:

• Hospitality Management, Reception & Housekeeping• Food Service & Kitchen

Apprenticeships are available from level 2 to level 4 and are carried outon your premises so no need for day release.

We also have a number of paid course solutions including:

• Scottish Personal Licence• Personal Licence Refresher (can be taught online)• Food Handling and First Aid• Welcome Host

* You can use your ILA account for all of the above courses.

ITC Training AcademyCollege Milton Business Centre, 2 Glenburn Road, East Kilbride G74 5BAT 01355 511 155 E [email protected] www.itcacademy.org

INDEPENDENT TRAINING CONSULTANTS LTD (ITC) was formed in 2010 and has a contract with Skills Development Scotland (SDS) to deliver the Modern Apprenticeships in Hospitality to the present date.

Since then we have consistently increased our Modern Apprentice (MA) contract from an initial 48 places to the present 177.

We have achieved our occupancy levels year on year and are on target to do so this year.

In October 2014 we set up the Sector Based Work Academy (SWBA) where ITC staff work with individuals from all ages, under-represented backgrounds, NEET Group etc (who are from the unemployed register via Job Centre Plus and Employability Fund organisations at the end of stage 3 programmes) and who could be potential candidates for the MA in Hospitality.

The SWBA was established because ITC through its SDS contracts:-• Identified Hospitality employers were reluctant to recruit from

the above categories i.e. long term unemployed, NEET group etc.

• Provide a clear understanding of what it is like to work in the hospitality industry for those on SWBA programme

• Support individuals to obtain employment and qualifications in an industry where anyone with the right work ethic can progress.

We will deliver the Modern Apprentice and continue supporting both the employee and employer by making it a seamless transition from unemployment to work experience, to employment with ITC support. Our support has improved the retention and employment opportunities for individuals who attended the SWBA programmes.

Our 2 week courses gives trainees an introduction to the hospitality industry. A further work placement of up to four weeks provides a more in-depth insight into the industry with the possibility of being recruited throught the Modern Apprenticeship scheme.

One of our many strengths is developing relationships with individuals within a wide range of organisations.

To deliver a successful Employability Programme, as we do with our SDS MA Programme, ITC staff liaise with all local stage 2 and 3 providers and other organisations.

The working partnership between ourselves and the Providers of level 2 & 3 delivers a seamless pipeline to a full-time Modern Apprenticeship within the Hospitality industry therefore helping the other providers and ITC achieve their outcomes.

ITC TRAINING ACADEMYSkills for Tomorrow

ITC Training Academy provide a wide range of training and educationopportunities for Modern Apprenticeships at all levels for 16 to 24 yearolds in the following disciplines:

• Hospitality Management, Reception & Housekeeping• Food Service & Kitchen

Apprenticeships are available from level 2 to level 4 and are carried outon your premises so no need for day release.

We also have a number of paid course solutions including:

• Scottish Personal Licence• Personal Licence Refresher (can be taught online)• Food Handling and First Aid• Welcome Host

* You can use your ILA account for all of the above courses.

ITC Training AcademyCollege Milton Business Centre, 2 Glenburn Road, East Kilbride G74 5BAT 01355 511 155 E [email protected] www.itcacademy.org

HOSPITALITY TRAINING CREATES OPPORTUNITIES

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Colin Montgomerie proudly opens the hospice dedicated to his mother.

Colin and his family. Next to Colin is the Chief Executive of Maggie’s Centres, Laura Lee.

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SFS offers two options on Auto Enrolment solutions for workplace pensions

There is no avoiding it: all employers must offer work place pensions to employees. Failing to comply will result in a fine.

So it is best to get yourself ready for Automatic Enrolment. Leaving the process until the last minute could lay a heavy administrative and financial burden on your business.

The most suitable solution will depend upon the level of service and advice you need and whether you currently operate a work place pension scheme.

We offer two options: our bespoke option offers a number of benefits including a recommendation of the most suitable scheme for your business. Contributions are likely to be around 3% from both the employer and employee.

Our standard option offers a limited number of providers and a limited fund choice. Contributions can start from 1% or can be deferred entirely until the employer’s staging date.

