Business Matters Winter 2013 edition

Business

Matters WINTER 2013 EDITION

HELPING RENFREWSHIRE GROW & PROSPER

ROCCO 2013

THE WINNERS Inside: Plus:

Main feature ROCCO 2013 Retail, Chamber annual review, schools & young people, members news & more‌

Business Matters Winter 2013

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President’s Welcome Members welcome to the last edition of Business Matters for 2013.

As the year draws to a close I wish to take this opportunity to remind the membership the highlights of what your Chamber has achieved in the last year • Business Mentoring matched 130 businesses with a mentor • We processed 14,000 export docs for 80 clients including world renowned companies Chivas Brothers, Diageo & Scottish Leather • 70 events attracted over 2,500 people • Continued membership growth now sitting at almost 600 • >200 bookings for our meeting rooms in our Business Centre at Glasgow Airport • Increased the number of Premier Partners to 17, our highest ever • Launched our Business Forum which will be held at regular intervals • The 1st Chamber in the UK to hold a cross party Independence debate • Our B2B event was extended to 2 days to include our first Conference titled “Business Matters in Renfrewshire” • For the 1st time we hosted the British Chamber Chief Executive Roundtable – bringing together Chamber CEOs from all around the UK to Renfrewshire • Our support for young people and employability continues unabated: We helped get 31 graduates into full time employment through the Graduate Recruitment Incentive.

(The 2nd round is now live). We attended a successful private meeting with Sir Ian Wood who is chairing the Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce. We sponsored and/or judged several competitions across our local schools, University of the West of Scotland and West College Scotland.

2014 will see us extend our work for young people with new initiatives across all education establishments.

• We continue to support and assist the excellent Invest in Renfrewshire initiative promoted by Renfrewshire Council – with its support during 2013 we had 4 people under the age of 24 working at the Chamber.

The Invest initiative is making a real difference – the number of unemployed young people is the lowest its been since Jan 2009

• Our 10th ROCCO awards were held in November. A great success – our largest ever ROCCO attracted 500 people and saw 16 ROCCOs awarded, the night raising £10K for local charities and good causes including Accord Hospice and Sailability (Sailing for the Disabled) • We passed with flying colours our audit of our Export Docs service – we have 5 staff fully certified to deliver this key service – more than any other Chamber in Scotland.

• A new Chamber service was started – R&D Tax Credits • Helping Skills Development Scotland deliver the Certificate of Work Readiness initiative by finding employers that can give short term opportunities for young unemployed people • Made donations to several charities & local good causes from our ROCCO fund By the time you read this our AGM will have taken place and have demonstrated your Chamber had another strong year with growth in all areas – delivering a healthy surplus and preserving a growing reserve – 2 areas all accredited Chambers are required to achieve.

We had our full 3 year audit from BCC during October. The newly updated & intensive audit covered 60+ areas including strategy, governance, finances and member services. I am delighted to inform you that we achieved 100%.

The foregoing combined with our full independent financial audit confirms that your chamber is a well-run organisation in every respect.

I hope you will agree from the above that your Chamber is in excellent health and delivers a great deal for the area from what is a relatively small team. I take this opportunity to thank all the team and Board for their hard work and commitment throughout 2013.

During 2013 there were many positive stories for Renfrewshire including: • The wonderful Paisley Abbey celebrated its 850th Anniversary.

• The Mod was held in Paisley for the first time in its history and was attended by people from all over the world and contributed an estimated £2.5 million to the local economy.

• Hillington Park celebrated its 75th year and announced an expansion programme.

• HP celebrated 25 years at its campus in Erskine • The globally recognised AFRC in Inchinnan has now doubled in size • More jobs are being created by Bray Controls, Rolls Royce, Peak Scientific and indeed our ROCCO sponsors Life Technologies at Inchinnan.

• House building has started all around Renfrewshire.

• Passenger numbers are up at our Airport, with many new routes and considerable investment announced in time for the Commonwealth Games next year • St Mirren won the league cup! – and the celebration and exemplary behaviour of the fans in Paisley afterwards showed just how important to the community the club is On a more sombre note, we lost a good friend earlier this year – Norman Simpson – an ex-Chief Executive at the Chamber, sadly passed away after a long battle with cancer.

All that remains for me to say is that whatever you are doing over the Festive season, I hope you get an opportunity to spend time with family and friends and recharge the batteries. 2014 is a big year for Scotland in many respects, including the 50th anniversary of your local Chamber. I encourage you to engage with your Chamber, use us to best effect for your business and together we can help Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper. Have a great Christmas and warm wishes for a healthy and prosperous 2014.

Tom Johnston, President Renfrewshire Chamber

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

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A Warm Welcome from our Chief Executive Welcome to the Winter 2013 edition of Business Matters, our final magazine this year. As Tom has said 2013 has been a very busy and successful year for the Chamber.

An update from myself on staff news: • Linda Perry, our Business Mentoring Executive has announced she is retiring at the end of January 2014. I wish to take this opportunity to thank Linda for her hard work and commitment to the Chamber since joining in the middle of 2010 – Linda has achieved her mentoring target every year and has been a key and very popular member of

the team with staff & the membership - and will be greatly missed. We wish Linda and her husband Brian best wishes for the future • Congratulations to Bob Grant who has been promoted to Deputy Chief Executive. Bob has been at the Chamber since spring of 2010. I also wish to take this opportunity to wish Bob and his future wife, Carolyn – all our best as they get married early in the New Year • Congratulations to Blair Stevenson, our recent Graduate Intern who now has a permanent full time job working for Glasgow Chamber in their Projects Team

success. Further features and content include: Schools update; Review of the Year; Retail feature and regular Chamber news The Chamber will be taking a well-deserved break from lunchtime on Christmas Eve and start back in the New Year. I wish all our members & readers a Merry Christmas and best wishes for a healthy, safe & prosperous 2014.

Our main themes in this edition are: ROCCO 2013, which was a fantastic

Bob Davidson, Chief Exec’

Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce Bute Court, St Andrews Drive, Glasgow Airport, PA3 2SW t: 0141 847 5450 / f: 0141 847 5499 e: info@renfrewshirechamber.com / w: www.renfrewshirechamber.com Next issue of Business Matters is Spring 2014 Deadline for editorial and adverts is 1st March, issued end of March 2014

PREMIER PARTNER

Business Matters Winter 2013

Advertising & Editorial: Euan Keltie 0141 847 5464 / e: ekeltie@renfrewshirechamber.com

Print and Design by: The Print Brokers (Scotland) Ltd / e: theprintbrokers@btinternet.com

Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce would like to acknowledge the support of our Premier Partners:

Printed on ECF paper sourced from sustainable forests using vegetable based inks.

Follow the chamber:

Business Matters Winter 2013

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COLIN PRIOR CAPTURES THE SCENE FOR WALKING FLOOR TRAILER

Earlier this year Malcolm Logistics launched the first of its uniquely branded walking floor trailers, depicting a magnificent “green” scene from the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.

The trailer has quickly become a highly visible and integral part of Malcolm’s specialist logistics service, delivering transport services to customers mainly in the renewables and recycling sectors.

Now, Malcolm Logistics has partnered with one of the world’s most respected landscape photographers, Colin Prior, to introduce yet another scenic-inspired trailer to its specialist equipment fleet.

In-keeping with its already established

landscape theme, Malcolm Logistics’ newest addition features one of Colin’s famous panoramic views of Loch Sunart, in the West Highlands of Scotland.

Malcolm’s walking floor trailer, in its regular livery, had already been chosen

by Legras Industries as a display vehicle at this year’s RWM exhibition, Europe’s leading waste management event.

However, given the success of Malcolm’s “Loch Lomond” themed predecessor, it was decided that the event offered the ideal opportunity to launch and showcase this second, visually stunning trailer.

Incorporating the walking floor trailers into the Malcolm fleet, has added a new

dimension to the company’s overall business profile. And, the launch of its specialist equipment service signifies a key move by Malcolm Logistics into a rapidly growing business sector.

Malcolm Logistics, a division of The Malcolm Group offers road, rail, warehousing and bonded warehousing solutions for customers, from locations across the UK. As a forward-thinking organisation The Malcolm Group focus is on developing marketable and highly innovative solutions, flexible enough to meet the challenges of the future - both commercially and environmentally.

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

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A New Year – a new start?

Sometimes employers use the end of the year as a time to ensure that the right staff are in place to help the business prosper. The government has announced a number of recent changes to employment law in an attempt to help employers. One innovation is the so-called “protected conversation”: the ability to have an off the record chat with an employee.

Protected conversations can give employers comfort of knowing that, providing the conversation is within the strict parameters that the legislation prescribes, such conversations are inadmissible in an unfair dismissal claim.

This innovation is in addition to existing “without prejudice” discussions which are more limited in scope, requiring a live dispute between employee and employer.

Protected conversations do not require a dispute and can be introduced by an employer when they wish. They can be a powerful tool in managing certain employment relationships.

The ACAS code and guidance documents provide useful tips in this area and advance planning is crucial to ensure that staff are properly managed and any issues arising (whether in terms of performance, conduct or capability) are dealt with promptly and robustly.

Care is needed when managing staff given the number of claims that can arise, their cost and the impact on the business.

Taking specialist employment law advice is important to ensure that the best result for the organisation is achieved.

Here’s to a happy and prosperous new year: all the best in 2014.

