March 2010

NEWS

Meanwhile, manufacturing activity expanded in January at its fastest pace for 15 years, indicating that the economy made a strong start to 2010. The CIPS/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index jumped to 56.7 from 54.6 in December, the highest since October 1994 and well above forecasts. The improvement came as new orders rose at their fastest pace in six years, helped by stronger domestic and export demand, and output growth reached levels last seen in June 2006. “The survey raises hopes that the sluggish recovery from recession signalled by GDP data in the final quarter of last year will have gained momentum as we move into 2010,” said Rob Dobson, senior economist at Markit.


 

Training initiative boosts skills to fight recession
A new survey shows that business leaders believe that the Government’s flagship Train to Gain programme has helped them to provide vital training to their staff during the economic downturn. Polling both large and small employers who use the training initiative, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) found that 80 per cent were likely to recommend it to other employers and to use it again themselves. A significant number (41 per cent) also said that Train to Gain had helped them to cope with the recession. Since the scheme’s launch in April 2006, Train to Gain learners have started over 1.54 million qualifications, and over 960,000 qualifications have been awarded. More than 175,000 employers have been engaged through the scheme’s brokerage services. In 2010-11, the Government plans to invest $1.5 billion through Train to Gain, building on the $57 billion that employers already invest in training each year.

The LSC conducted over 9,000 interviews with employers and 7,000 interviews with learners. More than 75 per cent of businesses polled said that the scheme had equipped their staff with valuable job-related skills that had improved performance. For example, MITIE Group plc, a strategic outsourcing and asset management company based in Bristol, South West England, has used Train to Gain to help with staff development. Roger Goodman, the company’s corporate development director, said: “Train to Gain has enabled MITIE to support our people with training and qualifications in a way that would not otherwise have been possible. The programme reaches people who are most in need of help and gives them the broad skills they need for work, and a platform from which to go on and develop.”

The LSC’s employer report also found that Train to Gain continues to encourage employers to engage with training and development of staff; that employers have been able to train more staff and give them access to higher-quality qualifications; and that a high number of employers said that Train to Gain had helped them engage in training and development of their staff. The learner report found that more than 90 per cent of learners were pleased with their training; that nearly 90 per cent hoped to get a qualification at the end of their training; and that the recession was having a positive impact on employee attitudes towards training.

The Train to Gain evaluation report follows the Government’s recent “Going for Growth” and “Skills for Growth” strategies. These detail how the Government is continuing to invest in skills in order to help drive economic growth and productivity as the country emerges from recession. Geoff Russell, chief executive of the LSC, said: “This report shows that businesses have used Train to Gain to equip their employees with vital skills that have had a direct impact on their productivity. This is a critical business benefit in tough economic times.”

Business Link, a website run by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), has launched a new online resource to help employers and learners explore important changes to vocational qualifications. The website now gives employers access to all they need to know about vocational qualifications and how to influence changes as they take place. For learners, it provides information and links to find out more about the changes. Colleges and others interested in vocational qualifications are also able to access information. The government is overhauling vocational qualifications to create a clearer, more flexible system and to help employers understand how to obtain the skills they need in their businesses. Radical reforms will see qualifications across every industry improved so they are easier to understand and access. Caroline Fawcett, director of marketing and customer insight at businesslink.gov.uk, said: “We believe this will be particularly welcomed by HR departments.”

New regulations that will entitle temporary workers to many of the same employment rights as permanent staff have gone before Parliament, prior to being passed into law. The legislation is designed to implement the EU’s Agency Workers’ Directive. Under the changes, agency workers will be entitled for the first time to equal treatment on basic working and employment conditions, including pay and holidays, as if they had been recruited directly by the hirer. The entitlement comes into effect after 12 weeks in a given job. The rights on pay will apply not just to the basic hourly rate but to all pay for work done, including bonuses that are directly related to the agency worker’s performance. However, they will not extend to some of the wider benefits that permanent staff can enjoy, such as occupational pensions and sick pay.

Business Minister Pat McFadden said: “This change [is] being implemented in line with the TUC/CBI agreement which sought to ensure fairness while maintaining flexibility for the UK labour market – a very important factor in our ability to create jobs.” Employers’ organisation the CBI expressed concerns that the new rules might hamper job creation. However, it welcomed the decision to delay introducing them until the end of next year, as well as the Government’s rejection of trade union demands for more stringent enforcement.

“We’ve had a fantastic track record of winning new models,” said Trevor Mann, Nissan’s head of production in Europe. “They’ve been won not just on manufacturing efficiency, but also on total delivery cost – including parts and materials, logistics, taxes and duties, as well as the cost of sales.” Nissan employs around 12,500 people in Europe and in 2008 sold 601,647 vehicles across 40 European markets. The Juke announcement came in the same week that the parent company reported a return to profit worldwide in the last three months of 2009. Nissan posted a profit of $500 million in the October–December period, compared with a loss of nearly $1 billion a year earlier. It sold 882,000 vehicles globally in the three-month period, a 20.6 per cent increase on the previous year.

