October 2005

News

Open outcry as oil exchanges do battle
The New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), the world’s largest commodities exchange, has opened the first ‘open outcry’ futures exchange in London for 23 years, trading in European benchmark Brent crude oil futures. The move is a direct challenge to its rival, the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE), which switched in April from pit trading to electronic trading. Electronic trading is the preferred way of doing business for most of the world’s stock and futures exchanges and a number of big players in the oil market – including BP, Total and Royal Dutch Shell – have supported IPE’s move from floor to screen.

Nymex, however, is aiming to displace IPE as the leading European energy exchange and claims that customers prefer to do business face-to-face rather than through machines. It points out that in New York oil contracts are still traded on the open outcry system. “This is a bold statement to the financial community. If ever there is a market suited to open outcry, it is energy,” said Mitchell Steinhause, Nymex’s chairman.

Australian financial services group Challenger Infrastructure Fund (CIF) is the lead investor in a consortium that has acquired the UK’s largest independent gas transporter, Inexus Group Holdings, for $837 million. Inexus, based in London, has a 47 per cent share of existing connections, totalling more than 450,000 gas and electricity connections and contracts. CIF holds a stake of about 80 per cent in the consortium that now controls the company, whose revenues are growing at a rate of 17 per cent a year.

Canadian credit rating agency Dominion Bond Rating Service (DBRS) has opened its first European office in London. A new subsidiary, DBRS Europe, will focus initially on European financial institutions and structured finance ratings and analysis. Also opening a European HQ in the UK capital is StreamBase Systems Inc, a database research and technology company from Lexington, Massachusetts. The company supplies stream processing engines and software that analyse and act on real-time data within milliseconds. The financial services industry is its major market, and London’s position as the financial services capital of Europe gives the company what it calls “an important beachhead”.

The financial services industry in Wales has created more than 1,000 new jobs over the past 12 months. Companies such as ING Direct, Picture Financial and Credit Services Europe have set up new operations in the principality, while Lloyds TSB Insurance, Zurich, Admiral, Principality and HSBC are among those that have expanded their existing businesses.

Wales is now home to 1,800 companies in the financial services sector, employing around 28,000 people. The sector generates 5 per cent of Welsh GDP, and is earmarked as a key sector for development. Many companies are based in South East Wales, in or around the capital Cardiff. Banks and building societies account for 62 per cent of employment in the sector, with 21 per cent at insurance and pensions companies and 17 per cent in operation and supervision. Companies cite the benefits of locating in Wales as the availability of high-quality staff, low attrition rates and high productivity and efficiency.


Call centre employment growing at three times the average
Employment in the IT and call centre industries has increased nearly three times as fast as the overall growth in employment in the UK, according to the Office for National Statistics. The ONS’s latest Labour Market Trends shows that the two sectors employed 1.05 million people in May 2005 (670,000 in IT services and 375,000 in call centres and customer care) and that the UK remains a net exporter of computing and other business services, including call centres. The number of jobs in the two sectors has grown by 8.8 per cent over the past four years, compared with overall employment growth of 3.2 per cent.

Although redundancy rates are five times higher in the sector than the national average, the rate of job losses has been falling since 2001. It seems that the trend for offshoring – whereby call centre operators move jobs to India, China or Eastern Europe to take advantage of lower costs – has not affected overall employment in the sector. In fact, in some cases jobs are being created by overseas companies offshoring their activities to the UK.

Indian IT giant HCL, for example, plans to create 600 jobs in a major expansion of its contact centre operations in Belfast and Armagh in Northern Ireland – an investment announced by Prime Minister Tony Blair on his recent two-day visit to India. The new jobs will be in back-office and help-desk work in the banking and retail sectors. Earlier this year HCL acquired Answercall Direct, based in Armagh. In all, it employs 2,350 people in the UK, making it the largest Indian employer in the British IT sector. “Outsourcing does not necessarily mean offshoring. Costs in Northern Ireland are higher than in India but lower than in the rest of Europe and in large parts of the US,” said Shiv Nadar, the company’s founder and CEO.