Celebrating Success

Euan Keltie, our Chamber Executive was presented with a special award in early December at the Renfrewshire Council Celebrate Success Awards held in Paisley Town Hall.

The award was in recognition of Euan being a model modern apprentice and an excellent example to young people. Euan who has just turned 20 joined the Chamber straight from the Recruit at age 17. At age 18 he was the youngest export docs certifier in the UK and is now learning about membership and our commercial products whilst we support him through this BA in Business Studies at University.

David Hoey, Partner, Accredited Employment Law Specialist

COMING TO A VENUE NEAR YOU...

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Business Matters Winter 2013

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Cardross Girl Wins Prestigious Silver Pendant at Royal National Mod in Paisley Ainsley Hamill hails from Cardross near Helensburgh. She started singing and performing from a young age. Her love of Scottish music was ignited at Cardross primary school and was developed further through singing with the Gaelic choir at Hermitage Academy.

Ainsley is a 2013 graduate of The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. At RCS she specialised in Gaelic Song under the tuition of Kenna Campbell and Mairi MacInnes, and Scots song, taught by Gordeanna McCulloch and Rod Paterson. Ainsley has this year been awarded the ‘Keepers of the Quaich’ scholarship by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She is also a current member of the ladies waulking song group ‘Bannal’.

This year, Ainsley had great success at the Royal National Mod, held in Paisley,

as she is the 2013 Silver Pendant Winner.

The Silver Pendant is the most prestigious award for Gaelic Learners, and can include some fierce competition. Ainsley fended off competition from previous Pop Idol winner Michelle McManus, and came out on top by winning 1st place in both qualifying competitions (The Margot Campbell Trophy and the Catherine M B Dunlop Quaich), and the overall Silver Pendant Prize.

To top things off, Ainsley also won The Morag Robb Memorial Salver for highest Gaelic marks throughout the Silver Pendant competition, and The Lochewe Branch Cup for the previous Mod winners competition.

Ainsley is also a member of Folk band Barluath who have continued to grow since forming in early 2010. They have delighted many audiences, such as with

their appearances at Celtic Connections, Linlithgow Folk Festival and PipingLive! to name only three. In November 2011, the band were invited to Washington DC as part of the Scottish Government’s St. Andrews Day celebrations in the USA, culminating in performances at The National Museum of Women in the Arts and the British Embassy.

Barluath were also winners of a prestigious ‘Danny Kyle Open Stage’ award at Celtic Connections 2012 and followed this up with their own slot at this year’s festival. The band released their debut album ‘Source’ on the Nimbus Alliance record label in September 2012 to widespread critical acclaim.

Ainsley will be performing at the Chamber Burns Lunch 30th Jan 2014 at Ingliston Country Club. www.barluath.com

St James Business Centre Paisley Art Centre pulled off a remarkable success earlier this month when they staged two performances of a new play ‘Linwood No More’ in the Foyer of the St. James Business Centre. The Building was the headquarters of Rootes Scotland with the foyer being the original showroom for the iconic Hillman Imp. When they decided to put on the play the Art Centre hoped that there would be sufficient interest to stage one performance of the play starring Vincent Friell. In the event two performances were sold out.

Paul Coulter an Imp enthusiast who had written and produced the poignant play was delighted with the enthusiastic local response. He said “I was extremely pleased, but not altogether surprised, that there was a large turnout. There are many opinions about the Rootes involvement at Linwood but one thing is certain the employment which it brought to the area was very welcome, albeit for only 20 years or so” Iain Irvine, one of the owners of St James, said “We thought that playing host to the Art Centre and the play was an appropriate

way to finish off this 50th Anniversary year which started with a successful Rally and unveiling of a Plaque at the Centre on the 2nd of May. We then had visits to the Centre from many enthusiasts throughout the year. There were visits from owners from America, South Africa, New Zealand and right across Europe. We welcomed every one of them. Nevertheless we were especially pleased to welcome one Australian who shipped his Imp from Australia to Vladivostok in Russia and then drove it 9000 kilometres to Linwood” “It really was a case of from Russia with Love”. “The Play brought this memorable year to a successful close and we were pleased to play our part” The Centre, being the home of some 50 companies, has an occupancy of over 90% for the fourth year in a row.

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

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Hillington Park Ends 75th Year On A High Note With one hundred and thirty thousand sq ft of new lettings and the commencement of a ten year, £50million investment programme, Hillington Park is ending its 75th year on a high.

The 417 acre business park, which is home to over 500 businesses employing over 6000 people, was founded in 1938 and is Scotland’s largest business park.

“It’s been a really exciting year for everyone associated with Hillington Park. We’ve celebrated the Park’s 75th anniversary, acquired the former RollsRoyce site, secured over 130,000 sqft of new lettings and begun important works to improve the arrival experience at the M8 junction,” said Jamie Cumming, Commercial Director at MEPC Hillington Park.

The transformation of Hillington Park’s arrival experience is part of MEPC’s planned, ten year £50m investment programme and stems directly from its ‘Sectorlight’ consultation programme last year where occupiers were asked about their views on improvements to the Park and its infrastructure.

Improvements to the soft landscaping will see new shrubbery, hedges and trees being planted along Hillington Road as well as new street lighting being installed along the same stretch and a new ‘totem’ welcome sign alongside a prominent new roundabout design on Hillington Road at Deanside Road.

Jamie Cumming said: “The improvements to the Park’s arrival experience are very exciting for everyone that works here, and for those visitors coming to visit the hundreds of companies based on the Park.

Our consultation last year highlighted areas of improvements and we are now actively implementing those changes as part of what we call Project Hillington.

We see this not only as important for the organisations located on the Park but also to those looking to relocate and to take advantage of our prime location.”

Roddy Proudfoot, Leasing Manager for MEPC Hillington Park added: “It’s been a very busy year for us in terms of new businesses moving to Hillington Park for the first time. Because we have such a diverse portfolio from large

manufacturing units to single occupancy office space, the Park appeals to a wide range of business types. Securing such a high level of new lettings, to go alongside the many leases being renewed by companies already here, is very positive for the local Renfrewshire economy as well as the wider Scottish economy.”

Jamie Cumming said: “The businesses based here contribute around £340million of economic wealth every year and are working in a range of sectors including renewables, light engineering, software design, logistics and the food & drinks industry. We know the combination of location, choice of property, lease flexibility and amenities are appealing to those looking for new bases in the west of Scotland and the more we can attract the more impact it will have in the local economy and community.

“There is so much activity going on at Hillington Park we’re confident that 2014 will be another exciting year.”

Together, we are

As Scotland’s largest and most established Business Park, Hillington Park is a safe, well maintained environment with two train stations, two minutes from the motorway and two miles from Glasgow International Airport.

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Business Matters Winter 2013

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NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS It will soon be time to make New Year’s resolutions. Maybe it’s finally time to lose weight or stop smoking.

Your tax affairs should be no different.

Here are a few simple resolutions to consider for the New Year: • Maximise Capital Allowances including Annual Investment Allowances (AIA). The AIA allows businesses to claim a tax deduction for certain expenditure in full, in the year it is incurred. By careful timing, it is possible to purchase larger capital items for your business in a tax efficient manner.

• Purchase “green” technology, such as energy saving products and low emission cars, which qualify for

accelerated allowances.

• Make a seasonal gift to your employees. A small gift like a turkey, or a bottle of wine is considered trivial and a taxable benefit for the employee.

• Ensure your business qualifies for Entrepreneurs Relief (and the 10% tax rate) on any future sale of your business or capital extractions.

• Incentivise key employees with tax efficient share awards rather than cash bonuses and preserve the businesses cash flow.

• Contribute to pension schemes. If your business makes the payment it should get a tax deduction, or if you make it personally then you should get tax relief.

• Think about your own Inheritance Tax position and plan ahead to minimise unnecessary liabilities.

• Remember to file your own Income Tax Return by 31 January, to avoid receiving an automatic late filing penalty.

INSPIRING BUSINESS PEOPLE

If you would like further ideas specifically related to you and your business, we would be delighted to discuss the possibilities with you.

Please contact Aileen Scott, Partner at Campbell Dallas, on 0141 886 6644 or aileen.scott@campbelldallas.co.uk.

50

YEARS

INSPIRING BUSINESS PEOPLE

1964 - 2014

50 years of Renfrewshire Chamber

Campbell Dallas is one of the CAMPBELL DALLAS LLP most dynamic and progressive Titanium 1 firms of independent Chartered King’s Inch Place Campbell Dallas is one of the CAMPBELL DALLAS LLP most dynamic and progressive Accountants Titanium 1 in Scotland.

Our Renfrew firms of independent Chartered King’s Inch Place Accountants in Scotland. Our clients Renfrew come in all shapes and PA4 8WF clients come in all shapes and PA4 8WF sizes and so do our disciplines. sizes and so do our disciplines.

We tailor our services and Contact Aileen Scott tailor our services and Contact Aileen Scott shape them to fit your needs. We Phone 0141 886 6644 Renfrewshire Chamber celebrates 50 years in 2014 – we are Ultimately we are focussed on Fax 0141 886 2773 needs.

Phone 0141 886 6644 your peace of mind and helping shape them to fit your still finalising plans but looking to hold an all member event you succeed. middle on of the year Fax and publish a commemorative booklet Ultimately we are focussed 0141 886 2773 documenting the history of the Chamber. www.campbelldallas.co.uk your peace of mind and helping you succeed.