Japanese car parts giant Toyoda Gosei is planning to invest in a new plant in Swansea, South Wales as its entry point into the UK market. The company supplies components to some of the world’s biggest car manufacturers, including Honda and Nissan. The investment will be the biggest in Wales by a Japanese company for 20 years and is likely to generate around 600 new jobs. The site has not yet been confirmed but it is thought to be the former Valeo car components plant in Gorseinon, which closed in 2001. There are 49 Japanese companies currently located in Wales, employing around 9,200 people.


Motor sector proves diversity, from supercars to electric taxis
A new 200 mph supercar has been designed and created in the East Midlands. Fenix Automotive, based near Hinckley in Leicestershire, was set up by former racing driver Lee Noble. He previously ran the Noble company, which is currently producing another supercar, the $306,000 Noble M600, at nearby Braunstone. The county is home to several other high-performance motor manufacturers, including supercar firm Ultima and Triumph Motorcycles, both based in Hinckley. Norton Motorcycles set up a factory in Castle Donington in 2008 after relocating from the US.

The Fenix Automotive sports car, which should be available next year, has been designed and developed in Leicestershire, although it will be manufactured in South Africa. It will be capable of accelerating from 0-100mph in under seven seconds and will have a top speed of 200mph – plus a price tag of between $114,750 and $151,500. Buyers will have a choice of a 480bhp or a 638bhp engine. Initially, Fenix will produce around 60 or 70 cars a year, but this could increase to up to 500 annually.

The first Formula 1 team to be based in Yorkshire has unveiled a pioneering new racing car, the VR-01, which was designed and built by the Virgin Racing team in just 10 months at Dinnington, near Rotherham. The VR-01 has been digitally designed with computational fluid dynamics, which is far cheaper than the usual method of testing scale models against wind tunnels. The team is already well on the way to the opening grand prix in Bahrain on 12 March. Its two drivers, Lucas Di Grassi and Timo Glock, had an opportunity to drive the car at Silverstone race circuit recently after months of testing on simulators, and it was put through its paces at a second official testing session in Jerez, Spain in February.

On a more sedate note, an innovative all-electric taxi with the potential to transform the way people use public transport has been unveiled in the West Midlands. The ‘E Vito taxi’ – a prototype developed by a consortium including Lichfield-based automotive engineering specialist Zytek and Coventry technology expert Penso – can carry up to six passengers over a range of almost 75 miles, from a single six-hour full charge. The vehicle, powered by the innovative 70kW Zytek electric drive system, is capable of up to 75 mph. It generates zero tailpipe emissions and also has very low noise pollution. It is also licensed for use in London.

Neil Cheeseman, programme manager at Zytek Automotive, said: “The Zytek electric drive system used in the E Vito taxi is suitable for a variety of passenger car and light commercial vehicle applications. Today’s demonstration highlights that the E Vito taxi is both viable and relatively simple to put into production.” The E Vito programme has been part-funded by a $3.8 million grant from Regional Development Agency (RDA) Advantage West Midlands. The region is home to the largest cluster of automotive businesses in the UK. It is responsible for 28 per cent of all automotive output, worth $19.9 billion annually, and for more than 60 per cent of the industry’s R&D.

Aerospace companies look to the future
Leading aerospace manufacturer Rolls-Royce is to partner with universities around the UK to undertake research and development of more fuel-efficient, lower-carbon aero engines. The new partnerships will be funded with $68.9 million of Government support. The partner institutions will be Imperial College London and the universities of Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Loughborough, Nottingham, Oxford, Southampton, Surrey and Swansea. Research projects, overseen by the Technology Strategy Board, will include developing lighter fans that reduce fuel consumption; simulation technology for virtual engineering; and new, affordable high-temperature alloys to improve fuel efficiency.

Rolls-Royce has also committed to building a new aero-engine disc facility in Washington, Sunderland in North East England. The facility is one of four that the company plans to build in the UK; they will secure or create 800 jobs in innovative high-value manufacturing programmes over the long term. Two others have been announced: a military fan blades facility in Barnoldswick in Lancashire and the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre in South Yorkshire.

Announcing the funding, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said: “The knowledge, skills and high-end production the UK offers give us huge opportunities to benefit as global demand for low-carbon products grows. These new projects will help our world-class aerospace industry to meet that growing low-carbon demand.” Ric Parker, director of research and technology at Rolls-Royce, added: “This is a good example of government, industry and academia coming together to expand Britain’s capabilities in high-value-added manufacturing.”

