10 minute read
Business Engage Profiles
Businesses across Coventry and Warwickshire are being invited to get involved in a ground-breaking project to help smarten up the region’s canal towpaths.
The Canal & River Trust in the West Midlands has recently completed improvement works on a 2km stretch of towpath in Brewood, near Wolverhampton.
The works have helped transform a stretch of towpath along the Shropshire Union Canal, and make it suitable for use all year round by people on foot or bike as well as those with wheelchairs or buggies. The Trust is looking to mirror the project across canals in Coventry and Warwickshire.
The original project has been described as the first scheme of its type for the Trust
Canal & River
Trust West Midlands
as it has received significant support from the Central Rail Systems Alliance (CRSA).
Fifty volunteers were provided over an eight-week period by CRSA – an alliance between Network Rail, Balfour Beatty, Atkins and TSO – who have been helping on improvement programmes all around the country, while The Veolia Environmental Trust donated £45,000 to pay for materials and machinery.
Terry Hodgetts, Business and Corporate Engagement Partner for the West Midlands Region at Canal & River Trust, said: “We have been so thankful of the support from the CRSA and The Veolia Environmental Trust.
“We have more than 559 miles of canals across the West Midlands and as a charity we rely on all the help and support we can get to keep our historic waterways in a condition for everyone to enjoy.
“This particular project in Brewood has been the first of its kind for us and highlights the fabulous community spirit of some of the local companies in our area, and we are now looking to expand this into Coventry and Warwickshire as we continue our improvement programme.”
Stephen Welsh, CRSA Operations Director, NW&C, added: “Working in our communities and creating social value is something that is very important to us as a company.
“We strive to always work in sustainable and economical ways and also leave a positive environmental footprint and do things that will benefit our community.
“We supported the Canal & River Trust from our Aston depot on this occasion and were delighted to offer our highly-skilled workers.
“Our volunteer programmes are all about encouraging our workers to give their time to good causes, and we are delighted to have helped.”
For details on how to get involved, email terry.hodgetts@canalrivertrust.org.uk
Raising a glass
this Christmas
An award-winning Warwickshire distillery is looking forward to a bumper Christmas after two years of feeling ‘on hold’.
Independent business Warwickshire Gin Company is seeing strong interest in its range of corporate gift sets that can include a mix of its five distinctive gins, one rum and one vodka that are all distilled in Leamington using a traditional copper pot still.
The boxes for the sets can be designed to include corporate logos and make the ideal gift for clients or staff.
And David Blick, who founded Warwickshire Gin Company in 2018, said a successful festive period would be the perfect sign-off to a year that has seen the business begin to put the Covid-19 pandemic behind it.
He said: “It was really tough. We established ourselves in 2018 to create a range of products inspired by the spirit of Warwickshire, developing flavours that represent the county’s unique history.
“But then Covid hit and a lot of our customers – such as bars and hotels – had to close and it was a battle to survive.
“This year has seen lots of those venues back open and we’ve had some great support from a range of local hotels that wanted to utilise the services and products of a local supplier like us. We also take bookings from businesses that want to do gin tasting sessions and from individuals too, which again was something that was difficult to do at the height of Covid.
“It felt like we were on hold so soon after starting the business, so 2022 has been a bit of a relaunch for us and we are hoping that Christmas is going to prove popular for our product range.
“We have some great gift sets that start at £18 and really offer a high-quality, distinctive gift for clients and staff alike.
“We can distribute directly so it takes all the strain from our customers. It’s something we’ve done in previous years but, this time, we’ve had more opportunity to market what is available and we hope it will pay off and make the end of 2022 a positive one.”
The company stocks five gins – Leamington on Parade, Kingmaker, The Philosopher’s Daughter, Pelota and Peeping Tom – alongside its Kingmaker vodka and The Pugilist rum.
David employs two members of staff and says sales are up 15 per cent compared to 2021.
He added: “We joined the Chamber because we thought it was a great way to get the message across of what we can offer to fellow local businesses and we would love to help them treat their staff and customers this festive season.”
For more information on Warwickshire Gin Company and to find out about its product range go to www.warwickshiregincompany.co.uk
Consultancy set for further growth
A long-established Warwickshire health, safety, quality and environmental management consultancy is continuing to expand its services online and across the UK.
WA Management was set up in 1979 by George Alan Whittaker to focus on quality management in engineering and he was succeeded by his son, Rodger, in 1989.
Rodger’s son, William Whittaker, the present Managing Consultant, took the reins 17 years ago and has shaped the business into its current guise as a specialist in health and safety services, the implementation of management systems and providing in-person and online training.
