Sussex Manufacturer Invests £550k in Expansion

A Sussex-based manufacturer and supplier of specialist rubber grommets has invested in a new production and distribution centre with the support of £550,000 from Lloyds Bank.

Grommets Ltd manufactures thousands of moulded rubber products and bespoke items for use in electrical engineering and manufacturing, covering wires and cables or protecting sharp edges. The business supplies over 8,000 firms across a wide range of industries, from wind farms to the rail industry, with clients including Thales, Unipart Rail and the Fourth Bridge.

As demand from renewable sectors increases, the firm is producing more products for use in solar panels and batteries for electric vehicles.

To cope with the increasing demand, the business has decided to increase its footprint by nearly a third. Construction of the purpose-built facility in Henfield, which sits alongside its existing manufacturing unit on Grommets’ half-an-acre site, was supported by Lloyds Bank and help will enhance the firm’s productivity.

Grommets’ storage and distribution offering has now consolidated from a number of small units into one, boosting efficiency between the departments and reducing lead times for customers.

Four charging points have also been installed at the new HQ for its fleet of EVs while the business is exploring plans to add solar panels to the roof of the 3,918 sq ft building to reduce its emissions further.

Jo Boorsma, managing director at Grommets Ltd, said: “Our new facility is the culmination of three decades’ of hard work, as we’ve continued to expand our operations, capacity and client base. To be in a position where we needed more space to grow is a fortunate one and I’m glad Lloyds Bank stepped up to help us achieve that.

“We’re eponymous with the industry and as a result, clients look to us to deliver market-leading quality and innovation. Our new facility helps us do all this and more, and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for us, particularly as we grow into supporting new wind farms and EV battery manufacturing.”

Andy Boreham, relationship manager at Lloyds Bank, said: “Growing a business relies on operations flowing smoothly and finding efficiencies where possible. Grommets’ new facility is exactly what will help them achieve this.

“Embarking on a new build can be daunting, but the benefits to the business are enormous and are well-worth the investment. Grommets, for example, will be able to reduce its energy bills, boost productivity and improve talent retention and attraction as a result of a modern new workplace. These are three crucial ways of increasing resilience and accelerating growth in spite of headwinds.”

Fine Cut Group - A Journey to Solar Powered Energy

As everyone struggles with the increases, businesses are facing astronomical energy bills. Fine Cut saw their electricity costs double in just one year and in a business environment, reducing energy costs can be very difficult. Machines need to run and lights need to be on continually, so cutting back on output was not a feasible option.

With this in mind, they looked at internal strategies they could put in place to reduce their energy output. The first step was to insulate the entire factory wherever possible. By identifying the areas which needed attention, such as where they had suspended ceilings and the air temperature could not be maintained - they started insulating all these ceilings. The results have been dramatic and these areas now maintain a workable temperature and have had an instant reduction in gas and electricity usage.

Along with doing what they could internally, Fine Cut had the entire premises roof reclad ahead of their solar project, as it was crucial that the roof was in good order before the solar panel install.

The next steps towards solar powered energy was to apply for a grant and go through the tender process to vet potential contractors. Their forecast indicated that solar should generate 40-50% of their energy required annually, and a saving of £30k a year, so it was a worthy investment going forward...

To continue reading the full story on Fine Cut's journey to solar powered energy, visit their website - https://www.finecut.co.uk/our-journey-to-solar-powered-energy

Be part of Worthing High School's "Big Interview" on the 27th February 2024!

As a school Worthing High School is very keen to be pro-active with face-to-face events involving local businesses as these are a vital part of our student’s ongoing development and character building, particularly in preparation for their next steps as they progress onto further education and future employment.

One of the main events in the school calendar is our very successful annual ‘Big Interview’ event and this is being held on Tuesday 27^th February at Worthing High School. Timings for this are from 8.45am-1.30pm.

We are actively looking for locally based volunteers from the business community to be interviewers.

The ‘Big Interview’ enables each of our Year 10 students to receive a 10 minute interview from one of the local volunteer business partners on the day. The interview is not planned for a specific job, but to prepare students for what general questions they may be presented with in either future job interviews or at upcoming college and/or further education interviews.

Volunteers do not have to have experience of holding interviews as this will be more of a two way conversation approach and that this exercise will provide students with useful feedback on body language, question & answer techniques as well as giving them direct experience of a 1:1 interview with a person from outside of the school environment. We will of course provide further information both prior to and on the day to all businesses kind enough to support.