We’ll share more info with our members as soon as we can. www.campbelldallas.co.uk

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

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Business Matters Winter 2013

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Erskine - Proud to care for Veterans Erskine is Scotland’s leading veterans’ charity. Our mission is to provide our residents with the best possible care and to support them to achieve maximum quality of life. We strive to care for as many members of the wider ex-service community as we can and will continue our work for as long as there is a need.

Excellence is our watchword. Each of our homes is different but all enjoy the highest possible standards of care, with modern, purpose built accommodation and, just as importantly, motivated and well trained staff.

We have five homes; three near the Erskine Bridge in Renfrewshire, one in the heart of Glasgow and one in Edinburgh.

Our strength lies in the commitment staff show to ensuring that the care and support we offer to our residents and their families meets their very individual needs. We help veterans start a new chapter in their lives. Our aim is to encourage the maximum level of independence appropriate to their needs.

We want our residents to live life to the full. At Erskine they enjoy:

• Their own room with en-suite facilities • Personal care with a designated key worker • Social evenings and outings • Extensive grounds and landscaped gardens • Visits to local sporting events, galleries and social clubs

• Physiotherapy, speech & language therapy, podiatry and banking services More people, with military associations, than ever before are eligible to receive care from Erskine. If you think we may be able to help you or a loved one please call 0141 814 4538 or visit our website www.erskine.org.uk

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

11 THE ROYAL ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

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Talented photography West College Scotland 0141students 581 2121 from w www.westcollegescotland.ac.uk have teamed up with Hillington Park to deliver an exciting new project.

When the College was approached by Hillington Park owners MEPC to work on photographic images to display throughout their Business Centre, the idea soon evolved into something far bigger.

Robert Tabor, Head of Photography at the College’s Paisley Campus explains: “When MEPC first approached us, they were looking for photography students to take images from around the Park to display throughout one of their business centres, Merlin House. Our initial meeting with MEPC and Wave PR inspired us to devise some really interesting ideas, and a new brief was created.

At the end of November, twenty of our HNC/HND Photography student captured images from across the Park – the brief was to capture ‘A Day in the Life of Hillington Park”.

The students’ time on the Park gave them access to a typical working day, from early-morning deliveries, to working lunches and social activities, Robert hopes that the final results will give a real insight into the Park and its people. “This has been a fantastic opportunity to bring our talented photography students together with an organisation as well-known and respected as Hillington Park. The students found their time working there to be really inspirational. With over 500 businesses and over 6000 people based at Hillington Park they were amazed and surprised at both the scale and variety of activities that take place”.

Once the final images are selected by MEPC, they intend to hold an exhibition in early 2014 to display the students’ work.

Alison Clark, Marketing and Customer Manager, MEPC thinks the potential for use of the students’ images is huge: “We are really excited about this project. When we first approached

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West College Scotland our brief was quite limited, however after speaking to their project team we realised the potential for the project was much higher. We have created a real community of businesses at the Park, and there is far more going on than people realise, from networking and business conferences to social activities and groups. We hope to come away from this project with some truly memorable images that capture the spirit and ethos of what it’s really like to work within Hillington Park”

Business Matters Winter 2013

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GLASGOW AIRPORT MD RECEIVES OBE AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE Glasgow Airport’s managing director, Amanda McMillan, has been presented with an OBE (Order of the British Empire) at a ceremony in London.

Ms McMillan discovered in June this year that she had been recognised by the Queen for services to business and tourism in the 2013 Birthday Honours List.

She was presented with her medal in the ballroom at Buckingham Palace.

The achievement recognises her contribution to business and tourism since becoming managing director of Glasgow Airport in 2008. During this period the airport has grown passenger numbers and secured new routes and services, including Emirates’ second daily Glasgow to Dubai flight. The airline has since reaffirmed its commitment to Glasgow through its sponsorship of the city’s Emirates Arena.

In addition to guiding the airport through the worst downturn in aviation history, Ms McMillan has worked closely with the airport’s city and national partners to promote Glasgow and Scotland as compelling markets to airlines and tour operators.

By expanding its route network and standing out from the crowd in terms of customer experience with the launch of a customer charter, Glasgow Airport has flourished under her stewardship.

Commenting on her award, Ms McMillan said: “When I heard I had been awarded an OBE it came as a huge surprise but it has finally sunk in. Being part of such a fantastic ceremony was a great honour and receiving an OBE at Buckingham Palace is a memory that will stay with me forever.

“To be recognised by the Queen in this way for doing my job is not only a source of great personal pride – I truly believe it recognises the people of Glasgow Airport who work tirelessly to ensure it delivers for the city and for Scotland.”

Earlier this year, Ms McMillan unveiled details of an ambitious £17 million investment programme which will see key parts of the main terminal building undergo a major makeover in 2013. This includes international arrivals which for many will be the gateway to the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

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Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

13

Second phase of Glasgow Airport’s £17m investment takes off The second phase of Glasgow Airport’s extensive preparations for the 2014 Commonwealth Games is now underway. Earlier this year the airport unveiled details of its £17 million investment programme which will see large parts of the main terminal building undergo a major makeover.

This includes international arrivals which for many will be the gateway to the Games.

Work was scheduled around the airport’s peak season and following the busy October week, contractors have now moved on-site to begin the refurbishment work. This will include the expansion and improvement of the international arrivals area, modernisations to the main checkin hall and £1.5 million will be spent on upgrading the toilet facilities.

This latest investment will ensure the airport is ready to play its part in what will be the largest sporting and cultural event Scotland will have ever hosted.

Other aspects of the refurbishment work will include new flooring in the airport’s domestic pier, the instillation of

new heating and ventilation systems in terminal two, and general improvements to the airport’s road network.

Amanda McMillan, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said: “Our £17 million investment programme represents one of the most significant and comprehensive upgrades to the main terminal since it was first opened in 1966. The airport has changed dramatically since then and this is

our biggest single investment since the launch of our £31 million Skyhub building in 2008.

“We will be extending the international arrivals concourse, adding new seating and landscaping a new public space at the front of the building. Passengers will also notice changes in the check-in hall where hoardings are already in place and work on retiling the hall is underway.”

Seasonal advice from MacRoberts The work Christmas party may be the highlight of the social calendar for many employees, however the morning after can sometimes see the kind of headache for employers that isn’t solved by a couple of alka seltzer…

Many employees assume that just because office Christmas parties may take place outside office hours and away from the workplace, they are free from the usual workplace rules and constraints. Wrong!

The most common claims that a Christmas party can expose are: • Sexual harassment – was it a fumble on the dance floor? Any allegations of harassment will potentially have implications for the employment relationship and so must be dealt with effectively - investigate promptly and fully and take disciplinary action, where appropriate; • Alcohol abuse – a tricky one for this time of year and it may be unreasonable to expect employees to remain sober, especially if you are

providing drinks. Unless disciplinary/ alcohol abuse policies draw attention to what is unacceptable behaviour, and potentially misconduct, a dismissal may not be as straightforward as you think!

• Drug-taking - drug-taking by employees may damage an employer’s reputation and undermine trust in the employee. If you would not tolerate drug-taking in the workplace, treat a work function in the same way.

• Unauthorised absence the day after the Christmas party can be treated as a disciplinary matter, provided employees are aware of the likely consequences in advance of the party.

• Social media misuse – it is no longer the case of what goes on at the Christmas party stays at the Christmas party if the evidence is splashed all over Facebook. Have a clear social media policy in place setting out what is and what is not appropriate on-line behaviour.

A gentle email reminder to staff prior to the Christmas party setting out what

Carolyn Miller Partner, MacRoberts

is expected of them may help avoid the walk of shame the following day!

Merry Christmas!

Business Matters Winter 2013

14

January

February

Hugh Henry Business Breakfast at West College Scotland

Speed Networking at The Normandy Independence Debate hosted by Scotland Tonights’ John Mackay at West College Scotland

Burns Lunch at Mar Hall

Graduate Recruitment event at UWS Paisley

March

Inchinnan Business Forum at Life Technologies

Sir Peter Housden Chamber visit Young Enterprise Renfrewshire area finals at UWS Paisley

British Chambers CEO event at Mar Hall

April

April lunch at David Lloyd with Jim Carswell, Operations Director with Life Technologies

March lunch with Joyce McKellar – Renfrewshire Leisure CEO

Jamie Smith Snowfactor boss at Ingliston

May

B2B Conference at Paisley Town Hall

Inchinnan Business Forum at Rolls Royce

B2B seminars and exhibitors at Paisley Town Hall

May lunch with Iain McFadyen, MD Scottish Leather at St Mirren FC

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

June

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July

Chamber Golf Day at Renfrew GC

The Recruit Challenge at the Chamber

August

August summer Recruit finale with Bob Davidson Chamber CEO with new Recruit Calum Breslin

October

October lunch at The Lynnhurst with Lord Haughey OBE and Chamber President Tom Johnston

September

August lunch at the Holiday Inn with Robert Fernie, Customer Service Director at Chivas Brothers with Chamber President Tom Johnston

September lunch at The Glynhill with Maggie Morrison AGM HP and Chamber President Tom Johnston

November

Chamber Car arrives – supplied by Phoenix Car – John McGuire Phoenix MD with Chamber President Tom Johnston

Nov lunch at Ingliston with Leader of Renfrewshire Council, Cllr Mark Macmillan with Chamber President Tom Johnston

Business Matters Winter 2013

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Social Enterprise Renfrewshire Chamber recently held a private procurement related event with Big Issue Invest – the social enterprise arm of the Big Issue who are working on behalf of Renfrewshire Council into how they can develop the social enterprise landscape in the county.

