Member News

Air Malta, the national airline of Malta, has announced good news for Norwich travelers by adding an extra four departures as a prelude to their summer 2014 charter season.

The additional flights on this popular route will commence on Tuesday 8th April 2014, four weeks earlier than originally planned to satisfy expected public demand to the sunshine island in the Mediterranean over the Spring/Easter period. The direct flights from Norwich airport to Malta are programmed to depart weekly through to 21st October 2014.

Andrew Bell, the airport’s Chief Executive commented: “Malta is an exceptionally popular destination from our region and we are pleased that Air Malta has taken the decision to increase their services and enhance the travel options from Norwich International in the Spring of 2014”.

Air Malta commented that there is a noticeable increase in demand for shoulder and off-peak holidays, and the climate during the early-spring season should provide the right ambiance to discover the many interesting sites and people within the Maltese islands. With these added departures and a reduction in traveling time and costs by flying direct from/to an airport closer to home, regular visitors and also new ones now have more opportunity to fly with Air Malta to the Maltese islands, the airline that truly knows and reflects the motto “Flying the Pride of Malta”.

Air Malta offers a free allowance of 20 kgs for checked-in baggage in the hold and also 10 kgs as hand-luggage per person on all its flights. Flights are available to book via various tour operators and travel agents, but also from the airline’s portal www.airmalta.com

Adapt Commercial is looking for an experienced and successful sales professional to assist the group on a consultancy basis to further develop its portfolio of work. Click here for more information.

Interested individuals should return their CV and covering letter to Angela Larke, Senior Administrator and Head of Commercial Administration via [email protected] by 12 noon Monday 13th January 2014.

Bernard Matthews Holdings Ltd has today announced that, it successfully completed an investment from Rutland Partners to support the growth and development of the business.

The deal brings the experience of Rutland Partners to the Board and the senior management team, and provides a strong capital injection to enable Bernard Matthews to fund its growth plans and fulfil its business potential.

“We are delighted with the new partnership and warmly welcome Rutland Partners to the business,” said Executive Chairman David Joll. “It has been well documented that we have been looking into a range of funding options to help develop the business, but we wanted a partner who understood the company and were committed to helping us grow. Rutland Partners fit this model perfectly, as from the outset they have seen real potential in the business.

“They also share our commitment to the importance of our farming heritage in Norfolk, Suffolk and Lincolnshire, our staff and to the brand, which has always been at the heart of the company.”

David Wingfield, Partner of Rutland, said:

“We are excited to be investing in the leading turkey producer in the UK, which has such a widely recognised brand. We have been impressed by the energy and passion of the team at all levels of the business and are looking forward to the prospect of working with them under David’s leadership to enable the business to reach its full potential.”

As part of the new partnership agreement David Joll will remain as Executive Chairman with two members of Rutland Partnership joining the Holdings Board.

Rutland Partners is a leading UK based turnaround and restructuring investor which invests in UK companies to create stability, strategic change and improved performance.

Global-leading energy technology services company Proserv is looking to increase its workforce and presence in East Anglia as the manufacturing side of the business continues to expand.

Involvement in new projects means Proserv plans to recruit more than 90 people in the region over the course of the coming year. During 2013, the firm added 60 additional personnel in East Anglia.

Customer demand for the company’s industry leading subsea control and communications equipment has also led to Proserv submitting a planning application to extend one of the workshops in Great Yarmouth.

Proserv’s chief executive officer, David Lamont, said: “This growth signifies another major milestone in the successful evolution of our company and one that further reinforces our rapidly-evolving status as a leading energy services company in the marketplace.

“With a very healthy order book for the forthcoming year and as we look to launch a number of exciting new tools and technologies to market for the first time, 2014 looks set to be another significant year for the company.”

Exceptional international growth has seen the firm treble the size of its Europe West Africa (EWA) region headquarters in Aberdeen and announce it will be taking on new staff throughout its business sites.

Within the past two years alone, Proserv has experienced a phenomenal 75% rise in turnover from £112million ($181million) in 2011 to around £196million ($316million) in 2012 with expected turnover for the year ending 2013 anticipated to further increase by up to 40% to circa £269million ($434million).

