September/October 2011 Issue 3Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

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Health and wellbeingTaking the healthy approach to business success - page 24

Chamber Business Awards 2011 Find out this years winners - page 16

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Welcome to September/October edition of Business Direction

In July we celebrated the quality of the businesses in our two counties at our annual Chamber Business Awards at the Worcester Cathedral. The calibre of entries was as always of a high quality however, on the evening we declared 11 companies as category winners and one company was deemed overall Business of the Year. More about the winners can be found on page 16 and 17. The next stage in this process is that our companies go on to compete in the West Midlands Regional Awards which are announced during September and then the regional winners awards compete in the British Chambers of Commerce national Awards which are announced in November. Well done in particular to H Weston & Sons Ltd who are our Business of the Year and in particular to Helen Thomas, who continues to oversee the development of a company which goes from strength to strength. It was particularly pleasing on the night to support the Prince’s Trust and once again the business community which contributed a signifi cant amount to this worthy cause.

We continue to remain in a busy period for events at the Chamber and have added a number of new events recently to the programme; two that I would particularly like to mention are the Manufacturing Forum (you can fi nd out more on page 40) and the new Redditch Networking Breakfast, which we look forward to repeating.

The business community in our two counties is showing nervous optimism and growth. We have seen that manufacturing companies and exporters are doing well and we are also seeing an improvement in construction. We hope that this continues and I urge you to contact the Chamber Team if your company requires any support. The Chamber also continues to work closely with Local Enterprise Partnerships to ensure the business community is best served.

Finally, in this edition we are looking at Policy, Health and Wellbeing all of which are vital to productive businesses and the local business community.

Enjoy this edition and as always your feedback is welcomed.

mikea@hwchamber.co.uk

September/October 2011 03Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

First word

HWCHAMBER.CO.UK Business Direction, Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce’s 60 page, full colour bi-monthly publication. Designed and produced by business people for business people. Distributed to 6,000 businesses including selected retail outlets and Tesco stores across Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

EDITOR Kelly Betts 0845 641 1641 ext 213 kellyb@hwchamber.co.uk

EDITORIAL businessdirection@hwchamber.co.uk 0845 641 1641 ext 213

PRODUCTION & DESIGN Distinctive Publishing, 8th Floor, Aidan House, Sunderland Road, Gateshead NE8 3HU Tel: 0845 884 2385 www.distinctivepublishing.co.uk

ADVERTISING Distinctive Publishing, 8th Floor, Aidan House, Sunderland Road, Gateshead NE8 3HU Tel: 0845 884 2336 helen.gowland@distinctivepublishing.co.uk

FEATURE EDITORS John Dean & Francis Griss deangriss@btinternet.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS www.hwchamber.co.uk/businessdirectionTel: 0845 641 1641

HWCHAMBER.CO.UK

September/October 2011 Issue 3

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

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Health and wellbeingTaking the healthy approach to

business success - page 24

Chamber Business Awards 2011

Find out this years winners - page 16£2.00 where sold

Our Patrons are:

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Contents3 First word

4 Chamber news

5 Business news

11 Education

15 Member benefi ts and solutions

16 Chamber Business Awards 2011

19 Environment

21 Policy

23 Enterprise Zone

24 Cover story: Health and Wellbeing

36 Training

38 Conference Worcestershire

39 Destination Worcestershire

40 Chamber events

42 Commercial property

45 Business news

47 Business news

49 Business news

50 International trade

53 New members

55 Business news

58 Movers and shakers 24

Disclaimer: Whilst every effort is made to ensure accuracy, the publisher accepts no responsibility for omissions or errors within this publication. Editorial submissions are included at the discretion of the editor. The opinions expressed in articles and letters within this publication are not necessarily those of the Chamber. All offers, promotions and competitions appearing in Business Direction are the sole responsibility of the advertiser/ promoting party and Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce does not accept any responsibility for any representations made within them.