The UK space industry could grow up to six-fold over the next 20 years with investment from the private and public sectors, according to a report from the Space Innovation and Growth Team. The UK should aim for revenues of $61.2 billion a year from the space sector by 2030, equivalent to 10 per cent of the world market, said the document. Currently, UK companies hold only 6 per cent of a much smaller market. Most of the required investment would come from industry, but the report said that public investment in the sector would have to double, to $841.5 million a year by 2020. The Government took a positive step in this direction recently with the creation of a UK Executive Space Agency.

The UK can become a world leader in Earth observation services such as environmental monitoring and digital mapping, added the report. It called on the Government to set up a UK Earth observation service, based on a private finance initiative, to provide data to meet national needs in security, climate change monitoring and other areas. “If ever there was a time to be bold with industrial strategy, it is now,” said Andy Green, chief executive of Logica and chairman of the Space IGT, which is a government/industry organisation consisting of chief executives of space companies, public bodies such as the British National Space Centre and academics.

UK company Marshall Aerospace, one of Europe’s leading aerospace firms, is to open a new training campus at its base in Cambridge, Eastern England. In 2009 Marshall was chosen by Kingston University London as its delivery partner for a Foundation Degree for Aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul. The course was designed by a Marshall team at the AeroAcademy in order to meet the demand for new skills in the sector. Students will attend courses at the facility to complete their university education over a three-year period, before joining the aviation industry, which currently employs more than 400,000 people in the UK. The new facility will also offer a range of professional development courses for staff at other aviation companies.

The new campus will be opened by Will Whitehorn, president of Virgin Galactic. He said: “Without the continued development of these kinds of skills for the next generation we won’t see the future of carbon composites planes and spaceships come to fruition. I believe that the Academy is a major step forward for Britain’s continued role as a leading aerospace design, development and manufacturing base.”

Ray Thompson, business manager of Energy and Engineering at RDA One North East, said: “North East firms are already profiting from the investment being made in the offshore wind sector. The new offshore wind farms will make the UK the world’s largest offshore wind market, and will have the potential to generate a quarter of the UK’s electricity by 2020, creating up to 70,000 new jobs.”

Together with the Government, One North East also recently announced a $92 million investment package for the Tees Valley to support the area’s transition to low-carbon and advanced manufacturing. The two-year Tees Valley Industrial Programme will create an estimated 3,000 new jobs in the short to medium terms and will sustain over 10,000 jobs in the long term. One example of how the region is taking advantage of ‘green’ industry opportunities is provided by TAG Energy Solutions, which recently won a $1.9 million grant from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to develop an automated facility for the rolling and welding of large-diameter tubes and foundations for wind turbines at its Haverton Hill yard, near Stockton. The company’s managing director, Alex Dawson, said: “The skills TAG has developed over many years working in the oil and gas industry have put the firm in an exceptionally strong position to win work in the renewables industry, and the funding from DECC has been vital in accelerating our transition into offshore wind.”

Another company with a base in the North East, Clipper Windpower, is to start construction of a factory in Newcastle, where it will build the biggest wind turbine blades in the world. Its subsidiary, Clipper Windpower Marine Ltd, expects to complete the new facility at the city’s Shepherd Offshore Renewable Energy Park in the third quarter of 2010. It will manufacture blades for the massive 10 MW ‘Britannia’ offshore wind turbine, and by 2020 could employ a local workforce of over 500 people. The DECC has recently made available a third tranche of capital grant funding, worth $12.2 million, for the development of components and technology in offshore wind. Its first two calls under the Environmental Transformation Fund (ETF) saw $27.5 million disbursed to companies in the sector, including Clipper Windpower.

Visiting the Clipper site, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: “The North East is at the forefront in providing the skills, expertise and enterprise to capitalise on this rapidly expanding market, which has the potential to create thousands of future green jobs. The combination of our strong natural wind resource and the substantial backing we’ve given the industry mean the investment conditions in the UK are unrivalled.”

Scottish Enterprise meanwhile has identified 11 sites as potential bases for offshore wind farms, including locations in Fife, Dundee, Aberdeen, Ayrshire and the Highlands. The sites will receive investment over the next five years in an effort to create manufacturing and assembly sites for offshore wind turbines. This is the first phase of the National Renewables Infrastructure Plan, which is being led by Scottish Enterprise with support from Highlands and Islands Enterprise. The Scottish considers the renewable energy sector key to Scotland’s economic growth, with the main economic benefits coming from manufacturing and service industries built around offshore wind. Estimates put the capital costs of offshore wind projects in Scottish waters at between $23 billion and $27.5 billion over the next 10 years.


Low-carbon investments help to build industries of the future
One North East has also published a prospectus for the development of a Carbon Capture and Storage Cluster (CCS) in North East England, using pioneering technology that offers major potential for investment and job creation. The document identifies the region’s strengths and future plans for CCS, while making a strong case for further investment. CCS is necessary for a number of industrial processes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and is particularly vital in the North East due to the strong presence of the chemical and process industries, which employ an estimated 26,000 people.