The Chamber brought together a number of senior procurement & supply chain professionals from a wide range of member companies to let the Big Issue Invest team understand their procurement processes and how they make their decisions – and what it would take for them to consider using local social enterprises to supply certain products & services. Bob Davidson Chamber CEO was asked to pull together the event due to his extensive supply chain & procurement experience having worked for over 20 years in the drinks, construction and media industries.

The event was attended by Nigel Kershaw the Chair of Big Issue and Mark Hepworth Head of Research & Policy. The companies that attended the event included: • Renfrewshire Council • Engage Renfrewshire • Glasgow Airport • Scottish Leather Group • Chivas Brothers • Phoenix Car • University of the West of Scotland • West College Scotland • Life Technologies • HP • Barr Construction

Chamber Car

The Chamber has recently taken delivery of its new Chamber Car – the Honda Civic 1.6D is kindly supplied by our friends at Phoenix Honda and used by the team when out and about across Renfrewshire.

The white car is co-branded with Chamber & Phoenix details. In the picture is Phoenix MD John McGuire with Chamber President Tom Johnston outside the Lynnhurst Hotel. Commenting on the new member of the Chamber Team, Chamber chief Bob Davidson said “it’s a lovely car to drive – and fuel economy is amazing.

In town you’re getting 60 mpg. Bob Grant took part in a recent Phoenix miles per gallon challenge and managed to get just under 90mpg over 100 miles!”

N ne ew tw m or em kin be g rs lu at nc te h nd fo fi r F rs RE t E

Get your business off to a great start in 2014…

Join Renfrewshire Chamber before the end of January and save 25% Access discounted products & services including:

• networking events • forums • marketing channels • business mentor • lobbying • HR & legal • health • export documentation • merchant services • meeting rooms • graduate recruitment incentive UK Chamber of the Year Finalist in 2011, 2012 & 2013

www.renfrewshirechamber.com Contact Bob Grant, Deputy Chief Exec’ on 0141 847 5455 bgrant@renfrewshirechamber.com

Renfrewshire Chamber “Helping Renfrewshire grow & prosper since 1964”

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

Full marks for Renfrewshire Renfrewshire Chamber as part of its full accreditation with British Chambers undergoes an intensive audit every 3 years. This year a new updated audit process was implemented with Renfrewshire spending one full week on the audit during October. The audit covered 60+ questions requiring evidence for all and focused on many areas including our governance, strategy, financials, membership, and export docs.

We’re delighted to report that we scored 100% on the audit.

Chamber chief Bob Davidson said “The British Chambers takes accreditation very seriously and this level of achievement is normally only associated with much larger chambers who have extensive resource. As members will know, we are a small team – this score can only be achieved by having a hard working and capable team with the support of our Board. I would like to take this opportunity to thank David Flint from the Chamber Board for his support during the week of our audit.”

GRADUATE RECRUITMENT INCENTIVE Following a successful pilot that saw Renfrewshire Chamber find employment for 30+ graduates – the 2nd phase of the Graduate Recruitment Incentive is now live. £1500 is available to any business that can give a new job to a recently qualified graduate. The eligibility criteria are: · Company size <50 staff · Graduate must be <30 years of age · Minimum salary £14K · Permanent post If you have started any permanent graduate since 27/8/13 – you could still be eligible for financial support.

In addition to the wage subsidy there is also pre & post recruitment support including: · Job specs · Advert creation · Performance reviews The incentive closes at the end of March 2014. For more info please contact Bob Grant, 0141 847 5455, bgrant@ renfrewshirechamber.com

17

Up and Coming

Events See our events section on our website: www.renfrewshirechamber.com 0141 847 5450 events@renfrewshirechamber.com

Burns Lunch Thu 30th January 12-2.30pm, Ingliston With speaker, piper & singer

Independence Debate no.2 Fri 14th Feb 12-2pm West College Scotland

February lunch Thu 27th Feb 12-2pm Audrey Cumberford – Principal & Chief Executive, West College Scotland

April lunch Thu 24th April 12-2pm Professor Craig Mahoney, Principal and Vice Chancellor, University of the West of Scotland

B2B – “Business Matters in Renfrewshire” 15th May – exhibitors and seminars , 10-4 The Lagoon 16th May – conference 9.30am-1pm Paisley Town Hall

Remember our networking lunches are always the last Thursday of every month 12-2 held across Renfrewshire venues facebook.com/renfrewshirechamberofcommerce Follow the chamber:

twitter.com/renfrewshirecoc

Business Matters Winter 2013

18

Renfrewshire Chamber Member referral offer Refer 3 new members before end of March 2014 to receive a free ¼ page ad & editorial in this magazine

Business Mentoring Scotland is a partnership between Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Chambers of Commerceand supported by the European Regional Development Fund

Leading the way to success.

Business Mentoring Scotland Contact Bob Grant for more info bgrant@renfrewshirechamber.com

Enhance your leadership skills with objective, impartial support and encouragement from an experienced business person.

Choose Business Mentoring Scotland today on 0845 609 6622, and start benefitting from the support and advice that it offers.

www.businessmentoringscotland.co.uk

0141 847 5455 11650 A4 portrait advert.indd 2

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Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

19

New Members On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Chamber staff we would like to welcome onboard the following new members.

Actionus Development Ltd T/A Sandler Training Training / Consultancy Alan Mackie 0141 353 2478 amackie@sandler.com www.centralscotland.sandler.com

Enable Scotland Employment Support Service for People with Disabilities and employers Linda Barnwell 01698 737100 paisley.open@enable.org.uk www.enable.org.uk

Charles Stewart Quality Decorators Painting and Decorating services Maureen Stewart 01505 348922 info@csdecorators.co.uk www.csdecorators.co.uk

GT Roofing Ltd Roofing George Tod 01505 690771 grant@todgroup.co.uk www.todgroup.co.uk

Kaplan Financial Financial Services Sarah Cordwell 0141 333 1101 sarah.cordwell@kaplan.co.uk www.kaplanfinancial.co.uk Lattermay Ltd T/A Auditel Consultancy financial services Ewan Hardy 01301 707000 ewan.hardy@auditel.co.uk www.auditel.co.uk NetWork NHS Employability Service Renfrewshire CHP Health & Employability Jeanette Allan 0141 849 2297 Jeanette.Allan@ggc.scot.nhs.uk

Chamber Team update The Chamber is delighted to announce that Bob Grant, who has been our Membership Manager since Spring 2010, has been promoted to Deputy Chief Executive.

Bob Davidson, Chamber chief said “this promotion reflects Bob’s hard work and commitment to the Chamber. Bob’s role is still responsible for Membership & commercial services and he now has Euan Keltie reporting to him.

Bob’s promotion now puts into place a succession plan for myself – a formal requirement from the new style Chamber accreditation process. I would to take this opportunity to wish Bob well in his new role and him and his future wife Carolyn our best wishes as they get married in the New Year.”

Linda Perry, who has been our Business Mentoring Exec’ since summer of 2010 has announced she is retiring at the end of the mentoring contract year (end Jan 2014). After working for over 40 years Linda has decided now is the right time to hang up her mentoring hat – and is looking forward to spending more

Bob Grant

time with her husband Brian.

Commenting on Linda’s decision to retire, Bob Davidson Chamber CEO said “Linda will be greatly missed, she has done a fantastic job with the mentoring programme Linda Perry meeting our targets every year without fail. We

Blair Stevenson

will be continuing with the mentoring programme and will announce our new exec’ in the New Year”.

Blair Stevenson, our graduate intern, has now got a permanent full time job in the Projects Team at Glasgow Chamber. We wish Blair well and hope his experience at RCC will prove valuable in his new role with our city neighbours.

Business Matters Winter 2013

20

THE WINNERS! Friday the 15th Nov saw 16 awards presented at the 10th ROCCOs – the annual business awards of Renfrewshire Chamber. Sponsored this year by Life Technologies who have their European HQ in Inchinnan, the sell-out crowd of 490+ celebrated at The Normandy Hotel hosted by ROCCO regular Fred MacAulay.

Chamber president Tom Johnston commented “it was a great night – a real celebration of the great businesses & people we have in Renfrewshire. I

encourage all our 16 winners to use their ROCCO win in their own PR and share their good news with staff & clients.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our sponsors, premier partners and companies that supported ROCCO 2013. For those that didn’t win I hope you will enter ROCCO 2014 on the 14th Nov 2014.”

With entertainment provided by young artists from UWS MA in Songwriting and Performance and Loud’n’Proud, the event raised £10,000 for local charities &

good causes including Accord Hospice and Sailability (Sailing for the disabled).

Afterwards guest celebrated into the night at the after show party.

SPONSORED BY:

For more info on the ROCCOs please visit www.roccoawards.com

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

21

Chamber Team

Mathew from Loud n Proud

After show party

Jenna from Loud n Proud

Room setup

ROCCO hand written dessert

The Winners from ROCCO 2013 were:

ROCCO Award for Excellence in Customer Service sponsored by intu Braehead

Chivas Brothers

Glasgow Airport

for handbook

7/11/12

10:12

Journey to Zero Waste sponsored by the William Tracey Group

Page 1

Making leather Excellence in Manufacturing without costing

sponsored by the Scottish Leather Group

the earth.