With both option, SFS ensures that the payroll assessment and integration process is straightforward. Our fees start at £650 plus VAT and can be paid in one lump sum or in instalments.

To ensure that you are fully aware of your statutory obligations, we will be contacting Chamber members over the next few weeks

As deadlines for implementation are fast approaching, you may want to contact us as a matter of urgency – our contact details are 01698 269977, Email: [email protected]

NEWMEMBERSCLOSE BROTHERS ASSET FINANCE

ABERLOUR CHILD CARE

GTG TRAINING

LAND ROCK FINANCE

BOTHWELL CASTLE GOLF CLUB

SALVAGE STOCK RECYCLING

HAFC (STADIUM) LTD

HAMILTON ACADEMICALS FOOTBALL CLUB

BLAMELESS (CHARITY)

M & H LOGISTICS

It pays to raise your profileIn the last issue of InCommerce we featured Lesley Millar’s

Hamilton-based business travel company, Jigsaw Travel in an article which celebrated her success in building it to a record turnover last year of £4 million and a forecast of £5.6 million for the year to December 2014.

“Reactions to the InCommerce article from customers, suppliers, our staff and lots of other people in the local business community were very positive”, she said.

“I urge Lanarkshire Chamber members to share their good news stories with InCommerce. Appearing in its can make your business stand out from the crowd.”

Positive: Lesley Millar.

Malcolm Southern of Southern Financial Services.

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Chamber will fund Lanarkshire companies to prepare youngsters for Certificate of Work Readiness

Lanarkshire Chamber of Commerce has entered into an agreement to support the work of Skills Development Scotland (SDS) in

raising the profile of its Certificate of Work Readiness (CWR), an SQA customised award designed for young people who are ready for their first experience of the world of work but need some guided support.

The CWR includes a work experience placement in which the employer’s opinion is key to the certificate being awarded providing, thereby, a meaningful qualification and a credible standard of performance which employers can recognise and trust.

Neil Kennedy, Chief Executive of the Lanarkshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “There is still a major problem of unemployment which afflicts all too many of our young people between the ages of 16 to 24.

“The vast majority are enthusiastic about getting into work but have no experience and, at first sight, few obvious attributes which make them appealing to employers.

“In association with the Scottish Chamber of Commerce, we are hoping that as many members as possible will seek to participate in this worthwhile qualification. We are working with Skills Development Scotland to support up to 50 Lanarkshire businesses to make places available for two or three young people for a 10 week programme which will run through until the end of March 2015.

“Companies liaise with a training provider to get the best person for their workplace and get support before and all through the placement to help them plan, manage and assess the placement to make sure that it works for their business as well as for the young person.

“Already local employers, such as Burn Stewart Distillers, have found it a rewarding and valuable experience and an excellent opportunity to boost the chances of young people throughout our community.”

Successful completion of the CWR award offers the young person greatly improved employability and transferable skills in self-evaluation, planning and goal setting that can be applied to any workplace.

In addition, ENABLE Scotland has developed an accessible version of the CWR scheme specifically designed to support young people who have a learning disability and/or Additional Support Needs undertaking the qualification.

For more information about the CWR award visit http://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/our-services/certificate-of-work-readiness/ or contact the Skills Development Scotland team.

Lanarkshire Chamber of Commerce members of staff are also available to answer any questions local employers might have.

Number One: Burn Stewart Distillers have found the scheme valuable and rewarding.

Neil Kennedy, second left, and SDS members.TH

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Twelve new jobs created at BioCity-based PharmacellsTwelve new jobs will be created as the result of the acquisition

of Lanarkshire-based Pharmacells by the Precious Cells Group (PCG).

Pharmacells, the first company to take a tenancy at the Newhouse BioCity life sciences hub in 2012, is the direct result of its™ “Oristem®” patented stem cell harvesting process, collection and storage service which was created in Scotland.

Pharmacells’ technology enables stem cells to be collected from adult blood to allow an individual’s own cells to be used in treatment. It is the only such system available anywhere in the world to offer this disruptive stem cell isolation facility and is the most straightforward and pain free method of storing adult stem cells.