As well as safeguarding jobs and creating new roles in research and innovation, CCS is central to proposed major power generation projects. Planned projects include a new CCS power plant for Eston Grange in the Tees Valley and a part-conversion of the Rio Tinto Alcan power plant at Lynemouth, Northumberland, which together will capture up to 7.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year. These groundbreaking projects integrate established technologies and are sufficiently advanced for partners to be confident that a CCS Cluster could be operational by 2015, according to the RDA. An independent report commissioned by the DECC indicates that clean coal technology could bring between $3 billion and $6 billion a year into the UK economy by 2030 and could support up to 60,000 jobs in engineering, manufacturing and procurement.

Elsewhere in the renewable energy sector, the Government-backed Technology Strategy Board (TSB) has announced details of two new competitions, with $18.3 million of funding, aimed at supporting innovation in the exploitation of wave and tidal resources. The South West RDA will invest up to $3 million in the first competition, which will be launched in March and will focus on reducing energy costs and improving the reliability of wave and tidal stream energy devices. A second competition will be launched in September, aimed at supporting the deployment of pre-commercial full-scale devices operating in the sea. The competitions will complement the RDA’s Wave Hub project, which is creating a grid-connected ‘socket’ on the seabed 10 miles off the coast of Cornwall, to which arrays of wave energy conversion devices can be connected and tested. Work is already underway, and the first devices are expected to be deployed next year.


Midlands and South Wales named ‘low-carbon economic areas’
The Midlands has been designated as a new Low Carbon Economic Area (LCEA) and has won $23.8 million of government funding for R&D work on low-carbon vehicles. It becomes the fifth LCEA under the Government’s Low Carbon Industrial Strategy, joining the South West, North East, North West and Yorkshire, and Greater Manchester. Announcing the initiative, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said: “The move towards a low-carbon economy presents huge opportunities. This new funding will help secure the Midlands’ 10,000 existing car industry jobs, by helping transform them into the green car jobs of the future.”

Key stakeholders in the Midlands LCEA include local universities, RDAs and the TSB. Partners in the newly formed Low Carbon Vehicles Technology (LCVTP) programme include Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Motors, Zytek, Ricardo, MIRA, Coventry University and the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) at the University of Warwick. The project will also involve UK suppliers. RDA Advantage West Midlands will invest $14.5 million in the LCVTP, which will receive a similar sum from European funding and more than $15 million of industry funds.

South Wales has been named as the UK’s sixth LCEA, designated as a leading centre for hydrogen energy. The new LCEA will build on the region’s expertise to develop hydrogen on a commercial basis and will be closely linked to end users based on the M4 corridor, creating a “hydrogen highway”. Close cooperation under the initiative will extend as far as Swindon in the South West, where speciality chemicals company Johnson Matthey will receive a share of $11 million of funding to develop hydrogen and fuel cell technology.

In addition, the University of Glamorgan will invest $9.6 million to develop new processes, products and services as part of the CymruH2Wales project. It will create 23 new research staff positions over the next three years and a further 63 permanent jobs in hydrogen energy. It has also won Department for Transport funding to build a new multi-fuel filling station at its Pontypridd campus and further develop an existing facility at its Hydrogen Centre in Baglan. Lord Mandelson commented: “These investments in research, infrastructure and commercialisation will help our universities and companies work together to seize the opportunities in hydrogen energy, to benefit the area and the whole of the UK.”


Cambridge scientists win global recognition
University of Cambridge stem cell pioneer Professor Austin Smith has won the 2010 Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine. The prize, worth $535,500, has been awarded annually since 1986 and rewards Europe’s top biomedical researchers. Both Professor Smith, director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research, and Cambridge University have played a pivotal role in stem cell research. The University’s Department of Genetics discovered the unique properties of stem cells in the 1980s and its principal researcher, Professor Sir Martin Evans, won the 2007 Nobel Prize for Medicine.

The University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory has become the only university outside the US to receive a Google Focused Research Award. The award will support the Lab’s Computing for the Future of the Planet research initiative, led by head of department Professor Andy Hopper. This project is a framework for computing in the context of problems facing the planet and has a number of goals, including establishing an optimal digital infrastructure, reliably predicting and reacting to our environment, and digital alternatives to physical activities. Professor Hopper said: “The nature of these awards, which place no restrictions or constraints on the funded research, is particularly refreshing, and will help to stimulate true innovation and accelerate the development of new ideas and practical solutions.”

Also in Eastern England, a $7.7 million funding package from the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is set to boost the city of Norwich’s world-class reputation as a leading centre for scientific research. The money will be used to extend innovation and incubation facilities at the Norwich Research Park (NRP) and is the first stage of a plan to create up to 5,000 new jobs in science and scientific research by 2021. In this initial move, over 30 office and laboratory units are being constructed and fitted out in a totally refurbished three-storey building, located adjacent to the Institute of Food Research. The facilities are designed to accommodate the growing number of world-class scientists and researchers being attracted to the NRP, and are due to open in the summer. They will be managed by a new joint venture company, Colney Innovations Ltd (CIL).