Rolls Royce

Scottish Leather Group Limited 1 Seedhill, Paisley, PA1 1JL, Scotland Tel: +44 (0)141 847 4520 Fax: +44 (0)141 848 7246 www.scottishleathergroup.com

Innovation & Technology sponsored by MEPC Hillington Park

Rainbow Technology Systems

Business Matters Winter 2013

22

The Winners from ROCCO 2013 were:

Family Business of the Year

Outstanding Performing Business <5 staff

sponsored by The Malcolm Group

sponsored by IRW Systems

Spectrum Service Solutions Cleaning

Facilities Management

Specialist Cleaning

Event Cleaning

Catering Deep Cleaning

Waste Management

Janitorial and Hygiene

Cleanroom Cleaning

Designline Creative

0141 887 5000

www.spectrumservicesolutions.com Spectrum Service Solutions Ltd. 12 New Street Paisley Email: info@spectrumservicesolutions.com

PA1 1XY

fti

Outstanding Performing Business >5 & <25 staff

Outstanding Performing Business >25 staff

sponsored by Renfrewshire Council

sponsored by the Phoenix Car Company

Sarkar Defence

Bray Controls

Running a growing business in Renfrewshire?

Make us part of your plans For any successful business a network of trusted advisers is vital. Business Gateway Renfrewshire provides practical support and advice to growing Renfrewshire businesses every year.

0141 585 6353 www.bgateway.com

Most Promising New Business

Community Champion of the Year

sponsored by Business Gateway

sponsored by Engage Renfrewshire & RBS

Business Gateway services are delivered by Local Authorities, Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Government with the support of associated partner organisations.

Engage Marketing & Communications

No Substitute for Life

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

Improving life.

23

The Winners from ROCCO 2013 were:

International Trade sponsored by Glasgow Airport

Sarkar Defence

Young Business Person of the Year sponsored by West College Scotland

Craig Bickett (Tuckerbox)

Life Technologies is an Equal Employment Opportunity/ Affirmative Action employer.

Employer of the year

Invest in Renfrewshire

sponsored by Rolls Royce

sponsored by Renfrewshire Council

Life Technologies

Carliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kindergarten

6/6/13 4:37 PM

Enterprise in Education

Business Leader of the Year

sponsored by the University of the West of Scotland

sponsored by Diageo

Ferguslie Pre-five Centre

Peter Beagley, intu Braehead

Business Matters Winter 2013

24

More

images

David Flint, Nora Senior & Tom Johnston

Russell Campbell – The ROCCO piper

Fred MacAulay

The Chamber Car

business matters, so make sure that you hire a company that’s as passionate about your business as you are. we’re only a phone call away.

av hire | events | multimedia | event furniture hire glasgow | edinburgh | aberdeen www.cameronpres.co.uk 0141 637 0368

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

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ROCCOs Showcase UWS MA Songwriting & Performance Talent MA Songwriting and Performance is a new and unique postgraduate degree programme focusing on the development of exemplary song writing, arts practice and skills.

In November 2013, two students currently studying on the programme were invited to perform at the ROCCO Awards to an audience of 500 invited guests after Chief Executive of the Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce attended the UWS Creative Media Academy Showcase events in CCA earlier in the year.

Bob said “Becci and Andrew’s songs were inspirational. Their performances showed that there are many talented young people around today who want to do well and follow their passion, given my role this is very encouraging. The performances were truly outstanding”.

Programme leader David Scott said “The expression of culture through music is at the heart of human identity.

The songwriter is not only a conduit for this expression but the creator of the most powerful intellectual property within the music industry. The songs performed at the ROCCOS are testimony of that gift”.

“This programme provides talented songwriters with the opportunity to spend intense and sustained time developing new song material towards release in physical and digital forms and building new performances of material. It also provides a strongly critical focus with opportunities to conduct research in areas of songwriting history, practice and cultural location as well as reflecting critically on their own practice. In the first year of the MA, Renfrewshire Council sponsored one full scholarship place in the name of the Gerry Rafferty Scholarship. Andrew Howie was the recipient of that award.” www.uws.ac.uk/cci mediaacademy@uws.ac.uk

Becci Wallace

Andrew Howie

RAINBOW TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS CELEBRATES INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY AWARD WIN Rainbow Technology Systems is looking forward to 2014 following the winning of the Innovation and Technology category in the Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce ROCCO Business Awards 2013.

Based at Hillington Park, Glasgow, Rainbow Technology Systems is one of Scotland’s leading hi-tech firms. The company specialises in developing innovative technology solutions for the electronics manufacturing sector. For example, its unique Rainbow Process Unit is designed to completely change the method of production of Printed Circuit

Boards by making the manufacturing process more efficient, less expensive and more environmentally friendly. The technology has won widespread acclaim from the electronics sector – a number of units are currently undergoing beta testing with several leading manufacturers in the US and Asia with mainstream production expected in Q2 2014.

Company founder and CEO, Jonathan Kennett said: “It is great to receive this recognition from the Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce. We are proud to be a Scottish company, I believe it gives us access to some of the best

qualified engineers and technologists in the world. From our base in Glasgow we have designed and manufactured equipment which will be going into some of the world’s largest electronics manufacturing companies to help them boost production, cut costs and become greener.”

For further information about Rainbow Technology Systems please visit www.rainbow-technology.com or call +44(0) 141 892 3320.

Business Matters Winter 2013

26

New Qualifications Will Continue To Develop Learners’ Skills In August 2013, Standard Grade exam results were issued for the final time and Scotland’s new National Qualifications were introduced in schools and colleges across the country.

The new qualifications have been developed by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) to support Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), which introduced a new way of learning to schools and colleges in 2010. Curriculum for Excellence

aims to equip all young people in Scotland with the skills, knowledge and understanding they need to succeed in life, learning and work in the 21st century. The skills young people learn today will help them to succeed beyond the classroom.

SQA’s new qualifications will help young people to demonstrate the knowledge and skills they have acquired at school or college and enable them to prepare for employment, further learning and training.

SCQF Level National

Previous / existing Replaced by Qualifications

Access 1 and Access 2

1 and 2

➔

This table details the new National Qualifications and shows how they replace previous and existing qualifications: New National Qualifications National 1 and National 2

3

Access 3 Standard Grade (Foundation level) ➔

National 3

4

Standard Grade (General level) Intermediate 1 ➔

National 4

5

Standard Grade (Credit level) Intermediate 2 ➔

National 5

6

Higher

➔

Higher (new)

7

Advanced Higher

➔

Advanced Higher (new)

National 1 to National 5 are now being delivered in schools and colleges.

Higher and Advanced Higher Courses are also being revised to support Curriculum for Excellence. The new Higher will be available from August 2014 and the new Advanced Higher from August 2015. Some schools and local authorities may choose to implement the new qualifications at different times, so these timescales could vary across the country.

In 2013-14 and 2014-15, the new qualifications will run in schools and colleges alongside some of the existing qualifications. This is called ‘dual running’ and it will allow learners who are currently in S5 or S6 to continue studying towards the existing qualifications until they complete their education. From 201516 onwards, Access, Intermediate and existing Higher and Advanced Higher qualifications will no longer be available.

Find out more Our website, www.sqa.org.uk/cfeforemployers, is full of useful information to help employers understand the changes to the new National Qualifications, including how they have been developed and how we are working with schools and colleges to introduce them.

You can also keep in touch with us on Facebook at

The first young people to leave school with the new National 1, National 2, National 3, National 4 and/ or National 5 qualifications will do so in June 2014.

Many young people will continue to study at school or college after they turn 16 and some may go on to study for the new Higher and Advanced Higher. The first of these young people will leave school or college in June 2015 and June 2016 respectively.

www.facebook.com/ScottishQualificationsAuthority, follow our updates on Twitter at @sqanews or subscribe to our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/user/SQAonline.

Our CfE Liaison Team are available to answer any questions you may have about the new National Qualifications. Find out more at www.sqa.org.uk/cfeteam

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

27

Our Story Behind Rainbow Turtle’s Christmas Window Display In July Liz Cotton travelled to Malawi to lead a team of people who were joining together on a house building project with the charity Habitat for Humanity. Habitat works in many countries throughout the world tackling the massive problem of inadequate housing. All projects are locally run and teams are invited in to provide labour; encouragement and much needed funds to kick start more projects.

Most housing projects become self sustaining as the homeowners pay back the cost of the materials over time which feed back into a rolling fund, however this project was for orphans and vulnerable children and so the homes were gifted to the children to give them some security and stability. Liz has done this each year since 2007 and is always challenged and inspired afresh by the families they work with and the team members who leave the comfort of their own homes to help change someone’s life on the other side of the world.

This year was no exception and in the team were some people from Renfrewshire who were joined by folk from all over the UK and beyond. With only two people knowing each other before they left the whole team met up at various airports en route and had already gelled by the time

they reached Lilongwe. For most it was the first experience of a trip to Africa but all got stuck in and were aspiring master brickies by the end of the first day.

In just over a week two houses had their roofs on and were nearly ready for occupation and the team were all best buddies and the sadness was as much leaving each other as leaving the community that they had grown so close to in such a short time.

In her other life Liz runs Rainbow Turtle, the Fair Trade organisation which has a retail shop on Gauze Street in Paisley and works with schools, businesses, faith and community groups throughout Renfrewshire to help them in their Fair Trade journeys and quest to making the world a better place.