As a result, treatment using stem cells is expected to be far more effective as it lowers the risk of a body rejecting the cells. The breakthrough technology will let PCG accelerate its growth into initiating clinical trials, boosting revenues by up to £3m in the first year.

Athol Haas, CEO and co-founder of Pharmacells, said: “Partnering with PCG, one of the world’s leading stem cell consumer technology platform service providers, and its depth of resource and international

reach, will enhance our efforts to market the Oristem® technology in the UK and globally.

“We are proud to have been one of the pioneers of a method to collect hundreds of millions of ultra-naïve stem cells from adult blood which can significantly improve the effectiveness of stem cell therapies and will help slow the spiralling cost of treating some of the most common and expensive medical conditions.”

“Our re-location from Hillington to BioCity has proved to be a giant leap forward for our company. We have been very pleased with the service and attention paid to us by everyone there.

“Our access to top class facilities without a huge infrastructural spend has allowed us to emerge as a leading player in Scottish life sciences.

“It has also proved vital to PCG as the quality of our facility is a key advantage for its expansion plan as a brand separate to Pharmacells.”

It is estimated that there is a one in five chance that individuals will use stem cells in their lifetime to treat a particular medical condition or for diagnostics. Due to recent technological advances, stem cell therapy is now under investigation to treat a much wider range of medical conditions where repair and regrowth of tissue is a critical factor.

Pioneering science: Athol Haas, founder of Pharmacells. TH

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If the entire county of Lanarkshire were a single farm, the farm buildings would be to the north and the rolling pastureland to the south. The Clyde would

be a stream running through the middle and the M74 the track to market.Agriculture has been a fundamental underpinning of the county’s economy

since before the legions trudged up towards Hadrian’s Wall and before the discovery of mineral riches transformed parts of the landscape into belching steelworks and burrowing coal pits.

And, despite the economic upheaval which has accompanied the demise of heavy industry and the emergence of technology and knowledge-based enterprise, agriculture has quietly and increasingly efficiently continued to generate wealth, create jobs – and feed the people.

Prime agricultural land in Scotland is not abundant. If you look at the geographic distribution of farm types in the maps of the last Agricultural Census, viable farming areas are spread across the Central Belt, along the Solway Coast and up along the broad straths of the East Coast.

There are vast tracts of land in the Southern hills and the Central and Western Highlands which may be good for sheep or forestry but are of little use for anything else.

Of the 5.6 million hectares of agricultural land in Scotland as a whole, most (55%) is rough grazing, with almost a quarter (24%) put to grass. Just 10% is used for crops or left fallow. Woodland and farm infrastructure accounts for the rest.

Lanarkshire, lying round the fertile core of the Clyde Valley, is not only lucky in having good, productive and well-husbanded land, but for the last couple of centuries it also has had the vital market of Scotland’s largest city on its northern border.

But despite agriculture having many advantages in Lanarkshire, being a farmer or a specialist farm supplier these days has its challenges. Farming is no longer an occupation in which a crop is sown and you sit back and watch it grow.

Modern farming, or agribusiness as it is now called, is bound in complexity, calculation, and financial negotiation with supermarkets. The EU has added an ever-expanding regulatory framework and Single Farm Payments have brought an increased burden of inspection and cross-compliance legislation.

Figures show that the average age of those involved in farming in Scotland is not far off the normal retirement age, and many hill farms are operating on the margins of financial viability, with low or even negative returns on labour and capital.

While that may sound pessimistic, it has to be stressed that in Lanarkshire, successful enterprises are not thin on the ground. The county abounds with productive holdings and enterprising businesses which have sprung up to supply them.

Some have grown from local beginnings to take their place on the business world stage. One such is Müller Wiseman, the East Kilbride-based dairy company which now provides 30% of the fresh milk produced in Britain every day.

It began in 1947, when Robert Wiseman Senior trudged round the streets of what was then the New Town delivering milk by horse and cart and selling it from cans and glass bottles.