Terms & conditions apply. Price quoted excludes VAT, visit website for details.

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Chamber News

04 September/October 2011

Thursday 6 OcTOber 2011 9.30am - 3.00pm sixways sTadium, warriOrs way, hindlip, wOrcesTer, wr3 8ZeAll businesses across the region are invited to meet, connect and network at the Worcestershire Business Expo. The event takes place on Thursday 6 October at the Sixways Stadium and offers an opportunity for all businesses, regardless of membership to the Chamber, to come and forge new partnerships, share knowledge and best practice, and soak up a stream of invaluable advice.

agenda 8.30- 9.30am – Networking Breakfast - £17.50+VAT Members £35+VAT Non members

9.30am – Exhibition Opens

10.00am Seminar – International Trade, Going Global – Developing Overseas Markets Jim Clark, AMS Group Ltd & Linda Smith, UK Trade and Investment

10.30am Workshop - FindItInWorcestershire Find out how finditinworcestershire works, how you can benefit from local networking and how you can increase your business profile.

11.00am Key Note Speaker – ‘Life After Death’ – How to gain success from failure in business! Peter Roper, Positive Ground

11.30am Workshop - Internet Marketing - Creating sales and sales leads through the web. Iain Coplans, QuickWins Marketing

12 noon Seminar – 10 Things you should know before getting your business on the Web Ben Barnes, NinetyFive Creative

12.30 – 1.30pm – Networking Lunch - £25+VAT Members £45+VAT Non members- sponsored by e-response.

2.00pm Workshop - The health of your people is a barometer for the real health of your organisation. Mark Hamilton Taylor, MHT Life

bOOK nOw! Free seminars and exhibiTiOn areaStand Hire £200+VAT Members, £300+VAT Non members Networking Breakfast 8.30 - 9.30am - £17.50+VAT Members, £35+VAT Non members Networking Lunch 12.30 - 1.30pm - £25+VAT Members, £45+VAT Non members

Booking essential, for more information visit www.hwchamber.co.uk/bizexpo or contact the Events Team on 0845 641 1641 or email events@hwchamber.co.uk

CHARITY ART AUCTION Jack Roughan has just completed his studies at New College Worcester. Jack is partially sighted and struggles to see objects in the distance, details and things very close up. He is also affected by bright lights but despite this has proved to be a very talented artist.

To raise awareness of the ability of visually impaired children and raise money (he is hoping at least £500) for New College Worcester, Jack has decided to auction a piece of his work entitled ‘Metal Insects’ in a Landscape. The work will be on display at the Crowther Beard stand at Worcestershire Business Expo at the Sixways Stadium on Thursday 6 October 2011.

Bids are to be made to Anne Priestly at New College, John Painter at Crowther Beard, or Sarah Davies at Worcester News and will be opened at the Expo at 2pm.

Jack’s art talent was not the only thing that was discovered whilst he was at New College Worcester, a PE teacher noticed his athleticism and potential and he now represents GB at a number of national and international events in the classification of T12 (VI category).

For more information on the auction please contact John Painter at jhp@crowtherbeard.com or on 01905 454854.The aim of the event is simple - to provide inspirational speakers, to

network, collaborate, learn and promote businesses of all sizes.

WORCESTERSHIRE BUSINESS EXPO 2011

Images from last years Expo

Sponsored by Nexus in partnership with Worcestershire County Council

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WANT TO READ MORE?

July/August 2011 Issue 2

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

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InnovationThe key in the search for business success - page 24

The big interview:James Dyson - page 22His drive for innovation and what makes him a

success

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InnovationThe key in the search for business success - page 24

The big interview:James Dyson - page 22His drive for innovation and what makes him a

May/June 2011 Issue 1

Business Direction published by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

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Recruitingpeople full of life - page 24

Getting your marketing right - page 27

The future of radio - page 22

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then either log in, subscribe or join the Chamber today!

www.hwchamber.co.uk Tel: 0845 641 1641