In addition to this, the company has grown its talent pool between 2012 and 2013 by around 25% from 1,600 to over 2,000. Proserv is also actively looking to recruit a further 150 personnel over the next six months with around half of this job creation expected to be in Aberdeen City and Shire.

Earlier this year, the company’s outstanding growth was industry recognised when Mr Lamont won Private Equity Backed Business in the EY UK Entrepreneur of the Year 2013 awards.

Mr Lamont, who was also named EY Scottish Entrepreneur of the Year, was praised for the company’s impressive acquisition strategy, its geographical reach and the opportunities for further expansion while he was also recognised for moulding “a phenomenal business of a truly global nature” at the Scottish awards.

Through establishing a significant 40-year track record for delivering high-value bespoke technologies and services, which are underpinned by its dedicated engineering expertise, Proserv has fast emerged as a leading energy industry specialist particularly in the drilling, production, subsea and marine market sectors.

The company operates worldwide across several regions and currently employs more than 2,000 people globally.

For more information about Proserv, visit: www.proserv.com

East Norfolk Sixth Form College recently hosted an Industry Consultation Event in conjunction with Norfolk Chamber of Commerce and the East of England Energy Group (EEEGR). Key employers from the area worked with the College to further develop the Engineering provision to be offered from September 2014.

Introducing BTEC Level 3 Engineering into the curriculum at EN supports the College’s desire to provide outstanding experiences for its students. Dr Catherine Richards, Deputy Principal outlined the benefits of this new curriculum offer ‘Giving young people the choice to study BTEC Engineering together with A levels in subjects such as Maths, Physics, 3D Design and Geology will help to support local industry. Partnership working with employers has helped us to identify the most suitable units to be studied for direct entry to work, apprenticeships or university. We are very proud of the innovative work that we are doing in this area to prepare our young people for careers in this skills shortage area.’ East Norfolk Sixth Form College has an excellent record of success and its work with employers was recognised by Ofsted when good links with employers were recognised and creativity in the curriculum was positively received by Inspectors. Any local employers wishing to find out more about the introduction of BTEC Engineering are asked to contact Dr Catherine Richards for more information by emailing [email protected]

HIGHER CLAIMS COSTS = HIGHER PREMIUMS!

This is why KTIB are encouraging their clients to report motor accidents immediately online.

The quicker our claims unit know about an accident the more chance insurers have to control the costs and keep clients premiums down.

Click on the linkto see our exciting new short film on how to help reduce the cost of motor claims!

We are winding down for Christmas this week as the corporate activity slows down, the staff have all worked extra hard since the middle of November with the rush of coach groups staying to come and see the Thursford Christmas Show and for a City Shopping Break, our Dinner Dances and Staff Parties started on 22nd November and have been going on most evenings since and our Christmas menu for lunch and dinner in the Restaurant has been proving very popular too!

This has all cooled down for a few days so the stff are having a wll earned rest today and tomorrow ready for the weekend’s events and then we have the big Christmas Break – lots of guests all staying for 4 nights to share their Christmas with us here at the Brook along with many local residents fro around the Norwich area joining us for our fabulous four course Christmas Day lunch – this is also now fully booked which is fantastic news!!

With it being slower on the corporate front though we have bedrooms available which means we can share our last minute availability with you at some fantastic rates…

If you are out celebrating this week why not make the most of it and stay overnight here at the Best Western Brook Hotel? We can offer you a room Wed, Thurs, Fri or Sun for just £50 for 2 people sharing and if you want, we will also throw in a free breakfast the next day for you! (Saturday night will be £65)

We also have spaces available on our last 2 Christmas Dinner Dance Events and can offer these places for just £10 instead of £19.50! If you are interested in booking a room or a table for one of the Dinner Dance eventssimply call us on 01603 741161

The Government has announced that the first same sex weddings in England and Wales will be able to take place from Saturday 29 March 2014, several months earlier than originally anticipated.