With his sons Alan and Robert, he saw in the seventies that the way people buy milk was changing and moved the focus of the company into wholesale supply. With the rise of plastic bottles and supermarkets, Wiseman opened up huge new markets.

The late eighties saw the introduction of the now familiar black and white Holstein cowhide branding and the first steps in expansion away from the

Lanarkshire’s growing successAgriculture continues to contribute healthily to the local economy

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Lanarkshire base, first to a major facility in Manchester and, in following years, right across England.

This expansion, funded by a listing on the London Stock Exchange, was an incredibly courageous campaign by the Wiseman brothers, pitching them head-to-head with international dairy conglomerates such as Dairy Crest and Arla.

But it paid off and in 2011 the one billionth bottle of milk the company has produced rolled off the line in Manchester. The following year it was taken over by German dairy group Müller and goes from strength to strength.

Another thriving Lanarkshire company which sprang from humble beginnings is Albert Bartlett. The Airdrie-based family firm is Britain’s leading supplier of potatoes, supplying one in five of the UK’s fresh spuds. It employs more than 700 full-time staff at its three packing sites.

The Bartlett story began a year after the Wisemans, in 1948, when Albert Bartlett invested £30 in an old water boiler and a cast iron bath and began boiling and packing beetroot in a garden shed outside his Coatbridge home.

The business came to the boil very quickly and has been bubbling away ever since. It introduced the packaging of vegetables, acquired veg growing businesses and established factories to keep expansion going.

Innovation has been at the root, so to speak, of its vegetable business, with its Rooster potato becoming the first vegetable brand to be advertised on television in 2006. It now has Ambassadors of the stature of two Michelin-star chef Andrew Fairlie and Le Gavroche’s Michel Roux Jr.

In 2011, Albert Bartlett launched its Rooster brand in the Netherlands and the following year in France. It is now moving into the US, having established a headquarters in the city of Denver.

Tomato growing is also being brought back to the Clyde Valley with the establishment at Briarneuk Nursery of Clyde Valley Tomatoes. A huge industry in the 1920s and 1930s, tomato growing was hit by the fuel crisis in the 1970s and many greenhouses fell into disrepair.

Now David Craig and Scott Robertson have put huge areas under glass and are supplying restaurants and the public with 14 varieties of heritage and specialist tomatoes. They are branching into cucumbers and investigating the possibilities of a chutney business to use surplus stock.

Agriculture in Lanarkshire looks as if it will be a growing concern for some time to come.

Lanarkshire farming – a personal viewBy Margaret Morton

Farmers are incredible people: no matter what, they work a seven day week, through all weathers. When we started up in business here in Strathaven, Lanarkshire,

as agricultural engineers, we bought Ordinance Survey maps, put a drawing pin on Strathaven, took in a 25 mile radius and found there were 753 farms.

Most have been family-owned for many generations. There are dairy units, milking cows from 60 up to hundreds of cattle on one farm, concentrating on milk production and breeding calves as followers into the main herd. In most cases, they will have acres of land where they grow silage and barley for feed.

In addition, farmers buy concentrates for feeding cattle to ensure they have the nutrients they require – these will be purchased from grain merchants, and we have excellent family-owned suppliers within Lanarkshire.

Many farms which focus on sheep and beef cattle tend to be on land known as less favoured areas (LFAs) which receive financial support from the Government in return for acting as stewards of the countryside.

Some farmers have also chosen to diversify into, for instance, planting trees including Christmas trees, both of which, especially at this time of year, can be highly profitable.

Philips and Crown House Technologies bring electrical honours to Lanarkshire

Best use of training picture – left to right – Mark Thomas from Brother (category sponsor), Cameron Thomson from Crown House, and Hamish Miller from Canongate Communications (publishers of SELECT magazine CableTalk).

Lanarkshire-based electrical businesses, Philips and Crown House Technologies triumphed again at

the annual awards ceremony held by SELECT, the campaigning trade body for the electrotechnical industry in Scotland.

Philips, the globally-operating technology company, whose Scottish base is in Hamilton, won the accolade of Best New Product for its InstantFit MASTER LEDtube which integrates an LED light source into a traditional tube form that’s quick, easy and safe to install.