Inevitably on the build people shared their life stories and Liz learned that Adam, who is based in Berlin, designs window installations for shops in places like Hong Kong, Shanghai and Paris. He had come to Malawi with a strong desire to use his practical skills to benefit others and was really interested in Liz’s work in Renfrewshire. There were many jokes about him coming to do a window display in Paisley but joke has turned to reality and not only had he designed a winter wonderland display of ice caves, icicles

and origami animals but he came to oversee the installation.

Such was the bonding of the Malawi team that 17 of the team members came to join him and help build the installation.

This had coincided with the Paisley Lights switch on and hopefully helped brighten up a corner of Paisley and highlighted all the wonderful products from foods to gifts, crafts, jewellery, toys and all sorts of Christmas decorations and nativity sets.

Rainbow Turtle wants people to make your shopping matter this year and help change the lives of people in some of the poorest parts of our world. www.rainbowturtle.org.uk 0141 887 1881 7 Gauze Street, Paisley

Paisley From Paisley THE world famous Paisley Pattern keeps the town’s name at the forefront of fashion.

Now two businessmen, Gary Kerr and Tommy McGrory have set up a new company, Paisley From Paisley, selling only fashion items featuring the Paisley Pattern, from a retail unit in The Piazza.

Gary Kerr, who runs the engineering asset management company EPM Solutions said: “The idea to sell only products that feature the Paisley Pattern stemmed from a conversation I had with the late Ellen Farmer, of the Old Paisley Society, a few years ago.

“She had said there was no one place you could go to get Paisley Pattern products.

“The idea came up again recently when I was talking to Tommy about the town and he had similar thoughts. So, we decided to launch the retail unit selling only Paisley Pattern products.

“At the moment we’ve sourced ties, ladies and gents scarves, shawls and pashminas from some of the biggest names in traditional clothing accessories like Tootal and Michelsons.

“We’re planning to source more items that feature the Paisley Pattern like jewellery, shirts, bags and wallets. And we’re planning to sell our products online - taking Paisley to the rest of the world!”

Gary added: “We’ve started the retailing side, but we also want to see Paisley Pattern products being manufactured in the town that we can sell. Hopefully our venture could even maybe spark a cottage industry in the area with people making products we can take to the public.”

Tommy, who runs the Loud ‘n’ Proud Music School added: “Despite what people may say, Paisley does have a lot going for it.

“We have a great heritage that we can exploit to start new businesses – just like Gary and I have done.

“We’re just one of several new businesses to start up in the town recently and there’s no doubt there a new-found optimism that we can successfully revitalise the town in many different ways.”

Business Matters Winter 2013

28

Phoenix Pushing the Retail Boundaries For the 7 busiest weeks of the year Phoenix Car Company have created an automotive first.

Customers can now browse the latest models and offers while Christmas shopping in Braehead shopping centre.

We have utilised 2 existing units to open the first dealer pop up stores in the UK. Our staff are enjoying meeting customers old and new who have been surprised to see us in the centre.

The top floor unit has been transformed into an exciting Honda brand centre. A great location to see scooters, kids motorbikes, motorcycles, lawn mowers and of course our range of Honda cars. Our S2000 sports car simulator is proving very popular, why not try your hand at beating the lap record?

Over the coming weeks we will be showcasing all our brands on the lower level opposite the Apple store. Special guests including Celtic players and Glasgow

Rocks basketball players will be making appearances.

We will have exciting competitions running including ‘Win A Car For a Year’ and some exclusive discounts. The all new Hyundai i10 will makes its UK debut here and the Honda 1.6 CR-V diesel with stunning MPG of 62.8 is already turning shopper’s heads. Pop in to our pop up store, we would love to see our Chamber partners.

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

29

Late night opening hours Free parking Over 100 stores intubraehead.co.uk

That’s Christmas wrapped up.

Intu Braehead has Christmas wrapped up Braehead-30054-Core-Christmas-PressAd-180x130-AW-DI.indd 1

SHOPPERS don’t need to travel out of Renfrewshire for the best variety and value in Christmas gifts.

Our own retail Mecca is the intu Braehead Shopping Centre with more than 100 stores to choose from along with a host of restaurants, cafes and bars to make Christmas shopping an enjoyable experience.

With the mall open until midnight from December 16 to 23, there is plenty time to do your Christmas shopping when it’s most convenient. And free parking for 6500 cars is yet another bonus for shoppers.

The Chamber’s Business Matters caught up with general manager (operations) at intu Braehead, Gary Turnbull who explained how the festive season is shaping up for the mall.

“We’ve seeing a huge increase in the amount of shoppers coming to the centre as Christmas approaches,” he said.

“People seem to be planning ahead and have started their Christmas shopping earlier this year. I reckon it’s because they want to make sure they get the special gift they really want, especially if it’s one of those must-have presents that is in big demand.

“The stores at intu Braehead are doing very good business at the moment and they’ll get even busier as it gets closer to the big day.”

Gary added: “People are doing more than just Christmas shopping by turning it into more of a social occasion. We’ve noticed shoppers are spending a lot longer in the centre making a day of it, meeting with friends and having a meal in one of our sit-down restaurants.”

04/12/2013 15:32

We are delighted to be hosting pop-up campuses in venues in and around the West of Scotland giving you an exclusive opportunity to speak to our critically acclaimed academics and Knowledge Transfer Officers face to face about collaborative opportunites at Scotland’s largest modern University.

@UWSKnowHow

Business Matters Winter 2013

30

IS THE INTERNET KILLING RETAIL?

by Gary Ennis, NSDesign

‘The high street’s dead and online is thriving’ say the headlines.

The truth is more complex. Online accounts for less than £1 out of every £10 spent in the UK. But there’s no doubt many physical shops and premises are having a tough time.

What can they do?

Recognise that the businesses doing well are those that combine their premises with a web presence. And it’s more than ecommerce, the web is often the preferred method for potential customers to discover you.

So make sure it’s optimised for mobile and encourages them to come through your doors.

And when they do, give them the best possible experience.

Be social. Free wifi makes people feel welcome and encourages them to spend more time with you.

Recognise that consumer habits have changed and customers want to share. Be the shop that lets them try things on and take pictures to share with their Facebook friends.

Make your store a playground with game elements and use QR codes to make standing in the queue a fun experience. One ice cream shop gives

customers extra toppings if they LIKE them on Facebook while waiting to be served.

Social media means one bad experience could be broadcast to thousands. You need a killer social media strategy and to be monitoring all the channels for opportunities and mentions of your brand.

Make it easy for people to share images of your products and benefit from ‘discovery marketing’ where people who’ve never heard of your business land on your website because they’ve seen something you sell that they like.

Replicate the online experience instore. Offer ‘Click And Collect’ where customers buy and pay online then come to the store to pick up their goods. Or a delivery service where someone buys in-store and you send the package out to them.

Make sure you’ve got the right attitude.

What message are you sending out with signs like ‘No more than 2 school children in the shop at any time’ and ‘Minimum spend £5 by card’?

And if you don’t take cards at all, there’s really no excuse with products like iZettle which turns your mobile phone into a card payment system.

If retail is dying, it’s not the internet that’s killing it. Don’t be a victim.

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

31

Business Matters Winter 2013

32

Schools and Scotwest helps Castlehead pupils with challenge of a lifetime A group of secondary pupils from Castlehead High School have received funding towards their trip of a lifetime thanks to the generosity of Scotwest Credit Union’s Making A Difference Fund. 19 pupils from the school are planning a dream trip to Ghana in June 2014 as part of World Challenge expeditions. During the two week trip, the pupils aged between 15 and 17 will help out in the local community,

working with schools and endangered species. The money awarded will be used towards food, firewood, transport, hostels and essentials when they arrive in Ghana.

The community fund allows Scotwest members to apply quarterly for grants (up to £250) to help events, projects, groups and activities in their local area.

For more: www.scotwest.co.uk or call 0141 227 2390.

Local Youngsters Trial World’s First Healthy Children’s Pizza Youngsters attending Enchanted Forest Nursery became the first in the UK to ‘taste test’ the world’s first nutrionally balanced pizza for children, due to be launched to market later this year by Glasgow company, Eat Balanced Ltd. The nursery was selected following discussions with Donnie Maclean, the entrepreneur who launched what many are describing as the ‘world’s first healthy pizza’ back in 2012 and which is currently available in Sainsbury’s and Ocado.com. The pizza was taste-tested by a group of 25 youngsters, aged from 3-5 years and received a massive thumbs-up from the youngsters.

Enterprising pupils from St Margaret’s Primary Enterprising pupils from St Margaret’s Primary in the Renfrewshire celebrate receiving their Social Enterprise in Education Award from John Swinney MSP for their highly successful Recycling Gift Shop. The Social Enterprise Academy awarded 24 schools for their entrepreneurial talent and social impact at the ceremony earlier this year.

Digital Leaders @ Kirklandneuk Primary Kirklandeuk Primary School is taking ICT to the next level by introducing Digital Leaders throughout the school. Digital Leaders are part of a wider network of schools across the UK who are training their pupils to become experts in ICT. Natalie Lochhead and Nicola Paterson started the process of employing Digital Leaders by asking children, who felt confident with ICT, to complete an application form. After the application process the children were invited to an interview to show off their skills and explain why they should be part of the team.