Scotland leads the world in scientific citations
More researchers across the globe cite innovative work carried out in Scotland than in any other country, relative to GDP, according to a new report. The International Comparative Performance of Scotland’s Research Base report compared the country’s record in university, industry, institute and National Health Service (NHS) research with other nations, and found that it accounted for 1.8 per cent of all global citations in 2008 (where new research referenced previous studies), despite having less than 0.1 per cent of the worldwide population. Biological science research attracted 2.4 per cent of global citations, followed closely by environmental research with 2.2 per cent and health and medical research with 1.8 per cent. On a citations per researcher basis, Scotland ranked an impressive third in the world. Professor Anne Glover, Scotland’s chief scientific advisor, said: “[It] confirms that Scotland is one of the best places in the world to do science. Being able to demonstrate the strength of Scottish research will help us to attract the best scientists from around the world to work here, as well as acting as a magnet for international investment.”

More small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in North East England will be able to tap into a range of online innovation services, facilities and expertise delivered by NETPark in County Durham, after County Durham Development Company (CDDC) secured new funding to develop ‘NETPark Net’, a total business support environment providing physical and online services. NETPark Net will enable companies to access the benefits of NETPark, one of seven innovation connectors in the region, particularly those in the fields of science, electronics and engineering. Building on the ‘Virtual NETPark’ pilot project run by CDDC over the past two years, the primary beneficiaries will be both existing and new SMEs based in the region. It is expected that the investment will help accelerate the growth of over 70 companies.

Catherine Johns, director of Innovation Development at CDDC, said: “[NETPark Net] also provides one-to-one workshops, clinics and events which cover a range of topics including innovation, collaboration and consultancy services that will help businesses grow and flourish. As well as acting as a virtual office facility for start-up companies, further technical development will bring new services to the NETPark Net website. These will be designed to maximise the clustering effect of NETPark itself, bringing together companies across the region to collaborate, consult and grow through networking.”

Also in the North East, the former Angel Biotechnology Ltd facility at Cramlington in Northumberland is to undergo a state-of-the-art refurbishment, being redesigned and converted into multiple occupancy life science incubators with wet lab provision. This will open up opportunities for SME tenants to exploit specialist equipment for molecular biology, bio-process development and cell culture without the associated capital outlay. Located on Nelson Business Park, the facility was originally designed as a contract manufacturing facility operating to clinical Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) standards. It retains full functionality and the existing space will be converted to provide up to seven high-quality incubator spaces with communal areas for laboratory research and commercial support.
 

The Government has also announced $4.8 million of grants to support the offshore wind supply chain. The Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills will split the funding between two companies: Burntisland Fabrications Ltd (BiFab) and Tees Alliance Group Ltd (TAG). BiFab aims to set up a manufacturing facility at the Energy Park in Fife, Scotland to make parts for offshore turbines, creating an additional 300 jobs. It will manufacture jacket sub-structures for the offshore wind sector, aiming to become a key European provider for such structures for water depths from 12 to 80 metres. TAG will develop a production facility at its Haverton Hill Facility in Teesside, North East England, creating up to 200 jobs. The company is developing a world-class automated tubular production facility for the rolling and welding of large diameter tubulars and the construction of foundations, such as monopiles, tripods, jackets and transition pieces.

It is anticipated that the Crown Estate’s licensing decision will spark a development programme comparable to the opening up of the North Sea to oil and gas production in the 1970s and 1980s, and it was welcomed by both Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Environment Secretary Ed Miliband. However, the Carbon Trust, an independent company set up by the government to promote cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, has warned that there are still big challenges to be overcome in terms of technology and financing. Offshore wind is still a new technology, and the new areas allocated will be more challenging than any previously developed on a commercial scale, it said. Seventy per cent of the wind farms built under the Round Three licences will be in water depths of 30 metres or more, whereas most of the UK’s existing turbines are in water 20 metres deep or less. The new turbines will be positioned up to 205km off the coast, compared with 25km currently, and are likely to be much bigger. Onshore turbines have a typical maximum capacity of 2MW, but the new offshore models will generate 5MW. The distance from the shore will also make them more difficult to install and service.

However, such difficulties did not deter energy suppliers such as Centrica of the UK, Eon and RWE of Germany and Iberdrola of Spain from bidding for licences in Round Three, alongside companies such as Vattenfall of Sweden, Dong of Denmark and EDP of Portugal. A consortium including Npower and Statkraft of Norway won the licence for the biggest zone, in Dogger Bank, located in the North Sea off the east coast of England, which has the potential to produce 9GW of energy. The second largest zone, with a potential energy yield of 7.2GW, is at Norfolk Bank, also off the east coast. This licence was awarded to a consortium consisting of Scottish Power Renewables and Sweden’s Vattenfall Vindkraft. Proposals for the wind farms will now go through planning and consent stages, with construction beginning in 2014 at the earliest.

