Boxmodel Expands To Meet Global Demand

North East software specialist

Boxmodel has increased its headcount from six to 34 highly skilled specialists, as it continues its expansion to meet global demand.

From its base in The Core, the team of expert software engineers design and build technology-led innovations for clients, which include RED Driving

School, Airbus and Royal IHC.

Alan Easton, who founded Boxmodel in 2009 and embarked on a five-year growth plan in 2017, said: “We have clients coming to us thinking it’s not possible to find a solution because they’ve been told that by other software businesses – but to date, there has been nothing we haven’t been able to do.”

Talent Firm Supports Growth With New Office Space

North East-based recruitment firm

North East PR Agency Harvey & Hugo Launches New Podcast

North East PR agency Harvey & Hugo has launched a new podcast, getting up close and personal with some of the region’s most respected business people. Hosted by founder and managing director Charlotte Nichols, PRsonal aims to shine a light on the person behind the professional, with no topic off-limits. In each episode, Charlotte will sit down with a different guest and ask some probing questions to find the real personality behind the business profile. She said: “I’m not going to be asking any questions about business, it’s all personal –although there’s nothing I wouldn’t answer myself.

“My aim is to get away from all the business speak and bluster and find out who people really are. After all, we’re always telling our clients that people buy from people, so we know the value of getting to see a bit of personality.”

Charlotte launched Harvey & Hugo in 2009 to give businesses affected by the recession access to flexible, affordable PR, social media and content marketing. The business has since grown to 11 members of staff and offers three ways of working: traditional retained contracts; flexible, fixed-fee services with Pay-asHugo; and its dedicated training school, Hugoversity. Charlotte added: “I still personally hate small talk, even after almost 20 years of doing it as part of my career. “Business is full of this superficial chat and you never really get to know who the people are behind the business; it can often feel like you’re talking to someone’s LinkedIn profile. I want to talk about deeper things –the meaning of life, love, fears, childhood memories, insecurities – and PRsonal allows me to do that.”

Talentheads has started the year with a move to larger premises, following a boost in staff numbers and a 60 per cent growth in turnover. Talentheads, which was set up by Sam Spoors in 2020, has moved to a larger office in Morpeth, Northumberland. Having taken on six new members of staff in the past 12 months. Sam said: “We are committed to growth and therefore knew we needed a bigger office space to facilitate that expansion for our teams and our clients.

“We wanted to remain in the North East, as we are so proud of our roots and the location has great links to the A1.” Talentheads offers businesses a different approach to recruitment by absorbing itself into companies as the internal recruitment, talent and resourcing teams and works with business owners on long-term, sustainable strategies to help them take control of the recruitment process. Sam added: “Our new team members bring a wealth of experience and talent, and I can’t wait to see how we all work together. “Last year was very successful for the brand. Aside from the new offices, we also marked our highest monthly revenue, started work with some exciting new clients and made the shortlists for some amazing awards.” As well as boosting the team, Talentheads has also invested in video technology that allows the team to engage with clients and the talent they are looking to recruit with a real face to support their brand. The investment in the technology was supported by funding from NBSL, which is part of the European Regional Development Fund. Sam said: “People buy from people so we have invested in being seen so business owners, hiring managers and candidates can identify, engage and work with people – rather than emails.”

Funky Chunky Furniture Achieves Global Recognition For Sustainability

South Tyneside-based Funky Chunky Furniture has received a globally recognised sustainability certification for all the timber it uses to make its shelves and furniture.

Soil Association Certification visited the furniture manufacturer and certified it to FSC® standards, awarding it a timber certification (FSC-C177532).

Kevin Johnston, managing director of

Funky Chunky Furniture, said: “We’ve always been conscious of sourcing the most sustainable wood we can, and have worked closely with our timber merchants to make that happen.

“To now be certified to FSC standards really is the icing on the cake. It will give our customers confidence that they’re buying from a reputable and environmentally conscious business.”