Newell McGuiness, SELECT Managing Director, said: “Philips has a long history of innovation. The judges were particularly impressed with the huge potential energy savings and the ease of replacement this product offers. It represents a significant leap in retrofit, low energy lighting.”

The InstantFit MASTER LEDtube is the world’s first LED replacement tube that requires no rewiring. A simple switch reduces the time it takes to replace fluorescent with LED to just a couple of minutes per fixture. InstantFit can reduce power consumption by up to 50 per cent compared to linear fluorescent tube lighting. Thanks to their long lifetime they also extend the replacement cycle and require less maintenance.

Not to be outdone, Crown House Technologies of Motherwell, the company behind both the engineering marvel of the Hydro, Scotland’s iconic 12,000 seat entertainment arena and responsible for leading the 3D modelling and building services at the spectacular Commonwealth Games venue in Glasgow, won the Best Use of Training award. It is the third year in a row it has taken the award.

The successful engineering enterprise has a long pedigree, having been founded more than 200 years ago. Now part of Laing O’Rourke, it is one of the UK’s leading building and infrastructure technology services providers, supplying a complete building services package.

Mr. McGuiness said: “Crown House Technologies has proven that training doesn’t stop with professional qualification and that career progression can bring real, continuing benefits to employer, employee – and, of course, the customer.”

Crown House Technologies, which was founded as far back as 1810, has its Scottish regional office at Eurocentral, the Lanarkshire business, commerce and logistics hub. It is the UK’s leading prefabricator of modular building services, with experience ranging from commercial offices to world-class buildings such as Heathrow’s Terminal 2.

Utilising digital engineering and standardised components to meet the increasingly challenging requirements of clients and end-users of future-proofed buildings and infrastructure, Crown House Technologies enables them to meet the most exacting environmental and economic performance standards. Pictures by Mike Wilkinson.

Best new product for Philips picture – left to right – Craig Thompson from Ross Electrical (category sponsor) and Malcolm Grant Philips.

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By Royal Appointment: John Brown, who has served as a director of the Lanarkshire Chamber of Commerce for over five years, as well as its most recent president, is retiring from all Chamber affairs as a result of his appointment as Her Majesty’s Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire. Everyone at the Chamber offers John their thanks and best wishes in his important new role.

Property prices are rising again in Lanarkshire

Whyte and Barrie, Lanarkshire’s largest firm of chartered surveyors with offices in Hamilton, East Kilbride, and Lanark,

is reporting a welcome upturn in Lanarkshire property prices.Associate director, Andrew MacFarlane, said, “it has been a busy

year: the residential property market in much of Lanarkshire has turned a corner.

“We have seen a marked increase in Home Report instructions throughout the year, a return of closing dates in the marketplace and increased evidence of improving property values as more properties achieve Home Report value, and in some cases slightly more.”

As a result of increased activity the firm has been hiring new members of staff and has relocated its Head Office to new premises at Waverley House, Caird Park in Hamilton. Eight professional staff, two consultants and nine support staff makes up its still growing team in Lanarkshire.

As part of its corporate social responsibility programme Whyte and Barrie recently sponsored a successful Kiltwalk Charity Dinner which helped raise over £20000 for the charity, Play As One Scotland (Pa1s).

Andrew said: “The Kiltwalk is a wonderful charity to be involved with; in 2014 we are on the verge of raising an astonishing £2 million.”

For more information vis i t www.wbcs.co.uk or http://www.thekiltwalk.co.uk.

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Associate director, Andrew MacFarlane with his wife Fiona and Thomas the Teddy.

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Who is your nightmare employee? My experience shows that staff who are disaffected usually have not been treated well.

What’s the best advice you’ve had over the course of your career? Never ever, ever give up.

And the worst? I once had a boss who gave me advice on a specific topic. I followed that advice to the letter. I subsequently was reprimanded by that same boss for doing what he had advised. His response was “advice is to be taken or left, you should have left that advice.” I wasn’t very happy, but it was a good learning point. I learned a lot since then.