And it is online training which is experiencing a real boom with WA Management now providing over 65 e-learning courses covering key health and safety, wellbeing and business protection topics ranging from asbestos awareness to mental health awareness.
The business, which is based in Dormer Place, Leamington, is also extending its UK reach into the North East.
William said: “We’re a compliance consultancy which means we can provide health and safety audits, quality management such as implementing ISO:9001, environmental management and data security.
“It’s very common that when companies are bidding for work or are added to a suppliers list such as the NHS or a large manufacturing business such as Jaguar Land Rover, they are sent a pre-qualification questionnaire and that’s when young or growing companies come to us to ensure they have the necessary documents in order.
“In addition, we are contacted by companies as they become larger and working in potentially high-risk industries such as construction or manufacturing.
“That’s because they want to do the right thing by their staff to make sure their work procedures are as safe as they can be by carrying out risk assessments, training or occupational health courses - particularly those exposed to noise, vibration or dust.”
The vast majority of WA Management’s clients are based in the Midlands from Warwickshire to Staffordshire and Northamptonshire to Oxfordshire, with their remaining customers in London and Manchester – but that is about to be extended further north.
“One of our team, Jake Sansom, hails from Northumberland and we are supporting him since as well as going to London, he is going to be heading up our new office in the North East,” William said.
“Much of our work can be carried out remotely and that has been demonstrated by the demand for our online training courses.
“We used to do 100 per cent face-to-face training and you still need that for the practical elements of a first aid course but on a three-day first aid course, 33 per cent of the course which is the theory can be carried out before you arrive so it is great in terms of saving staff time.
“Other courses such as asbestos awareness and mental health awareness are really flexible and can be carried out totally online.
“We also source PPE such as gloves and masks which is adding value for our health and safety customers.”
For more information on WA Management, please visit www.wamanagement.co.uk
From the left, Jack Stevens (SHEQ Consultant), Neil Ward (Training Consultant), and William Whittaker (Managing Consultant) from WA Management
Celebrate the gift of giving this Christmas
- and help change families’ lives by funding an amazing Cuddle Bed
Christmas is a time of joy, of celebration and of thanks.
And nowhere are these emotions felt more than at The Myton Hospices.
Many patients and their families will be facing what will most likely be their last Christmas together – doing all they can to make sure every moment of every day is as special as it can be and making everlasting memories.
Which is why the season of goodwill is especially important to us – and why we’re hoping to do something extra wonderful this yuletide.
This year, we’ve added a very special item to our Festive Fun Days Christmas Wish List – an amazing Cuddle Bed – but we need to raise £14,500 to make that dream a reality, and your help to do it.
Cuddle Beds are a bespoke type of Hospice bed, which fold out to enable a patient’s loved ones to lie alongside them, giving them the most special of cuddles at a time when they need it most.
And we hope the support of our fellow Chamber members and businesses across the region will enable us to unwrap this wonderful present and make Christmas even more special for our patients and their loved ones.
So how can you help?
Simply get into the Christmas spirit by wearing a festive jumper, flashing tie, sparkly earrings (or anything else suitably festive) on a day of your choosing in the run-up to Christmas.
And if that’s not your cup of egg nog, why not host a festive quiz, hold a party, or simply make a donation to help us realise our Cuddle Bed dream?
What better gift to give this Christmas than the gift of a most precious cuddle?
You can donate your Festive Fun Days proceeds in all the usual ways – but for anyone wanting to make a straight-forward donation to the campaign, you can do so here: www.mytonhospice.org/cuddle
We rely almost entirely on the support of the local community across Coventry and Warwickshire to fund the amazing work we do, having to raise a staggering £9.1 million each year to run our three hospices in Coventry, Rugby and Warwick, our patient and family support services and our community services through Myton at Home.
Throughout the festive season – and beyond – there are so many ways you can support.
You could remember a loved one through our fabulous Light up a Life remembrance services at all of our Hospices.
Or why not get involved and help us raise as much money as possible on #GivingTuesday on November 29.
Ever-popular is the seasonal calendar highlight that is Myton’s Santa Dash, taking place in Victoria Park in Leamington on Sunday, December 11.
Also, back by popular demand this year is Myton’s Santa Sleigh, which will be hitting the streets of Warwick this December.
Details of the Festive Fun Days campaign, all the above events, how you can sign up, or how you can make a donation to Myton can be found on the website – www.mytonhospice.org
Thank you in advance – and wishing you a very Merry Christmas from everyone at The Myton Hospices.