We will be providing refreshments for all our willing interviewers and would really appreciate your invaluable support for one of Worthing High School’s future pathways linked activities.

We can never have too many people for an event such as this and if you have any colleagues within your business or other contacts that would also be prepared to attend, please can you let me know and I will be more than happy to add them to the list of volunteers.

The event always provides our business partners with the opportunity to network with other local companies as well as within the school environment.

If you are interested please contact MFisher@worthinghigh.net

Businesses and individuals indifferent to Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, finds Kreston Reeves poll

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, delivered his Autumn Statement on Wednesday 22 November against the backdrop of the yet to be announced General Election.

With a reduction in National Insurance rates, permanent full expensing relief for companies, and further reform of R&D tax credits topping the ‘110 growth measures’ announced, there was a lot for businesses and individuals to unwrap.

To help them do so, accountants, business and wealth advisers Kreston Reeves held its Autumn Statement question time webinar for clients and contacts, including a straw poll on the Chancellor’s announcement and business sentiment.

Over 100 businesses and individuals participated in the polls with the overwhelming majority (47%) indifferent to the Chancellor’s growth plan. However, 35% did say they felt ‘positive’ following the Autumn Statement, with 18% saying they felt ‘negative’ or ‘very negative’.

The majority of businesses that took part in the polls (47%) will be prioritising sustaining their business over the next 3-6 months, with 39% prioritising going for growth, 8% on business survival and 2% currently looking for an exit.

Daniel Grainge, Partner and Head of Tax at Kreston Reeves, said: “It is a truism of parliamentary fiscal announcements that they are made in the context of the election cycle. Here, with the General Election no more than 14 months away, this announcement has fired the starting gun.

“Inflation (at 4.6%) is half what it was when the Prime Minister took over last autumn. It is, however, still about three times what it was when he was Chancellor.

“Over half (53%) of those polled believe the election will be held in Autumn 2024, 19% in Spring 2024, 13% in Summer 2024 and 15% in Winter 2024/25.

“Unless the next election is called in Spring 2024, we can expect some big headline announcements in the Chancellor’s Spring Budget.”

www.krestonreeves.com

Worthing students present at professional conference

Three Year 11 students from St Oscar Romero Catholic School recently presented an academic paper at the annual conference of the Institute of Acoustics.  Following their success in the 2022 IoA Secondary School competition, they were invited to submit a paper for the conference.

Ashton Billett, Emmeline Turner and Shay Wheeler wrote the scientific study, looking at the soundscape of their school environment, and the impact that loud noises such as the school bells have on students and staff.  In the course of their investigation they took sound level measurements at 35 different locations around the school, repeating this 10 times during each day across a 5-day school week.  Having identified issues with the school bells, they suggested possible solutions and presented these to the school leadership team and the governors.  The school is now implementing their ideas and is making changes to reduce the loudness of the bells.

Following the IoA competition win in 2022, Prof David Waddington (Professor of Environmental Acoustics, University of Salford) commented:

"St Oscar Romero Catholic School’s winning entry for the Institute of Acoustics Secondary School Competition 2022 is an outstanding project. This work combines a number of difficult areas of acoustics, including soundscapes, subjective testing, and environmental noise mitigation. These students clearly worked hard and produced a highly creditable result, and we welcome students of this calibre on the Acoustics courses at the University of Salford. My compliments to Physics teacher Mr Clarke, Headmaster Mr Bryne and his staff for their extracurricular support of this exciting and inventive project. With just a little effort, this work could be made into a conference paper and would be a popular presentation at the IOA Annual Conference. I hope to see them there in Winchester in October 2023."

The students then worked on writing the conference paper, and got to present it at the Acoustics Conference 2023.  This was the first time that school-aged students have presented at an IoA conference.

Professor Stephen Dance (London South Bank University) said: “It was lovely to see how the students coped when the boot was on the other foot and they were presenting to the experts. The level of professionalism showed maturity beyond their years. Real work problem identification and a practical approach to finding a solution was displayed”.

Alistair Somerville, President of the Institute of Acoustics, said: “This presentation was a great success, extremely well received by all those attending and a worthy addition to our conference programme. The students from St Oscar Romero school presented their work and handled questions with an assured confidence which impressed us all. Congratulations to Ashton, Emmeline and Shay for a well prepared and presented conference paper.”

The students’ Physics teacher, Peter Clarke, said “I am so proud of these students.  To produce a scientific paper while still at secondary school is a fantastic accomplishment.  Having the opportunity of presenting this to industry and academic experts was an unforgettable experience.  They each have a bright future ahead of them.”