If you suddenly attained executive power in Scotland, what would be the first thing you’d change? I’d make travel to and from the islands in Scotland free for all.

If you could pack it all in tomorrow, and still be comfortably off, would you? Not a chance.

If you did, what would be your next move? I’d want to take up some volunteering roles and continue to believe that I can make a difference.

Any regrets? My career has been far more successful and exciting than I could have ever imagined and there are no regrets.

I Didn’t Get Where I Am Today…

Name: Professor Craig Mahoney

Age: 57

Where do you work and what is your position? I work at University of the West of Scotland (UWS), where I am the Principal and Vice-Chancellor.

What does your organisation do? UWS provides education, research and consultancy on a broad range of topics for individuals, business, governments, NGOs and international partners.

What prompted you to take up this key position at UWS? I was keen to lead a University and the fit between where UWS was in its development and my experience, skills, qualifications and vision, was right for the university and me.

What constitutes a typical day? I really don’t think there is a typical day. They tend to be long, usually ending with a function, dinner or event of some sort, but up until that point it’s comprised of meetings, presentations, photo calls, interviews, planning or driving between campuses. But a large part of the role is external influence such as positioning the university positively in the minds of businesses, local authorities, overseas partners, or potential benefactors.

What keeps you going? The challenge; the vision; the belief that I can make a difference and that I’ll do it differently than many others I’ve seen. I’m a strong people person and want the best for everyone.

What’s the best part of your day? Meeting students who inspire me every time with their amazing stories.

What’s the bit that really irritates you? As I said, I’m a people person, so I like to think everyone is. We all deserve respect, so when I hear or see examples where students, staff or external people have not been treated with outstanding customer care, that irritates me.

Who is your ideal employee? Someone who uses initiative and wants to do their job better than anyone else has ever done it.

Professor Craig Mahoney

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Derek Forsyth of Campbell Dallas

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Directors of limited companies which have or are about to become, insolvent need to consider how their role changes in

such a situation.Under normal circumstances, it is a director’s responsibility to act

as steward of the assets and liabilities of a company on behalf of the shareholders. However, should a company become insolvent or a decision be made to wind up a struggling business, a director’s duty is then to act in the best interests of the creditors. This principle applies whether or not a formal liquidator is appointed.

The guidance below is a starting point for directors to consider before they take any action.

Do:

1. Obtain appropriate professional advice.2. Consider reducing the company’s workforce but ensure that all

relevant legislative and contractual stipulations are met; consider cutting other costs.

3. Consider a strategy to identify if any part of the business can be saved.

4. Hold regular board meetings and ensure all directors are aware of any decisions being made; maintain minutes of all such meetings and decisions.

5. Ensure all business records are kept fully up to date.

Do Not:

1. Incur any additional credit/borrowing which is unlikely to be repaid.2. Sell any company assets at less than an appropriate value.3. Make payments to settle directors’ loan balances.4. Make payments to one creditor in preference to another.5. Conceal or destroy company records or papers.

Directors must remember that, should an insolvency practitioner be appointed, part of the practitioner’s role is to submit a report to the Insolvency Service on everyone who is or was a director for a three-year period up to the date of their appointment. Should this report contain adverse comments on the actions undertaken by directors, they could be required to answer claims for breach of duty or wrongdoing, particularly if the above principles have not been followed.

The above guidance applies principally to situations where it is likely that a liquidator or administrator will be appointed. In any situation where a director looks ahead to consider whether a business can continue, however, the same matters must be considered. The earlier advice is sought, the greater are the options available.

Should you wish further advice in relation to any of the above, please contact me or my colleague, David Hunter.

www.campbelldallas.co.uk.

Directors: who are you working for?

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Advice & Support for Lanarkshire BusinessesBusiness Gateway Lanarkshire works with hundreds of existing businesses each year to support them to achieve their growth ambitions.

Operating from headquarters in Coatbridge, we offer a range of support services that includes free expert advice, access to detailed market and business information, a catalogue of free training and business events and links to local authority and partner business support programmes.