The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 received Royal Assent in July, but it was anticipated that the first same-sex marriages would not take place until summer 2014. Couples wishing to be among the first to marry will need to give formal notice of their intention by 13 March 2014.

The Government is also hopeful that couples who want to convert their civil partnerships into marriages and married people who want to change their legal gender while remaining married would be able to do so before the end of the 2014. Same sex couples who married abroad under foreign law are currently treated as civil partners in England and Wales, but they will instead be recognised as being married from March 2014.

Emma Alfieri from Steeles Law’s family team commented that it was positive news for many couples up and down the country and encouraging that the change will take effect earlier than anticipated.

For further information please contact the family team.

Here is theDecember Newsletter from Emkay Plastics

EXTRA DATES ADDED FOR CHRISTMAS DINNER DANCES THIS YEAR… Due to the popularity of our dinner dances this year and we are now fully booked for next weekend’s events we have added to more options for you! Join us on Monday 23rd December or Tuesday 24th December for a Classic Christmas Dinner Dance Event here at the Best Western Brook Hotel Norwich – Delicious 3 Course Evening Meal will be served on arrival followed by an evening of entertainment with our resident DJ playing all your favourite songs to take you through to midnight – Just £19.50 per person!

Scottish airline Loganair has announced it will commence two news services between Edinburgh Airport, Norwich and Cardiff as it marks its fifth year anniversary with franchise partner, Flybe.

From the end March 2014, when Flybe withdraws from the Norwich route, Loganair will increase the frequency of its services between Norwich and Scotland’s capital, basing a second Dornier 328 aircraft at Norwich International Airport and taking on six locally based staff.

The carrier will start a double daily weekday service in April, adding a third rotation after the Easter holidays to provide a convenient business schedule. As an extra boost to passengers, a Sunday service will also be added, with Sunday frequency increasing to two flights during the peak summer season.

For the Cardiff connection the airline will be commencing a triple week-day flight and a twice daily rotation each Sunday. This marks their first step into the Welsh aviation market.

Loganair’s announcement comes on the five year anniversary of its franchise agreement with Flybe, Europe’s largest independent regional airline. The relationship was the first of its kind when taking to the skies at the start of the winter flying programme in 2008.

Over the past five years, a total of 2,567,110 passengers have flown over 710-million passenger kilometres* (710,813,590 passenger km or 441,679, 086 passenger miles) on 139,147 flights operated by Loganair under the Flybe brand; and over 6% of these passengers have taken advantage of the convenient connecting flights between Loganair and Flybe’s regional network. Loganair currently flies 25 routes under the Flybe brand including Norwich to Manchester and Guernsey.

Phil Preston, Chief Operating Officer at Loganair, added: “We are delighted to take on the Edinburgh services providing the much needed frequency on the routes to support the local business communities.

“Through our partnership with Flybe, we’ve been able to develop services from Edinburgh, which will also open up connections onto our extensive Scottish network including Orkney and Shetland, will be well received by business and leisure passengers.”

The Agricultural Division of TekPro, which is possibly best known for its’ development and manufacture of the Samplex range of bulk samplers, is currently flying the flag for British manufacturing in Australia. Although TekPro has been receiving orders from around the globe for several years now, the recent introduction of the CS6000 has opened new doors to many larger storage facilities ‘Down Under’. Larger articulated vehicles required a new method for taking samples in a more cost effective and efficient manner.

The CS6000 rail systems, which have a sampling area of 14m -28m, allow a variety of vehicle sizes to be sampled with ease and confidence by the operative. The representative samples use air to blow them back to a control area, which allow operators to be in a clean and safe environment throughout the process.

TekPro are specialists in electro-mechanical engineering and are based in North Walsham, Norfolk. The Samplex range of samplers has been manufactured for 25 years in 2014 and the company prides itself on retaining customers from 1989 to today. TekPro enjoys a reputation for product quality, on-time delivery and competitive pricing. Substantial overseas orders have recently been placed which have enabled an increase in staff.

Visit our website at www.tekpro.com for more information.