Peter Byrne, Headteacher at St Oscar Romero’s Catholic School, said: "I am so incredibly proud of our students. To present a paper at a scientific conference, and to answer questions from university professors and industry experts with such confidence, is nothing short of remarkable. My thanks to Mr Clarke who both inspired and supported the students during the project."

Southern Water Business Partnership Fund

Has your business got a great idea to save water but not the funds to make it happen?

Water is a precious resource. Every year the population of the South East grows, but the amount of water available stays the same. Due to hotter summers and less rainfall, increased pressure Is put on our water supplies. If we keep consuming at our current rate, in time, demand will outstrip supply – as there’s only so much we can take from our environment.

That’s just one reason why we’re on the look out for new and innovative ideas to help reduce water use in businesses across Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Sussex and Kent. Can you help save a little water and make a lot of difference?

If you have an idea for a project – whether it’s harvesting rain or shower water, fitting flow restrictors on taps, harnessing new technology to save water, or anything else you can think of – we want to hear from you!Check if you’re eligible 

We encourage applications from:

• Businesses located in, and operating out of, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Sussex, and Kent.
• Water retailers supplying a business in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Sussex and Kent.
• Water conservation service providers supporting a business in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Sussex and Kent.

Your project must meet the following criteria:

• Southern Water must supply the mains water to your business- use our Postcode Checker to find out if Southern Water is your supplier.
• It must deliver water savings in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Sussex or Kent. It must save mains tap water and demonstrate a tangible, sustainable reduction in water use (litres/day saved as a result of the project) before 31 December 2024.
• You must be able to provide a monthly update once the project has launched and a full case study at the end.
  
  

Applications are now open until 31 December 2023! Find out more today!

Unique Food For Thought Event at the Aldingbourne Trust

Food4Thought is more than just a dinner, it’s an opportunity to support The Aldingbourne Trust, showcasing our home-grown hospitality talent and a chance to network with local businesses. We have teamed up with 5 of the Chefs from the well-known Kitchen Impossible with Michel Roux series and working alongside the people we support, they will create this magical informative evening, and offer the opportunity to build confidence while gaining the skills they need to get into paid employment.

You’ll get the chance to see Supported Employment and job carving in action and hear more about how we could support your business, too.

For £45 per person, you can enjoy a Prosecco reception, three-course fine-dining meal, network with others, and contribute to making a difference to people with learning disabilities and autism. It will be such a unique dinner event and tables of 2 - 10 people are available, if you would like more information and to book, here is a direct link: www.aldingbournetrust.org/food4thought

You can download more information including the menu here

Local Training Company offer Chamber Members exclusive discount!

BPM Training & Medical Services Ltd would like to introduce their comprehensive range of workplace first aid training courses. They're dedicated to enhancing workplace health and safety through accessible first aid training.

As you know, first aid training is vital for emergency situations. Their courses cater to businesses of all sizes, provided on-site or at their training facility. Taught by certified instructors, they offer a variety of courses:

·         Basic First Aid

·         CPR and AED Training

·         Emergency First Aid at Work

·         Paediatric First Aid

·         First Aid at Work

You can see a full list of courses here Information sheet.pdf

They customize training plans to align with your business needs and offer cost-effective options, including group discounts. Additionally, they provide resources for post-course skill maintenance and improvement.

"We are offering members of the chamber a 10% discount for the first 20 organisations that book a course by the 28^th February 2024."

If you have questions or wish to book a training course, please don't hesitate to contact Bill Welsh - Training Director

M: 07396 703342
T: 01903 442327

Local Photographer wins most passionate photographer 2023!

Anja Poehlmann Photo & Film is a photographer and filmmaker for small businesses and families. She has recently won two awards! In the Southern Enterprise Awards she won "Most Passionate Photographer 2023(South Coast)" 

Also one of her photographs has been awarded by the Family Photojournalist Association, you can see the full list here 

FPJA documentary family photographers are the best in the industry and know that their images are judged by the most notable and respected working newspaper photojournalists and picture editors in the news industry. Winning an award in these competitions is a true accomplishment!

"My main goal with all my work is to instill confidence in my clients: in families by showing up as their real selves in photos that will help children grow up knowing where they belong and in small businesses to show up authentically to their audience to build real connections with those they want to serve.

I also offer business portraits for bigger corporations that don't look like the standard headshot. By taking time to portray my clients, I help companies present themselves confidently using their employees personalities."

www.anjapoehlmann.com