As part of the service, Business Gateway Lanarkshire runs a series of local expert surgeries where business owners and managers can discuss particular issues and opportunities with an expert adviser.

Following your one hour meeting a detailed action plan will be produced with practical solutions to the issues discussed. A number of expert surgeries are planned over the coming months including;

• Tendering and Procurement – 29th October (availability from 9am to 4pm)

• Marketing – 16th October, 20th November, 11th December (availability from 9am to 4pm)

• Website Development – dates tbc

• HR – 14th November (availability from 9am to 4pm)

• ICT – 21st November (availability from 9am to 4pm)

• Legal Issues – 11th November (availability from 9.30am to 11.30am)

• Sage Instant – 30th October, 6th November, 13th November (a three day course – 9.30am to 12.30pm)

• Business Finance – 18th November (availability from 9am to 1pm)

• Lower your Overheads through Greener Business – 23rd September (availability from 9am to 1pm)

All of the surgeries will take place at Atrium Business Centre, Coatbridge, ML5 4EF.

One growth business that has benefited from Business Gateway Lanarkshire support is Motherwell based waste recycling company, Diverse Investments Ltd.

“We have been working closely with Business Gateway to help us take things onto the next level,” said Director, Billy Neilson. “Our adviser helped us with a number of business planning issues which helped us secure funding towards the creation of our recycling centre.

“He also advised us on staff training and helped us secure funding from North Lanarkshire Council towards our ISO 9001 & 14001 accreditations, which are imperative when we are going for bigger contracts.”

To find out how Business Gateway Lanarkshire can help you or to make an appointment at one of our expert surgeries visit www.bgateway.com/lanarkshire or call us today on 01236 884 825 or email [email protected]

Download our free business support app.

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The super-fast highway delivering new opportunities in rural South Lanarkshire

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CLLR Graeme Campbell (Independent) South Lanarkshire Council Ward 5

(Avondale & Stonehouse)

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Improvements to our local road and motorway network have seen the rest of Scotland become closer to Lanarkshire but the super-fast

highway is bringing the world closer still. In January 2013, Strathaven was an early beneficiary of an initiative

to see fibre-optic broadband installed across the town. As a local South Lanarkshire councillor and business owner, of Govbiz Limited, I find myself working from home more often these days but without the improved speeds delivered via the super-fast digital highway, I am not sure I could have continued to work from rural Lanarkshire.

I am not alone in an age that has seen austerity drive more individuals to take control of their own lives, working for themselves and, as a result, swapping the daily commute for a home office; one that sees fewer cars on the road at rush hour, reduces carbon emissions and enables a better work-life balance at a time when many of us want to spend more time with our families.

In a country where London dominates the jobs market, improvements in digital communications are at the heart of a change in how we work today and give us the ability to live in rural

Lanarkshire, to work in rural Lanarkshire and to enjoy everything that rural Lanarkshire has to offer.

By using e-mail, LinkedIn and Skype we can bring virtual business teams together from anywhere in the world. This change in how we work is also impacting on how we live our lives and communicate with other members of the community.

As a councillor, I have not held a surgery in over three years, saving the South Lanarkshire council tax payer the costs of room-hire and other expenses. Nor will my constituents wait a month to meet me: instead, most of them use technology to contact me when they wish, enabling me, thereby, to help and advise them more quickly.

Strathaven is a gem of South Lanarkshire, delivering everything a small town has to offer, in a beautiful rural setting, and with one of Scotland’s best secondary schools. As land is released by our council for residential housing, I am confident that the improvements in both the roads network and rural broadband will bring new businesses into our town; adding to the community that I enjoy being part of and am proud to serve.

Starting or growing a business?

Business Advice • Networking • Events • Routes to Finance • HR • Sales & Marketing

Download our free business support app.

Make time for Business Gateway Lanarkshire.

Call now on 01236 884 825 or visit us at bgateway.com/lanarkshire

No matter what size your business is or how long you have been trading, Business Gateway offers a free advice and support service to help ensure your business moves in the right direction.

Adviser appointments and workshops are available across Lanarkshire.

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