Other regions of the UK are keen to attract call centre employment. South East investment agency Locate in Kent, for example, points out that operators in the region enjoy an abundant supply of skilled labour and staff attrition rates of less than 14 per cent, compared with a national average of 25 per cent. In a recent survey of 40 call centre managers, 85 per cent had taken on new staff over the past year and 67 per cent said that Kent’s location, near to London, significantly benefited their business. Darlington in County Durham in the North East is also hoping to attract call centre operators, under its new Darlington Advantage initiative. There is a large pool of experienced staff in the Tees Valley, with the average call centre in the region employing over 200 staff and a third having 475 employees.


New initiatives aim to strengthen science and engineering base
The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) is to almost double its investment in Daresbury International Science and Technology Park in Cheshire, from $45.5 million to $89 million. A significant part of the new investment will fund the Cockcroft Institute, the UK’s National Centre for Accelerator Science, which will be established at Daresbury by a partnership that includes scientists at the CCLRC Daresbury Laboratory and the universities of Manchester, Liverpool and Lancaster. It is hoped the development will attract significant new investment to the area.

A new alliance between the universities of Liverpool and Manchester aims to make the North West a leader in laser engineering, a sector that is currently under-exploited in the UK. The North West Laser Engineering Consortium (NWLEC), a $4.4 million initiative funded by NWDA, will bring together expertise from the two universities to develop laser expertise in the region. The scheme will benefit key industry clusters, including the aerospace, automotive, biotechnology and chemicals industries, and is backed by major international companies with bases in the North West, such as Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems.

At the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), a new $17.7 million facility has opened to house the Departments of Biological Sciences and Psychology. The Darwin Building, which was completed two months ahead of schedule, was funded by an award of $8.8 million from the government’s Science Research Investment Fund (SRIF), which is designed to strengthen the UK’s science and technology base by building and updating university buildings. NWDA, meanwhile, has launched a $4.8 million fund to help companies in the biotechnology sector. Its Access Fund will provide grant support to companies wishing to access the services of the National Biomanufacturing Centre on Merseyside, which will develop and manufacture new medicines. Of the fund, $3.2 million will be reserved for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Merseyside Objective One area, and the rest will be made available to companies elsewhere in the UK.

In Yorkshire and Humber, construction work has started on a $14.2 million centre that will help chemical companies train new recruits and assess the skills of their workforce. The Centre for Assessment of Technical Competence – Humber (CATCH), the first of its kind in the country, is due to open in September 2006 on a 10-acre site at Stallingborough, between Grimsby and Immingham. Local chemical companies will contribute equipment worth $3.5 million, and the centre will offer a real chemical plant environment for assessment and training. It also has the potential for assisting companies with emergency response and shutdown procedures, certification and licensing, as well as offering space for conferences and seminars and accommodation for new businesses.

A centre of excellence for the engineering industry is under construction at Hethel, near Wymondham in Norfolk, Eastern England. The $7 million Norfolk Centre for Engineering Excellence will provide facilities for both established and start-up companies in the region, including a training centre, innovation and business advice, business incubator units and leading-edge engineering facilities. The idea is to provide a one-stop shop for the sector; the facility is due to open in January 2006.

The University of Ulster, in Northern Ireland, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Madras in Chennai, one of India’s leading universities, following its participation in recent Invest Northern Ireland trade missions to the sub-continent. The two universities will collaborate in biomedical sciences, conflict resolution and cultural studies, and will focus on technology and knowledge transfers, joint research projects and exchanges of staff and students.

The University of Cambridge in Eastern England, meanwhile , has been ranked first in Europe and second overall in the world in the annual survey of the world’s top 500 universities by the Institute of Higher Education at Shanghai’s Jiao Tong University. Over 2,000 universities were scanned for data and 1,000 ranked, with Cambridge emerging ahead of rivals such as Oxford, Stanford, Berkeley and MIT. A range of criteria was analysed, including the number of alumni winning Nobel prizes, the number of researchers cited in 21 broad categories, the number of articles published, and academic performance relative to the size of the institution.

Cambridge is top university in Europe

Manufacturing rallies, and GB Rally stays in Wales
Manufacturing output, which accounts for 80 per cent of industrial production, rose slightly in July, signalling an end to the sector’s recent decline though offering no indication of a major recovery. Output was 0.1 per cent higher than the figure for June, slightly above market expectations, according to the Office for National Statistics. A sharp rise of 2 per cent in the transportation industries – as the car sector continued to recover from Rover’s bankruptcy earlier this year – was offset by declines in the utilities, mining and the North Sea oil and gas industries. The result was that industrial production remained unchanged in comparison with the previous three months, but was 1.7 per cent lower than in the same period a year ago.