S2 Modern Studies at Linwood High School S2 Modern Studies at Linwood High School enjoyed a hugely interesting and informative trip to Glasgow Airport as part of their Terrorism Unit. We were welcomed

by Glasgow Airport Security team and given a unique view behind the scenes at an international airport. Pupils were given the marvellous opportunity of using security x-ray and metal detecting equipment and seeing the training materials used to train security staff at the highest security level. A big thanks to Kenny Walsh and Barbara Thomson for being so accommodating. S2 had a brilliant time and learned lots.

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

33

Young People Dragons Den 2013 This summer a team of Kirklandneuk Primary School pupils won an award from Dragons Den Competition 2013 at West College Scotland. The children had worked hard to prepare for the event by setting up a social enterprise to benefit their local community called “Kickstart”. It’s now delivering fitness classes and health sessions for the local community on a fortnightly basis. Our investment will also enable us to provide a fantastic and informative website to support our community in living a healthy lifestyle.

Linwood: Working in Partnership to Celebrate Christmas Clippens School is located close to the centre of Linwood village and provides education for pupils aged 5-18 years who have a range of complex learning difficulties. Clippens School strive to establish and maintain positive links with our local schools and community and works in partnership with Linwood Parish Church to host an annual community

enterprise project, The Christmas Tree Festival. Pupils from our local primary and secondary schools are invited to Clippens School to work alongside our pupils to create fabulous decorations for Christmas trees. All of our wonderful trees are then displayed at Linwood Parish Church for the festival in December, open to all in the community

St Benedict’s High School A group of twenty five S3 pupils and three teachers from St Benedict’s High School recently completed a residential course at Loch Lomond Outdoor Centre designed to develop leadership skills. The pupils enjoyed 4 days developing many employability/ leadership skills including: teamwork, self-motivation, planning, organising, flexibility, time management and communication. St Benedict’s High School would like to continue to develop this leadership/employability skills course by building links with local businesses.

St Fillan’s - Fair Trade Trophy The children on the Fair Trade Committee in St Fillan’s have been awarded the John McDowell Trophy for their promotion of Fair Trade activities in a school in Renfrewshire. Mrs McKay, class teacher of P2/3, has been leading this committee for a couple of years now. They meet regularly and have set up a Fair Trade tuck shop in the school which the children run 3 mornings a week. Chocolate is sold only on a Friday morning! Fair Trade Polo shirts are also sold in the school along with Fair Trade rice. Each term they organise and run a Fair Trade Coffee morning with donations of cake from parents.

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Invest in Renfrewshire update...

Invest in Renfrewshire – the council’s £8m programme to boost the local economy and tackle unemployment – is fast closing in on a key milestone.

The Invest team will soon be announcing their 500th company sign-up – a great achievement for a programme which only started back in June 2012.

Those who have already signed up will have benefited from one or more of a range of funding packages aimed at helping local businesses grow. They include: - business growth grants of up to £10,000 to help develop new products, attend exhibitions, purchase equipment or carry out property improvements; - support towards the wage costs of taking on a young unemployed person or graduate intern; and - loans to help with working capital or the purchase of equipment.

The programme aims to build partnerships with the local business community in order to create job opportunities.

Since last summer, Invest has helped create 350 new jobs.

If you want to be one of the next 500 companies to sign up for the scheme, get in touch with the team on the details below.

One of our advisors will be able to talk you through your options.

Phone: 0300 300 1180 Web: www.investinrenfrewshire.com Email@ invest@renfrewshire.gov.uk We are also now on Twitter at @InvestinRen – where we will be tweeting about local business matters.

Thanks to all who have followed so far!

Invest in Renfrewshire recently hosted a series of ‘meet the expert’ events at its recently-opened Business Hub in Paisley.

The informal sessions allowed local firms the chance to pop in and chat to experts on a variety of subjects.

They included council staff from areas such as business development, procurement, licensing, trading standards, third-sector funding and planning and development.

The aim was to allow businesspeople the chance to quiz the specialists and receive advice.

We expect to run another round of events again in the new year so keep an eye on the website for more details.

The Invest in Renfrewshire Business Hub is at 2 Lawn Street, Paisley, and is a one-stop shop for local firms to drop in and find out more about the scheme.

It also offers meeting rooms which Invest companies in need of somewhere to go to meet clients may be able to use, free of charge.

To find out more about availability, give us a call on 0300 300 1180.

The Invest team would like to offer its congratulations to all the winners at the recent ROCCO awards.

We would like to give a special mention to the winners of the two councilsponsored awards – Sarkar Defence – Best performing business (five to 25 staff), and Carli’s Kindergarten – Invest in Renfrewshire award.

Both firms have embraced the spirit of the Invest programme by offering employment opportunities to local young people and pursuing business development opportunities, and deserve the success and recognition they have received.

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

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The Invest in Renfrewshire team got out and about in November as they took to the streets of Hillington to help spread the word about the programme.

Some of the team’s business development advisors spent two days visiting firms around Hillington Business Park and Hillington Park Innovation Centre.

The aim was to recruit new firms to the programme who may not have been aware of what is on offer.

More than 20 firms signed up to the scheme as a result of the week, bringing the total number of Hillington sign-ups above 80.

Firms expressing an interest were invited to an event in the Innovation Centre where more information was available on the programme’s packages of financial support.

Invest in Renfrewshire offers grants and loans which can help

firms pursue growth projects, take on new staff, purchase new equipment and move or upgrade premises.

Staff were joined by colleagues from Renfrewshire Employability Partnership, who run a vacancy management service designed to take the stress out of hiring.

Therese McKendrick, economic development officer, was one of the team involved. She said: “We covered a lot of ground over the few days but it was worth it!

“It was great to get out and about and meet so many new companies and show them the benefits Invest in Renfrewshire could bring.

“We are still picking up new leads now as a result of the contact we had, so hopefully we will be able to bring even more companies on board.”

Has your firm signed up yet?

If not, why not? Call 0300 300 1180 or email invest@renfrewshire.gov.uk to find out more.

You can also visit our website at www.investinrenfrewshire.com and you can now keep up with the latest via Twitter (@InvestinRen) and Facebook (Invest in Renfrewshire).

Calling all Renfrewshire businesses.

We can help fund your growth.

Invest in Renfrewshire is Renfrewshire Council’s £8m programme to boost the local economy and tackle unemployment.

We have a range of funding packages available which could help your company, including: • business growth grants of up to £10,000 to help develop new products, attend exhibitions, purchase equipment or carry out property improvements; • help of up to £5,000 to help you take on a graduate intern; • support towards the wage costs of taking on a young unemployed person; and • loans to help with working capital or the purchase of equipment.

Want to know more? visit www.investinrenfrewshire.com email invest@renfrewshire.gov.uk or call

0300 300 1180

Business Matters Winter 2013

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Council Leader launches Renfrewshire Living Wage campaign

From left: Professor Bobby Piper (Head of School of Social Sciences, UWS); Mark Macmillan (Council Leader); Peter Pringle (Assistant Principal, Business and Technologies, West of Scotland College); Ron Easton (Chief Executive of Smith and McLaurin); John McGuire (Managing Director of Phoenix Car Company); Craig Sanderson (Chief Executive of Link Housing); and Joe Whyte (Chief Executive of Share Scotland).

Renfrewshire Council Leader Mark Macmillan has launched a campaign urging businesses and organisations in Renfrewshire to sign up to the Living Wage.

The Council Leader visited the Phoenix Car Company in Linwood to meet with employers from the private and public sector that have already pledged to pay the Living Wage.

By supporting the campaign, Living Wage employers will receive recognition through the council’s website and be entitled to use the campaign logo across their own publicity activities.

Earlier this week the UK Living Wage, the amount people need to earn to meet the basic cost of living, was unveiled as £7.65 per hour, significantly higher than the legal minimum wage of £6.31 for over-21s.

Councillor Macmillan said: “The national minimum wage has not kept pace with life here in Renfrewshire. It certainly isn’t sufficient to support a family. We need the help of the business community to make work pay so

that employment is always the more affordable option for parents and individuals.

“Renfrewshire’s Living Wage campaign will provide practical local assistance to help employers do the right thing.

“Paying the Living Wage is good for business, good for families and good for Renfrewshire. It means that people can work their way out of poverty and it ensures Renfrewshire remains an attractive and prosperous place in which to work or build a future”.

In June this year Renfrewshire Council announced plans to pay an extra £1,000 per post to firms which agree to pay at least the Living Wage, taking the council’s investment in youth employment and Renfrewshire’s economy above the £8 million mark.

Renfrewshire Council pledged its commitment to the Living Wage at the end of 2012, benefiting around 800 council workers. Those who experienced the biggest gains were mostly female part-time workers involved in catering, cleaning and school crossing services.

Last month ahead of the campaign the Council Leader wrote to 150 employers across Renfrewshire to share with them the council’s own experience and inspire them to get behind the campaign.

Among the first firms to pledge its support was Phoenix Car Company in Linwood.

Managing Director John McGuire said: “Paying a Living Wage has had a positive effect on productivity because it shows we value our employees.

“Also if you pay people a Living Wage they can afford to contribute to the economy and if people are spending, that’s good for business in the long-run.”

Other Renfrewshire employers who support the Living Wage campaign include Share Scotland, Link Housing, University West of Scotland, West College Scotland, Smith & McLaurin and Ceridian HR & Payroll Services.

