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Lee and Jo Prescott from Velo Atelier
Digital support sets wheels in motion for growth
An ongoing commitment by amateur cyclists to invest in their bikes has seen a Warwickshire business that designs, makes and fits them emerge as a COVID pandemic success story.
Velo Atelier, which was set up in 2015 and is run by bike designer Lee Prescott and his wife, Jo, has also been supported with digital skills training that has helped it to grow its market share during the crisis.
Lee, 47, who studied product design at Coventry University, has a good pedigree in the bike industry, with a CV that includes working as head of design for the world-famous Stratford-uponAvon-based Pashley Cycles.
After establishing his own full design and fit service, Velo Atelier, he also created his own brand, Meteor Works - named after the factory in Coventry where J K Starley invented the modern bicycle.
Both are based at Hatton Technology Park and have a growing customer base, locally and nationally, which appears to be as keen as ever to spend time and money on their bikes.
The business has also been boosted by government guidelines that have allowed bike shops to remain open for much of the pandemic.
But it was during last year that the couple also decided that the next stage of the company’s development was to move their online presence up a gear.
They signed up to Warwickshire County Council-funded workshops and one-to-one support to improve their digital skills, delivered by Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce and Stories Marketing, and funded through the council’s Warwickshire Towns Network programme.
Jo, 48, said: “Purely looking at the metrics, the number of hits, likes, follows and shares have gone up since we started to employ the tactics we took away from the workshops. The level of detail in them was incredible and we came out with a clear road map of how we’d be able to better use and improve our social media.”
Timeline welcome but crisis not over for business
The roadmap out of lockdown has been welcomed by the Chamber – but the organisation has warned that firms in the region will still need more support to survive the COVID-19 crisis.
In an address to Parliament in February, prime minister Boris Johnson set out the timeline when restrictions could be gradually lifted but said the easing of lockdown would be guided by data not dates.
He said he wanted the current lockdown to be the last and the easing of restrictions to be irreversible, beginning with the reopening of schools and other education establishments on March 8 and building to a potential full reopening of society and the economy on June 21.
Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “It has been a huge challenge for the government to get the balance right and those in business will welcome the sentiment that this should be the final lockdown and will, therefore, support the cautious reopening of the economy based on the data at the time.
“The vaccines – one of which was famously administered for the first time here in Coventry – has given us a light at the end of the tunnel and, hopefully, a summer we can look forward to, particularly with UK City of Culture getting underway in May in Coventry.
“However, that optimism will be shortlived for many businesses if they run out of cash between now and when they are able to reopen.”
Ahead of the Budget, Louise Bennett called for extensions to the furlough scheme and business rate holidays to give companies breathing space.
She added: “Further to that, we must have a plan of support for when the economy does reopen. For many firms, it won’t simply be a case of flicking a switch as so many have lay dormant for a big part of the past year.”
James Davies (The Wigley Group), Stephen Vaughan (Wasps Group), Charlie Brooks (Wigley Building & Development)
Gallagher Premiership rugby club Wasps has appointed Warwickshirebased construction firm Wigley Building & Development to create its new highperformance centre.
Wasps bought a former sports and leisure centre in Henley-in-Arden, after choosing it as the site for a state-of-the-art training base.
The construction firm, part of The Wigley Group in Stockton, will carry out all of the
The Wigley Group wins training HQ contract
building, renovation and improvement works including upgrading an artificial pitch into an RFU compliant 3G+ surface, converting an existing area into a new training pitch, and the transformation of a former storage area into a new full-size training pitch.
Internal works on the site on Stratford Road will include the creation of a purpose-built gym, offices for coaching and administration staff, media centre and medical complex. The £2m construction contract will also see extensive renovations of the 13-acre site.
When finished, it will be the first permanent training ground for the club, which has been based at Broadstreet Rugby Club in Coventry since moving to the region in December 2014.
Charlie Brooks, construction director at Wigley Building & Development, said: “This is a major project for the future of Wasps, for the region and also for our company.
“We are delighted to have been selected not only as it is a prestigious contract for us to undertake, but also because, as a group, we are big supporters of Wasps and it is great to see them put down more roots in our area.”
Work on the pitches will be completed in the summer with completion due for the start of the next season.