Covering 264 blocks, the licences are split between 70 ‘Traditional’ offers (38 more than last year), six ‘Frontier’ offers (one less) and 76 ‘Promote’ offers (18 more). In addition, companies are firmly committed to drilling 17 new wells, the highest number in a decade. Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks called the record number of licences “a vote of confidence” in the future of the industry.

In other sectors, a delegation of Korean electronic games and animation companies visited North East England in early September, drawn by the region’s growing reputation as a centre for the industry. The games sector has been identified as an important area for trade and investment between South Korea and the UK, and an Institute of Digital Innovation is to be built at the University of Teesside, creating 130 new companies and 300 new jobs by 2010. The institute will form a cornerstone of DigitalCity, a project that aims to put the Tees Valley at the forefront of digital technologies, such as computer animation and virtual learning environments. During its stay, the delegation also visited the Centre for Life in Newcastle, for a presentation by GameHorizon and Codeworks, a centre of excellence for the digital industries that provides a first point of contact in the North East.

In motor sport, an agreement with the Motor Sports Association (MSA) has confirmed that the UK leg of the World Rally Championship will stay in Wales until 2011. The event will continue to be branded ‘Wales Rally GB’ under a five-year sponsorship deal estimated to be worth up to $71 million to the Welsh economy. The rally underpins the Wales Motorsport Strategy, which uses the high profile of the event to boost a number of sectors, including motorsport infrastructure, high-performance engineering, business development and tourism.

“Wales Rally GB has gone from strength to strength in terms of organisation and is acknowledged as one of the best rounds of the Rally Championship,” said MSA chairman John Grant. “Over the past five years the sport has moved to a new level of professionalism and an event of this status needs the infrastructure that is provided in Wales. There are in fact very few locations in Great Britain that can offer what Wales can.”


Opportunities beckon as fledgling industry tests its wings
A new international team based in Wales is exploring the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for remote sensing and monitoring for civilian applications. Previously used almost exclusively by the military sector, UAVs (or drones) have great potential for a range of applications in the environmental and agricultural sectors, including mineral exploration, water quality monitoring, finding fish stocks at sea and tracking the movements of endangered species. In the agricultural sector, they can be used to deliver fertilisers and pest management, while minimising the impact on farmers and the environment. Some are already being tested in North America for use in the fishing and mining industries, meteorological surveys and fighting forest fires.

The partners – Boeing, QinetiQ, the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research and the Welsh Development Agency – plan to investigate a variety of technologies, including infrared, thermal imaging and optical and chemical sensors, such as ‘electronic noses’. A new $28.4 million centre at Parc Aberporth on Cardigan Bay will provide R&D and test flight facilities and will initially employ 220 people. The research promises to develop real commercial opportunities, and efforts will at first be focused on the UK and European markets.

Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin UK Holdings, a subsidiary of the US-based Lockheed Martin Corporation, is to acquire INSYS Group, a UK-based supplier of military communications systems, weapons systems and advanced analysis services. INSYS is involved in a wide range of programmes with the Ministry of Defence, including advanced weapons and communications systems, missile defence and biological detection systems. Its expertise in these and other areas complements that of Lockheed Martin and the two companies already collaborate widely. INSYS, based in Ampthill, Bedfordshire in Eastern England, has 480 employees.


Fresh horizons for airport as new owner takes charge
In the civil aviation sector, New Zealand-based asset acquisition company Infratil has bought the business and assets of Kent International Airport (KIA) for around $31 million. KIA, located at Manston, near Ramsgate in Kent, South East England, had been in administration for a short-time following the demise of its owner, London-based PlaneStation plc.

Although no services are currently run out of KIA, the airport has a 2,752-metre runway capable of servicing Boeing 747s and the new Airbus A380s; a recently refurbished passenger terminal capable of handling up to 700,000 passengers a year; and a new 34,400 sq ft cargo terminal that includes a fully licensed border inspection post. Infratil, which already owns Glasgow Prestwick Aiport in Scotland, plans to operate both passenger and cargo services to destinations in Europe, and expects to make an operating profit within three to four years.