 

Northern Ireland Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said: “This was a mobile investment which could easily have gone elsewhere within the Seagate corporation, but for the strong case made by local management and the support offered by Invest NI. In making these investments in the North West [of Ireland], Seagate is once again demonstrating its confidence in our local workforce and suppliers and is helping to send a very strong signal to other potential international investors. … It is anticipated that commercial opportunities will exist across a wide range of industrial sectors and applications, including areas such as advanced composites, medical sensors, security devices and ICT.”

Another US company, CyberSource, plans to invest almost $4.3 million in R&D at its centre in Belfast, Northern Ireland’s capital. CyberSource is a world leader in the development of payment management solutions, with approximately 295,000 customers worldwide. Over the next three years, its Belfast team will design and develop new technologies based on Java software to enhance its payment platforms. Invest NI has provided over $956,000 of support for this initiative. Michael Walsh, president and CEO of CyberSource, said: “The level of talent and energy our Belfast team has brought to the organisation has exceeded our expectations. As the team grows, it will play a central role in achieving the strategic objectives of the company.”

Movidius, an award-winning mobile technology company from Dublin in the Irish Republic, has set up a $4.1 million R&D centre in Belfast, again with support from Invest NI. The project will apply revolutionary technology to enable manufacturers of mobile phones and other handheld devices to offer customers the ability to capture and edit high-resolution video directly on their handset, for sharing on social networking sites. A new company, Movidius (NI), located at ECIT (the Electronics, Communications and Information Technology Institute) in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter, will create nine posts for research engineers in silicon chip technology over the next 18 months.

Sean Mitchell, Movidius’ CEO, said: “The new Belfast centre, which we selected because of the availability of engineering professionals, particularly those with experience in embedded software and system on chip (SoC) design and development, will develop sophisticated imaging software and semiconductor technology to expand our product offerings for a rapidly growing market. ECIT is an ideal location for our leading-edge work in micro-processing technology because of its proven track record of success, its world-class expertise in technologies for a wide range of industries and its partnerships with global IT businesses.”

Finally, UK-based Parity Solutions is to establish a Microsoft Centre of Excellence in Belfast. With $964,000 of support from Invest NI, it plans to create up to 94 skilled software development and consultancy positions by 2012. One of the first Microsoft Gold Certified Partners in Europe, the company plans to develop innovative information management solutions, based on the Microsoft Platform for Public and Private Sector Organisations. Arlene Foster commented: “Parity has over 40 years’ experience in delivering IT, business and recruitment solutions in the UK and Ireland. The decision to expand operations in Belfast reflects the success of Parity’s current operation, the confidence it has in being able to recruit high-calibre IT professionals and its commitment to Northern Ireland.”


 

Budget airline Ryanair is to build a second maintenance hangar at Prestwick Airport, near Glasgow in Scotland, creating up to 200 new jobs. The $12.2 million investment, supported by $2.3 million from the Scottish government, will enable the two facilities to service Ryanair’s fleet of more than 200 aircraft. The airline also said that it would run three new routes from Edinburgh Airport to Faro, Paris and Marrakech from May. In addition, there will be increased frequency on 16 other routes from Edinburgh and Prestwick this summer. The carrier’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, said: “Ryanair’s successful growth in Scotland is possible thanks to our on-going partnership with the Scottish government and Scottish Enterprise, who have repeatedly supported our vision for many more low-fare flights to and from Scotland.”
 

Regional news
A US-owned consumer electronics firm has announced plans to create 1,000 UK technical support jobs by 2015. Best Buy will open its first stores this spring in Southampton (South East England), Merry Hill near Dudley (West Midlands) and Thurrock in Essex (Eastern England). The stores will sell audio visual equipment, computing technology, appliances, entertainment devices, mobile phones, music, movies and games. The 1,000 after-sales support jobs are among 8,000 that the firm has said its stores will create. Paul Antoniadis, chief executive of Best Buy branded operations, said: “Our focus is on helping our customers make buying technology simple, exciting and interactive.”

Hollywood film studio Warner Bros has applied for planning permission to buy and refurbish Leavesden Studios in Watford, South East England, and is planning to make the facility its permanent UK base. This will be the first time that a major Hollywood studio has left Los Angeles to set up a base in a new territory. Leavesden has provided the backdrop for some of the biggest movies of the past decade, including the Harry Potter series and The Dark Knight. Warner Bros plans to invest in the studio’s visual effects, prosthetics, animatronics and film editing facilities, as well as expanding the external production areas. A company spokesperson said: “This proposal is central to our long-term plans to invest in the local production community, to create local and industry employment opportunities, and to continue the legacy of exceptional British film-making at Leavesden and across the UK.”