Stephen Vaughan, Wasps group chief executive, said: “We are really excited to see The Wigley Group starting work on a home for our men’s first team and academy.
“It has been the missing part of the jigsaw for us and we believe it will help accelerate our plans to build a team which is consistently pushing for honours at the top end of the game.”
Safety success for National Express
National Express Coventry is celebrating recognition for its continued commitment to safety.
The region’s largest bus operator has been awarded a top five-star result from the British Safety Council for the fifth year running.
Organisations from more than 77 countries put themselves forward for a gruelling health and safety audit by an external assessor. The challenging tests go beyond legal health and safety minimum requirements to judge companies on absolute best practice in safety culture, leadership and wellbeing.
A company must score 92% and above to get five stars. National Express Coventry achieved a result of 96.14%.
The report identified “a very high standard of occupational health and safety management across the organisation, excellent and compliant systems in place for the management of significant hazards and a good health and safety culture”.
Mark Heffernan, National Express UK operations & safety director, said: “The safety of our passengers, employees and the general public is our number one priority and we set ourselves high standards to work to.
“To once again be externally recognised for our efforts in this area is testament to our commitment and the effort of every individual at National Express Coventry. We believe everyone is responsible for safety, which is key to us keeping such high standards.”
David Parr, policy and technical services director at the British Safety Council, said: “The award of a five-star grading following our occupational best practice health and safety audit is an outstanding achievement and is reflective of a proactive organisation which is committed to continual improvement in its health and safety arrangements and managing risks to workers’ health, safety and welfare. National Express should be very proud of this achievement.”
The business was also granted continued ISO 45001:2018 certification – an international standard that specifies requirements for an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system.
Strictly star backs charity’s call to tackle waterways plastic pollution
Waterways and wellbeing charity Canal & River Trust and Strictly Come Dancing winner Bill Bailey are calling on people across Coventry & Warwickshire to boost their health and happiness and make a difference in their local communities by joining the fight against plastic pollution.
Canals and rivers have been havens for mental and physical health during the pandemic, with more weekly visits to local towpaths since last March in many urban areas. However, this has been accompanied by a rise in littering, up 68% in 2020, putting the nation’s precious waterway wildlife habitats at risk and causing an unsightly problem.
By combining a Plastics Challenge litter pick with their local daily exercise, people can help stop 14 million pieces of plastic and litter from entering the canals and rivers each year.
The charity has teamed up with Bill Bailey and other celebrities including Deborah Meaden, Eamon Holmes, Saira Khan, Helen Glover and Nicola Thorp to share this important message and encourage people to get involved. The Wombles characters, who famously help the environment by collecting and recycling rubbish in creative ways, are also supporting the campaign with a short, animated film.
Comedian and keen paddle boarder, Bill Bailey, said: “Plastic is a huge issue and it’s only going to take a massive effort of will to make an impact. If everyone gets involved by doing a little bit when they are out on the towpath, we can make a significant difference, catching it at source before it floats out to sea. Please join the Canal & River Trust’s Plastics Challenge to help make your local canal a place all of us can enjoy.”
To make a pledge to support the Canal & River Trust’s Plastics Challenge, visit www.canalrivertrust.org.uk/plasticschallenge
Advanced technology to fast-track recycling revolution
Intelligent and affordable robotics can revolutionise waste management
Intelligent waste management start-up Recycleye has worked with the Coventry-based Manufacturing Technology Centre to bring artificial intelligence (AI) and affordable robotics to bear on the waste management industry.
The link-up between London-based Recycleye and the MTC to develop an easy retro-fittable robot waste picker, which scaled from research and development to industrialisation within a year, combines Recycleye’s vision system with AI and robotics to sort waste efficiently.
Manual waste picking is no longer equipped to handle the two trillion tonnes of waste produced globally each year. The repetitive nature of waste sorting has exposed pickers to long-term health conditions, leading to a high labour turnover. Health hazards have been further exacerbated by COVID-19 as the spread of the virus has threatened entire plant closures. In addition, Brexit is expected to place a significant strain on the ability to find and recruit pickers, leaving recycling facilities unable to keep up with the demands of waste sorting.