Gulf Agency Company (GAC), a Dubai-based shipping, logistics and marine services group, has bought international freight forwarder Benair from UK distribution and aviation services organisation Dart Group for $9 million. Benair is based at Bournemouth Airport on the south coast and has five offices in the UK, together with a temperature-controlled distribution facility at Heathrow Airport. Its operations will be rebranded as GAC-Benair.

An aviation academy is planned for Robin Hood Airport, near Doncaster in South Yorkshire. RDA Yorkshire Forward and Peel Airports Group are jointly developing the project, with technical training to be delivered by Lufthansa Resource Technical Training. A 55,000 sq ft hangar will be refurbished to accommodate the academy, with completion expected in 12-18 months’ time. The facility will include workshops and lecture suites, and it will train skilled personnel from airport receptionists to qualified technicians, with the Aviation Technician Modern Apprenticeship being a key programme. It will be developed under the Directions Finningley brand, which already incorporates a range of skills training services.

A new air services agreement between Britain and India is set to make travel between the two countries easier and cheaper, with the result that the number of direct scheduled services could triple this year and double again in 2006. The bilateral treaty, signed in Delhi during Prime Minister Tony Blair’s trip to India, will sweep away rigid restrictions and allow both UK and Indian airlines to open new routes and expand their passenger services. It will also provide for an unlimited expansion of cargo services.


Workers go mobile as WiFi expands its reach
The City of London financial district is planning to follow the lead of Canary Wharf in making wireless internet access available across the whole of its area. Canary Wharf is in the process of setting up a series of WiFi hotspots that allow business users on the move to access the internet from any office, bar, restaurant or outside space on the 97-acre Docklands estate. It will be more complex to roll out a similar scheme in the City because land ownership is more widely dispersed. There is also a need to ensure the security of transmissions. However, the Corporation of London hopes to set up a trial in a small area in the next couple of months, using street furniture to run the system, and is in negotiations with a number of major providers, including The Cloud, which runs the system at Canary Wharf.

Users have become used to mobile working in recent years, due to the growing popularity of mobile devices such as the Blackberry. Instead of being tied to a desk and having to plug into a network, they are able to work online wirelessly, provided they are within signal range – much in the same way they would use a mobile phone. Most new laptops come with WiFi capabilities built in, but until now WiFi access has been largely the preserve of operators such as coffee shop chains.

Users will be charged for the service, though at present the returns for network operators are meagre. Increasingly, WiFi is seen as a utility or an amenity. It has already been deployed – largely on a trial basis – in a number of urban locations. Elsewhere in London, Islington council’s ‘Technology Mile’, which runs from Angel to Highbury Corner, provides wireless web access for local businesses and residents. The 2 million sq ft Spinningfields office development in central Manchester was designed with a sophisticated IT infrastructure built in, including WiFi access across public spaces.

Bristol, in South West England, was the first UK city to deploy a truly wide area WiFi network, with its free-to-use Streetnet network, which covers a 3km stretch of the city centre. Glasgow in Scotland introduced a WiFi system in August, utilising a series of hotspots around the city centre operated by BTOpenzone. Users pay to access the system, and the council also plans to use the network for its own staff, who can send information back to base over a secure link. In future, Glasgow hopes to install internet-driven security cameras, bus shelters and perhaps even traffic lights.


Rules change on Red Tape Day
Dubbed ‘Red Tape Day’, 1 October marked the second annual commencement date for the introduction of new employment regulations. The idea of Red Tape Day is to make changes to rules and regulations all in one go, to reduce the burden on businesses. This October sees the introduction of new National Minimum Wage rates – £5.05 ($8.95) an hour for adult workers and £4.10 ($7.25) an hour for 18- to 21-year-olds – and new rules on gender discrimination. Under the amended Equal Treatment Directive, all employers, partnerships and providers of vocational training will be obliged to ensure that the working environment is free of discrimination or harassment, direct or indirect.

In other moves, from next April companies will be obliged to take responsibility for fire safety in commercial premises. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order means that fire brigades will no longer issue Fire Safety Certificates; instead, businesses must download the appropriate fire safety guidelines from a Government website. The regulations will apply to England and Wales initially and will be extended to Scotland at a later date. They are designed to allow fire brigades to concentrate on ‘higher-risk’ domestic premises. Also next April, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will take over the payment of Working Tax Credit to all claimants, replacing the current system under which employers pay the credit to employees with their wages.