Software technology company handPoint has relocated its headquarters from Iceland to Cambridge in Eastern England. The company, a market leader in mobile point of sale and payments software (mPOS) for handheld devices, said that its UK operations would expand from two to six employees, and that it will recruit further staff in 2010. It will also consolidate its existing office in Stansted to the new base on Cambourne Business Park. According to handPoint managing director David Gudjonsson, the UK is the most advanced country for mPOS technology and it made sense to move the company’s HQ from Reykjavik in order to expand in the UK and in other European countries. “Cambridge … has perfectly met our needs,” he said. “mPOS technology is rapidly gaining momentum, and as the market experts we knew we had to move our HQ and sales operations to the UK in order to make the most of it.”

Japanese-owned company Hoshizaki, which manufactures commercial ice-making machines, has moved into a new 70,000 sq ft base on the Stafford Park industrial estate in Telford, West Midlands. The move has doubled the size of its premises, safeguarding more than 40 jobs and creating five new positions. This follows the company’s recent designation as the UK distribution hub for all Hoshizaki Group products. The Telford site is part of Hoshizaki Europe, which started trading in 1994. It makes ice machines for a wide range of catering customers, including ice flaking machines for the fish retailing sector and ice cubes for the restaurant and hotel sector. Eighty per cent of its products are exported. Hoshizaki is the first manufacturer in its sector to have developed a range of commercial-scale HFC-free machines that satisfy the strictest EU safety legislation. Its parent company, Hoshizaki Electric Corporation, was established in 1947 in Nagoya, Japan and today has 46 affiliated companies around the world and 10,000 employees.

Plans for an Islamic finance school in Birmingham in the West Midlands have been boosted by a $2.3 million cash injection from Dubai-based trading firm Surgi-Tech. The company has pledged the funding as part of a drive to improve knowledge and understanding of Islamic financial principles across the UK. The Islamic Finance and Business Centre at Aston Business School will offer MScs and doctorates in Islamic finance to overseas students, investors and executives. Bahaa El Din El Sharaani, president and chief executive of Surgi-Tech, said: “Islamic finance is growing at a fast rate and is gaining in confidence. It has suffered far less from current turmoil than the [mainstream] financial system and may offer positives that we should investigate.” Birmingham is a financial hub for the UK Muslim’s community, having a 150,000-strong Muslim population and being the base for the Islamic Bank of Britain.

Finnish food company Raiso Group has acquired snacks and sweets group Glisten, based in Leeds, Yorkshire and Humber, in a $30 million deal. Raiso established a new company, Bidco, to make the acquisition. The Finnish group has an 85 per cent shareholding in Bidco, with Glisten’s existing management team holding the remainder. Glisten’s CEO, Paul Simmonds, said: “We believe this coming together with Raisio is exactly the right path for the business to take now. The fit in terms of ambitions, skills and capabilities is excellent and both parties will bring something to the other, not least in access to market, branding, and product development. We look forward to working within the Raisio team to develop Glisten’s position as one of the best snacking businesses in Europe.”

UK firm Xeros Ltd is developing a “virtually waterless” washing machine that uses polymer beads as a cleaning agent. The process saves up to 90 per cent of water compared with normal washing machines, according to the company. Xeros is trying to break into the global laundry products market, which is expected to reach around $54.5 billion in 2010. The system is being developed at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, South Yorkshire and the firm is commercialising the process at its laboratories in Leeds. The technology was developed over a period of 30 years at the University of Leeds by textile chemistry professor Stephen Burkinshaw. CEO Bill Westwater said that the company is hoping for new opportunities from working with industry innovators and international brands.

Typhoo Tea, which was acquired by India’s Apeejay Surrendra Group in 2005, has opened a new speciality tea packing facility at its Moreton site on the Wirral, Merseyside in North West England, adding 10 new jobs to the 277-strong workforce. The new room will pack speciality teas from around the world into metal caddies, cartons and specially-designed gift packs. Most of these will be destined for prestigious London retailer Harrods, where the tea will be sold under the store’s own brand. Typhoo has packed speciality teas for Harrods since 2006 in the south of England, but after investing in a new manufacturing facility at Moreton, the contract has been switched to the Wirral. Typhoo chief executive Keith Packer said: “It offers our customers yet another alternative on existing or new products and highlights our diverse production capabilities.”

The NWDA and the investment and development agencies for Manchester and Liverpool, MIDAS and The Mersey Partnership, have launched a scheme that offers overseas investors free office space in serviced accommodation for a year. The ‘soft landing’ scheme, called ‘Hello North West’, gives foreign companies the opportunity to test out markets before permanently relocating to the region. There are also localised versions of the scheme, ‘Hello Liverpool’ and ‘Hello Manchester’. Foreign-owned firms can take up the offer of one rent-free desk for 12 months at a range of key locations, with support from serviced office providers Avanta, Bruntwood and Orega, and Manchester Science Park, Liverpool Science Park and Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus. According to a 2008 study, FDI accounts for 17 per cent of the region’s gross value added (GVA), and workers in overseas companies create almost 50 per cent more economic output than the regional average.