Recycleye’s intelligent picking system is powered by Recycleye Vision - a world leading AI computer vision system which detects all items on waste streams by material, item and even brand. As a modular, automated sorting solution, Recycleye Robotics successfully adapts to changing waste composition without any need for retrofit.
Matthew Arnold, software engineer at Recycleye, said: “Working with the MTC has been pivotal in helping Recycleye move closer to achieving its mission to accelerate the world’s transition towards a circular economy. The low cost of Recycleye’s picker is de-risking the automation process for the waste management industry, enabling more materials to be recycled.
“The deployment of Recycleye’s robotic waste picker successfully mitigates the risks and costs associated with manual sorting. In particular, admin costs such as hiring and training are eliminated. While manual pickers work in shifts, Recycleye’s robotic picker can work continuously without any need for breaks, increasing total throughput of material recovery facilities by up to 110%.”
For more information visit www.the-mtc.org
Volunteer Expo to go virtual in 2021
The UK’s new national volunteering show is coming to life on May 7 and 8 to celebrate those who love to give something back.
COVID-19 has shown how vital the dedication of key workers, volunteers, charities and social impact organisations has been in keeping society together.
At a time where income streams are less reliable, but the demand for services has increased, organisations providing vital support are more stretched than ever.
Originally scheduled to take place in May 2020 but postponed, Volunteer Expo is now going virtual, bringing you everything a live event has to offer in the comfort of your own home.
Hosted by Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland, Volunteer Expo Online is totally free, so whatever cause you’re interested in and if you’ve never volunteered before but aren’t sure where to start, there is something for you to see, do or learn.
Amanda Watkin, general secretary of Rotary, said: “The idea behind Rotary launching this event a few years ago was to highlight the amazing impact that volunteering makes to society.
“Although much has changed since, the coronavirus pandemic has thrown into sharp focus, not only the need for volunteers, but the appetite people have to pull together in their community.”
Volunteer Expo Online will offer the opportunity to meet with over 60 leading local, national and global charities and organisations in a virtual exhibition.
There is also an inspiring programme of speaker sessions and Q&As with celebrity campaigners, charity leaders and real-life volunteering heroes. In addition, you can engage in interactive online workshops covering topics such as mental health and the environment.
Volunteer Expo Online also presents a great opportunity for businesses with a social conscience, employee volunteering scheme or those that encourage continued professional development for employees.
To book free tickets, visit www.volunteerexpo.vfairs.com
“Although much has changed since, the coronavirus pandemic has thrown into sharp focus, not only the need for volunteers, but the appetite people have to pull together in their community. Volunteer Expo Online will offer the opportunity to meet with over 60 leading local, national and global charities and organisations in a virtual exhibition.”
Utility Team has officially launched its new ARC (Automated Response Command) energy efficiency software – a solution designed and built to optimise the cooling loads of commercial and industrial chiller plant.
Live field tests of the ARC software across a range of sectors have delivered impressive reductions in energy usage of between 8 and 20%. As cooling loads often account for some 60% of the total energy site consumption, the savings delivered by ARC profoundly benefit a business’s commercial and environmental performance.
ARC is a self-learning software that constantly monitors and logs plant output, total energy consumption, and common header temperatures. ARC then uses this data to predict what is going to happen within the plant, based on historic events under the same ambient conditions and then recommends optimal adjustments accordingly. The software constantly monitors its own performance to account for seasonal demand changes and adiabatic conditions. It is important to note that ARC does not replace the existing controls on the plant but rather uses them to optimise performance.
Christopher Toze, managing director of ARC and head of energy services at Utility Team, said: “During the development process, we were excited about the anticipated energy savings ARC could deliver. Having undertaken months of real-world testing, the efficacy of ARC has exceeded all expectations.
“ARC is a fully packaged solution that is simple to install, is backed with performance guarantees and robust measurement and verification, and has an innovative Software as a Solution (SaaS) model that removes barriers to investment.
“Whilst initially launching in the UK, the ARC team has global ambitions. We believe ARC will have a significant positive impact in the fight to combat climate change by reducing the energy usage of commercial and industrial chiller plant as demand for cooling increases.”
For more information visit https://www.utilityteam.co.uk/arc