Regulations governing the rights of foreign investors to settle in Britain have been relaxed. Previously, investors from outside the EU seeking indefinite leave to remain must have spent no more than six months outside the UK in the previous four years. This has now been extended to 12 months, to make life easier for senior professionals in fields such as banking, medicine and engineering, who often find it difficult to satisfy the absence rules while still fulfilling their business and holiday commitments.


Around the regions
The population of the UK was 59.8 million in June 2004, a rise of 0.5 per cent (281,200 people) compared with mid-2003, according to the Office for National Statistics. This continues a pattern of steady growth, with the population rising by 2.4 million since 1991, at an annual average rate of 0.3 per cent. The population of England passed 50 million for the first time in 2004, reaching 50.1 million, 0.5 per cent (238,000) up on 2003. The rate of growth in Scotland, at 0.4 per cent, was slightly slower than in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. By region, the South West saw the greatest rate of growth, at 0.8 per cent, and the North East the lowest, at 0.2 per cent. The population continues to age, with the number of over-85s growing to 1,111,600, from 873,300 in 1991. This age group now accounts for 1.9 per cent of the UK’s total population.

MidOcean Partners, a private equity firm with offices in New York and London, is to acquire retail media provider Bezier Holdings for approximately $139 million, using funds managed by Electra Partners. Bezier is one of Europe’s largest retail media specialists and the UK’s biggest specialist in point of purchase (POP) media. It provides services that range from R&D of retail media through to production and implementation.

Voice Print International, a voice recording software developer based in California, has opened a new European headquarters in London. The company provides call recording, call-centre monitoring and real-time performance optimisation. The new office will act as its centre for sales operations across Europe and will also strengthen its existing links with London-based Speakerbus Inc, a provider of mission-critical voice and video communications solutions.

Ross Video, a Canadian designer and manufacturer of products for use in broadcast distribution, live event and production applications, has opened a European spares depot at Heathrow Airport, outside London. The company says its products are used to distribute audio and video signals in more than 100 countries daily, and it operates a round-the-clock hotline service supplying spares and technical expertise.

S2 Security Corporation, a US provider of network-based security systems, has opened an EMEA sales office in West Byfleet in Surrey, South East England. The company’s integrated technology supports control, alarm and temperature monitoring and video and intercom communication, allowing companies to manage their security systems from any location via IP networks.

US-based biopharmaceutical company Xechem has set up a subsidiary, Xechem UK, in Godalming, South East England. Xechem develops generic and proprietary drugs from natural sources, specialising in anti-cancer, anti-viral and anti-fungal compounds. The move will facilitate entry into the European market for its lead product, Nicosan/Hemoxin, a phytopharmaceutical drug for the treatment of sickle cell disease.

Indian motor manufacturer Tata Motors is to acquire Incat, a provider of lifecycle management software and services based in Bristol, South West England, for $98 million. The acquisition will be made through an indirect subsidiary, Tata Technologies. Incat employs around 700 people worldwide and operates mainly in the automotive, aerospace and durable goods manufacturing industries.

Protomold of the US, one of the world’s fastest-growing rapid injection moulders, is planning to open its first European facility later this year at Telford in the West Midlands. The company, based in Minnesota, has invested $885,000 to refurbish a 25,000 sq ft building in the Hortonwood area of the town and plans to take on 40 workers by the end of 2006. Protomold, which supplies injection-moulded parts to a wide range of customers, will initially concentrate on the UK and German markets.

Protomold and Wrap Film Systems invest in Telford

Also in Hortonwood, Telford, Wrap Film Systems, a part of the Benedetti International group, has invested $10.6 million in a new facility that will produce innovative dispensers for film and foil products. The wipe-clean Benedetti dispenser, an update on the cardboard dispensers traditionally used to contain plastic film and cooking foil, won the Food Packaging award for 2005. The company, which employs 120 people, has moved to a new 130,000 sq ft manufacturing plant at Hortonwood, which includes 20 acres of land for further expansion.

Intier Automotive, a Canadian company supplying automotive seating systems and seat mechanisms to major vehicle manufacturers, is to open a factory at Barton in the West Midlands, creating up to 100 jobs. The company already has a design centre in Nottingham in the East Midlands and a technical centre in Maidstone in South East England. The new facility is expected to begin production by next spring.