Businesses wanting to add their name to the list can find further information on the council website at www.renfrewshire.gov.uk or contact the Leader’s Office at Renfrewshire House.

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

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Paisley lights up for Christmas A bumper crowd of more than 30,000 people packed out Paisley town centre on Saturday (November 16) for the town’s Christmas Lights Switch On. Crowds built up early as the six and a half hours of entertainment started with the traditional reindeer parade which was led this year by Santa Claus himself.

And the audience continued to grow throughout the day as the big crowd enjoyed a packed programme including a Christmas market in Paisley Town Hall, funfair rides, a magic show, a performance by boyband Mr Measor, Scottish hip-hop band The Flying Jalapenos, and the Clyde 1 Roadshow.

The action hotted up on the main stage in Gauze Street with performances by UK hip hop star Tinchy Stryder and Dundee rockers The View.

And the day rounded off with a special moment for 9 year-old Georgia Ahktar from Inchinnan Primary who joined

Renfrewshire’s Provost Anne Hall to switch on Paisley’s Christmas lights.

Georgia’s short story titled ‘And then I switch the lights on...’ was chosen from hundreds of story competition entries submitted by Renfrewshire schoolchildren.

Provost Hall said: “Once again we had a great crowd and a great atmosphere.

“The Paisley Christmas Lights Switch On draws people into the town centre from near and far.

“It has established itself as one of the leading such events in Scotland and that was certainly the case again this year.

“I’d like to thank everyone who participated in, attended or supported the event.

“This has been a fantastic year for events in Paisley where the town has showcased itself in hosting the Royal National Mòd and The Spree arts festival.

“It was fitting the town hosted such a spectacular finale to a special year.”

The event sponsors who joined Renfrewshire Council in promoting the Paisley Christmas Lights Switch On are: The Piazza Shopping Centre, West College Scotland, Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce, Renfrewshire Leisure, Lynnhurst Hotel, Bowfield Country Club, Hamishes’ Hoose, Intu Braehead and Clyde Scaffolding.

£2m boost for plans to restore Russell Institute Plans to restore one of Paisley’s architectural treasures to its former glory are taking a giant leap forward after Renfrewshire Council secured a £2million funding windfall.

The Russell Institute is one of the town’s most striking landmarks – but the former health centre is lying empty and needs work to be brought back into use.

The council has been working with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde on a plan to save the building, with the health board having gifted the Institute for the good of the community.

An organisation has been lined up to move in if funding to help pay for the revamp could be secured.

And a £2m application to the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Fund has now been given the green light.

Work to make the 1,750 sq m interior of the building suitable for modern office use is expected to take around two years, and could begin in summer 2014.

Renfrewshire Council Leader Mark Macmillan said: “Paisley’s stunning architectural heritage is one of the greatest features of the town.

“The Russell Institute is a magnificent

building and a recognisable town centre landmark, and we are delighted to be able to help bring it back into use.

“This project will also bring significant economic and social benefits, by creating new jobs and allowing us to keep existing ones in the town centre, in addition to the jobs created during construction.

“This is just the latest stage in our continuing effort to make the best of the area’s built heritage, including the major revamp of Paisley Town Hall earlier this year.

“Plus, the £3.5m Townscape Heritage Initiative has seen major improvements to the Causeyside Street area, including restoration work on the Arts Centre.”

The council has been working with the Paisley Development Trust – a local group of volunteers dedicated to the regeneration of the town.

They initially commissioned a feasibility study into the building, which formed the basis for the grant application.

The trust’s chair Piero Pieraccini said: “This is fantastic news for the town and I am delighted to hear this money has been secured.

“This is a fantastic building which could have been left empty but this money will allow it to be brought back to life.”

The Category A-listed Russell Institute sits on the corner of New Street and Causeyside Street and was opened in 1927.

It was gifted to Paisley Burgh by Miss Agnes Russell, who wanted it to be used as a child welfare clinic as a memorial to her two brothers.

The building is notable for the distinctive bronze and stone sculptures on the exterior walls, and was used as a health centre until it closed in 2011.

Business Matters Winter 2013

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Life Technologies

So take charge. Join us in discovering the infinite urprises and solutions science—and you—can reveal t our Inchinnan location and beyond.

Life Technologies was a proud sponsor of this year’s ROCCO awards and feels _EMEA_TAAd_060613.indd 1 of the Renfrewshire very much part community. It is a global life sciences company that believes in the power of science to transform lives. Every day it says it helps shape new discoveries that improve life by creating and offering instruments, and lab essentials, that enable researchers and scientists to solve some of the most difficult health, security, food and energy problems of the 21st century. Life Technologies has made a strong commitment to its Scottish operations, employing more than 500 people. Inchinnan is the European headquarters and the hub of its operations.

Its unique products are at the heart of the globally-expanding field of biotechnology. However, one of its major brands has a history stretching back 50 years with GIBCO®, the Grand Island Biological Company, which started in New York. GIBCO’s cell culture media products have been manufactured in Renfrewshire for more than 40 years.

GIBCO® is a long-standing and respected brand. “GIBCO® is cell culture media: this is the food that scientists use to grow their cells,” said Peter Silvester, President of Life Technologies, EMEA. He

Shaping discovery. Improving life.

is responsible for 2,000 employees and more than one billion dollars of business across Europe, Middle East, Africa and Russia. “There are several origins for the cells that scientists use. They could be animal or plant cells. Many modern drugs are biological and are synthesised using cultured cells like a factory. You have to cultivate and grow them; we provide the nutrients or media to grow these cells,” he said.

Life Technologies is listed on NASDAQ, with GIBCO® remaining a central part of its heritage. The Inchinnan site is also expanding with an investment in production to bring a world-class granulated product to global markets.

There is internal excitement about the Advanced Granulation Technology, which has been described as the “instant coffee” for cell culture media. Jim Carswell, the Inchinnan Site Leader said: “It’s a way of processing the media so you don’t have to ship tens of thousands of litres of liquids around the world. You can produce a sachet or a bag of the media equivalent of granulated coffee. It is very easy for pharmaceutical companies to reconstitute or re-dissolve. It’s easier for us to ship around the world.”

In addition to GIBCO® cell culture products, Life Technologies has a vast

lifetechnologies.com/careers

ADVANCING: YOU At Life Technologies, we believe in the power of science to improve the human condition and in the power of people to make it happen. It’s our passionate employees who create improvements in the world, in our company and in their personal lives. We also know that you have to care for yourself before you can care for your company and the world. So, we provide the benefit, reward, impact, development and network opportunities to enable and support your drive to make a difference in the world.

So take charge. Join us in discovering the infinite surprises and solutions science—and you—can reveal at our Inchinnan location and beyond.

LIFE_048_EMEA_TAAd_060613.indd 1

Shaping discovery. Improving life.

6/6/13 4:37 PM

portfolio that includes class leading DNA Forensics products. If you can imagine an episode of the hugely successful American television series CSI, then you will see the forensic scientist using an array of instruments and technologies to identify DNA. In reality, it is likely to be a Life Technologies product.

DNA science research has become increasingly glamorous for young people and Life Technologies has been working with local schools to explain it. “We have been doing work with school children and young people, including a forensic story revolving around Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” said Mr Silvester, “to educate and inspire the next generation about this exciting science and the basics of DNA forensics.”

And as Life Technologies looks to the future, healthcare will become an increasingly important part of the business. In 2014, Life Technologies will host the Stratified Medicine Innovation Centre at Inchinnan. The centre is a unique collaboration bringing together excellence in the academic, industrial and NHS communities to create an infrastructure that will act as a springboard to allow Scotland to be at the forefront of stratified medicine with the aim to improve future healthcare by providing the right drug, to the right patient, at the right time and that has to be good for everyone.

Life Technologies is an Equal Employment Opportunity/ Affirmative Action employer.

6/6/13 4:37 PM

Helping Renfrewshire Grow & Prosper

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Braehead Clan On The Up Premier partners of Renfrewshire Chamber, the Braehead Clan are currently enjoying their highest ever league placing with second place in the Elite Ice Hockey League. With games in hand over the teams above and below them the Clan could go top and could also put some daylight between themselves and the other title contenders.

Not only is the Clan on ice product improving, the off ice offering is now providing spectators with a full nights entertainment from the doors opening at 6pm, to date there has been X factor finalists, a rock band, pipe band, figure skaters, face painters and future events are booked in to make the game night experience exciting and enjoyable and for the whole family. Any chamber member looking to come to a Clan game with family, friends or staff is entitled to a discount on tickets when they quote “Chamber member”. All enquiries should be addressed to andy@ braeheadclan.com

Puck Drop - Callum Donaghy from Pacific Care

Man of the Match – Gemma Smith from XCL Framing Solutions

Renfrewshire Chamber were match sponsors at the recent Clan home game v Coventry Blaze with the Clan winning 3-2. The Chamber took invited members and guests along and had a great night. Bob Davidson Chamber chief commented “I have been several times now with family & friends – it’s a great, safe & exciting night out with some feel good music and entertainment as well – highly recommended”

Our debut ‘pop-up’ is taking place on Tues the 4th of Feb 2014, 8.30am at Hillington Park Innovation Centre.

We’ll be joined by our co-stars from MEPC Hillington Park, Renfrewshire Council, Scottish Enterprise and Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce.

CALL US ON 0141 848 3400 OR FOLLOW US ON TWITTER TO FIND OUT MORE! @UWSKnowHow