Administrators acting for Artenius UK Limited (AUK) have announced the sale of all the company’s operational assets to Lotte Chemical UK Limited (LCUK), a UK-based subsidiary of KP Chemical Corporation, an affiliate of the Lotte Group based in Korea. The sale, which is subject to European Commission competition clearance, includes AUK’s PTA and PET manufacturing facilities at Wilton, Teesside in North East England. The remaining AUK workforce will also transfer to LCUK, safeguarding the jobs of 41 employees. RDA One North East has approved a GBI investment of $2.8 million to help LCUK acquire the AUK assets, which could also create 132 new jobs at the Wilton plant. Soo-Young Huh, CEO and president of KP Chemical Corporation, said: “This acquisition represents the next steps in the globalisation plans of the Lotte Group, which intends to reach around $61.2 billion turnover in its chemical division over the next eight years. … I am eagerly anticipating watching the first product leave the site in early April.”

EJ Badekabiner Ltd (EJB), a UK subsidiary of Danish group E J Badekabiner Holding, is transferring operations from its parent company in Denmark to Northumberland, North East England, creating over 80 new jobs. The company specialises in the manufacture of concrete and steel bathroom pods – fully-fitted units including tiling, electrics and plumbing – to a large portfolio of clients including the Ministry of Defence, hotels and student accommodation providers. The Danish board decided to close its production facilities in Denmark and consolidate at its premises at Bassington Industrial Estate in Cramlington because of the market potential, skilled workforce and package of support available in the region. This support includes a grant of $306,000 from RDA One North East. A total of 82 jobs, including blacksmiths, concrete casters, tilers and electricians will be created, adding to the already 126-strong workforce. Niels Sandahl, managing director at EJ-Badekabiner UK Ltd, said: “This major decision is a testament to the confidence that the EJB Board and management teams have in the UK workforce, through their skill and commitment to achieve the business plan set out for the next two years and beyond.”

French company Fillcare, which bought the former L’Oréal factory near Llantrisant in South Wales in 2009, is to create almost 200 new jobs by investing $10.7 million at the site. Fillcare took over the plant in Talbot Green, Rhondda Cynon Taff, last summer, retaining 66 staff, after cosmetics company L’Oréal transferred production abroad. The company, which manufactures and packages hair care and styling products for leading brands, is owned by Fareva Holding and is the group’s only UK facility. It said it would expand manufacturing for other brands and planned to move into the aerosol market. The aim is to create nearly 200 new jobs over the next four years, with recruitment expected to start in the autumn. The expansion involves the installation of three new manufacturing lines, which are due to be commissioned in April and will be in production later on this year. The investment is being supported by the Welsh Assembly Government. Managing director Thomas Jacquemet said: “We have already won new orders providing contract manufacturing for established market brands and have the advantage of being able to offer them the latest technology.”

The Welsh Assembly Government has launched a new business support website. The Flexible Support for Businesses portal brings together more than 1,000 online information guides and 60 interactive diagnostic tools to help entrepreneurs to improve their businesses. It also includes details of the Assembly’s main business funding programmes, the Single Investment Fund and the Local Investment Fund. For further information, visit: http://fs4b.wales.gov.uk

Scotland is the leading UK destination for people looking to relocate from around the world, according to a survey by TalentScotland. Of 1,600 respondents polled in America, Africa, the European Union and Asia, 58 per cent selected Scotland as their top choice location to live and work. Scotland’s popularity increased from the previous year’s survey, rising by 9 per cent from 49 per cent. The survey is carried out annually by TalentScotland, which showcases Scotland as an attractive place to live and work. Hazel Sinclair, head of the agency, said: “TalentScotland has already helped hundreds of people relocate to Scotland. With high-value and exciting jobs in key sectors, including electronics, energy, life sciences and financial services, we have fantastic opportunities for those looking to develop their career. Scotland is also blessed with many of the quality of life factors that jobseekers find important.”

Northern Ireland Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster has congratulated machinery manufacturer Sandvik Ballygawley on the production of its 2,000th machine. The Sandvik Group of Sweden acquired the Fintec Crushing and Screening facility in County Tyrone three years ago. Working with Invest Northern Ireland, Sandvik has developed the capability of Fintec’s manufacturing site and maintained its position as a world leader in the design and manufacture of mobile crushing machinery. Liam Henry of Sandvik Ballygawley said: “We pride ourselves on the innovative, high-quality nature of the crushing and screening products designed and manufactured at our state-of-the-art facility in County Tyrone. While the market is certainly not as buoyant as it once was, we have maintained sales at a steady level by continuing to actively target sales in key markets and invest in skills and product development.”

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