Cosmetics and personal care products giant L’Oreal is building a 160,000 sq ft distribution warehouse at Sherwood Park in Nottingham, East Midlands. The French-based multinational has bought a site formerly owned by Kodak, the US photographic company, which decided to close down its Nottingham factory after the rise of digital technology eroded its traditional film-based business.

Ametek, a US-based manufacturer of electronic instruments and electronic motors, is to acquire instrumentation supplier Solartron from the Roxboro Group, based in Huntingdon, Eastern England, for around $75 million. Solartron is a leading supplier of analytical instrumentation for the process, laboratory and other industrial markets, with sales of around $50 million a year.

Asterand, a Detroit-based supplier of human tissues for drug research, has announced a major expansion of its European business with the opening of new offices in Sudbury, Suffolk in Eastern England. The company will develop new laboratories to provide a full range of human tissue services and will expand its supply of samples, which have to be delivered quickly to be effective. The European division of Asterand will be led by Dr Julian Beesley, a respected figure in the research community. Eastern England has a thriving biotech sector and is already home to companies such as Amgen, Genzyme, Medivir and PPD.

The town of Darlington in North East England has launched a series of initiatives to promote itself as an investment location. A new CD-ROM, entitled Darlington – Where Quality Comes to Life – promotes Darlington, the Tees Valley and the North East in general as both business and leisure destinations and includes details of current office, industrial, retail and town centre developments. A partnership between Darlington Borough Council, investment agency Tees Valley Regeneration and developers of three major sites (Morton Palms, Lingfield Point and Hopetown Office Park) has been formed as part of the ‘Darlington Advantage’ campaign. Meanwhile the British American Tobacco Legacy Fund is supporting a number of business initiatives in the town. BAT was a major employer in Darlington, although it closed its plant there in 2004.

Quand Medical, a developer of medical information and alert technology, has relocated from Toronto, Canada to Newcastle in North East England. The company has developed a system that uses near field communications (NFC) – a combination of radio frequency identification and mobile phone technology – to deliver detailed information and warnings about medications to patients. Its decision to move to the UK was influenced by the advanced state of development of mobile technology across Europe.

US company Musco Lighting, which moved its European HQ from Nottingham to Bolton, North West England two year ago, is on the move again, this time to larger premises in Bolton. A 10,000 sq ft warehouse in the Wingates area of the town will provide it with greatly improved distribution facilities for its range of sports lighting products. All its products are manufactured in the US, and the location was chosen partly because of its proximity to ports and airports at Liverpool and Manchester. Musco currently employs 18 people in the UK but plans to increase this to 25 by the end of the year.

Sanko Gosei, the Japanese industrial group, is to add a second painting line at its facility in Skelmersdale in North West England. The plant’s existing line is used for painting automotive interior components. The new one will be used for projects within the automotive and consumer electronics industries, with a focus on the flat-screen television market.

Aalberts Industries UK, a subsidiary of Dutch industrial group Aalberts Industries, has acquired Pegler, a UK manufacturer of taps, valves, fittings and heating products. Pegler, which is based in Doncaster, Yorkshire and Humber and has a workforce of 500, is one of the main players in the UK market for thermostatic radiator valves. It also supplies flow control products, such as valves and sanitary fittings, to the public sector. Aalberts Industries is an international group specialising in valves, fittings and flow control systems.

Cegelec UK, a subsidiary of Belgian technological services company Cegelec, is moving to larger premises in Swansea, South Wales. The purpose-designed industrial unit on the Forest Fach Industrial Estate will incorporate a one-stop maintenance centre for rotating electrical plant and a vacuum impregnation (VPI) facility for applying protective varnish to overhauled motors and generators. The development will add six extra jobs to the existing workforce of 42. Cegelec’s Swansea plant maintains and overhauls a wide range of industrial electrical motors, generators, pumps and fans, for customers such as the Texaco and Total oil refineries in West Wales and the Corus steelworks at Llanwern.

Swan Labs, a US-based provider of network technology solutions, has set up a European centre of operations in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The $3.3 million project will see the creation of a subsidiary company, Swan Labs Ltd, and around 40 new skilled jobs by 2007. The centre will concentrate on the design and development of software solutions aimed at making business applications such as e-mail, Oracle and Siebel work more effectively. Invest Northern Ireland is supporting the investment with a grant of $885,000.

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