Rb in Good Health
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No. 74, April 2019 RB IN GOOD ALL CHANGE - BUT NO CHANGE! You may have heard that Rakesh spent thirty-two years at the HEALTH Kapoor is to retire as chief Company. Reckitt Benckiser (RB) announced executive of Reckitt Benckiser at This change will not affect the RB th its financial results on 18 the end of 2019. The Company Pension Fund or February 2019 and these showed has said that it has your pension. that Revenue and Profits had started the increased from the previous year. recruitment A small deficit in the Fund was Rakesh Kapoor, Chief Executive process and is looking at internal identified at the Officer, said, “2018 was a year of last Actuarial good financial progress achieved and external candidates. Valuation in April in an environment of both 2016. The significant change and challenging Rakesh said, Company is market conditions. As we look to ”2020 will herald legally obliged to the future, the Company is well a new decade and make up this positioned for long term I believe that now deficit and has sustainable growth.” is a good time for been paying additional money The share price reacted favourably new leadership to take this great into the RB Pension Fund since to the results. Company through the next phase that date. The next Actuarial of outperformance”. It is encouraging to see the Valuation is in April 2019 and the Company continues to perform He will have been chief executive results will be available in due well, especially for those for more than eight years and has course. pensioners that are still shareholders! RB ACQUIRE Inside pages … 2019 Pension Increase UpSpring Get-togethers diary RPI for the year to December Shortly after the RB annual results were published, an announcement and regional updates 2018 was 2.7% and this will was made about this latest In Touch form the basis of the RB acquisition. pension increase in April UpSpring was founded in 2005 by The Wheels of 2019. three entrepreneurs who are Industry As in previous years, the committed to creating better Pensions Department will solutions for the challenges of Science & Innovation send each pensioner a motherhood. It has developed a broad portfolio for pre- and post- Centre update detailed breakdown of the natal needs from vitamins and application of this increase supplements to compression Made in Yorkshire and this letter should be hosiery. Awards received towards the end of UpSpring will continue to operate April. as a stand-alone entity. Obituaries Get-togethers Only two areas have held a get-together in the period between January and the time of going to press, with most regions starting to meet in late March and April. We look forward to seeing the attendees having a good time when we publish DIARY DATES 2019 the August edition! Forthcoming get-togethers: Norwich - sadly no photos Alistair Stewart tells us that their January meeting was a “quiet affair, with twelve CHISWICK/LONDON (W) people in attendance.” Alistair has provided us with this update on the Colman’s Thursday, March 28th at 12 noon situation: The Wheatsheaf Hotel, Virginia Water. As the closure of the Colman’s factory comes ever nearer, the plans to continue Contact Peter Moores, to mill mustard and process mint in Norfolk have passed another hurdle - the Tel 01276 34778 plans for a new production unit were passed by the local council in late January. [email protected] The new factory is planned to be built at the Greater Norwich Food Enterprise HIGH WYCOMBE Zone, near Honingham, just west of Norwich, and could be operational by the Wednesday, April 3rd at 12 noon end of 2019. It’s intended to build a mill with a 20 metre high milling tower and Brewers Fayre, Loudwater, silos, along with a plant to process mint. The processed ingredients would then be sent to Unilever’s Midlands factory, where the finished products will be made. High Wycombe. Contact Paul Gilliam The factory will initially provide 25 jobs but it is hoped to expand and provide ingredients around the world. It will protect the link between Colman’s and Tel 01494 562843 Norwich. It is welcomed as a new long-term partnership between Unilever and DERBY the mustard and mint growers in Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, who Tuesdays April 9th & Sept 10th have been supplying Colman’s for generations, and have helped to make it a world-class producer. Both at 10:30am The Potting Shed Cafe, The farmer backed company, Condimentum Ltd, is building the factory after Markeaton Garden Centre, securing a 10 year deal with Unilever. Markeaton Lane, Derby. Hull - Cheval Cafe, Contact Lorraine Mugleston Willerby Tel 01159 733753 A noisy crowd - just over twenty - got together on Wednesday 20th NOTTINGHAM February and, as the song goes, Tuesdays May 7th & Sep 24th “Reminiscin’, this-n-thatin’ Havin’ at 12 noon such a good time”. The Shepherds, Stragglethorpe, Radcliffe-on-Trent, Notts. A big thank-you … Contact Brian Bradley To the get-together hosts who take Tel 01526 321575 time out to arrange these events - LEICESTER and to those of you who come Tuesday April 23rd at 11:30am along. Oadby Owl, Glen Road Oadby, Leicester, … and don’t forget Contact Brian Bradley Been a while? Never tried one? Tel 01526 321575 Why don’t you put the next date in your diary and give it a go? NORWICH Tuesdays April 9th, July 9th & Oct 8th at 10:30am all at TECHNOLOGY: Flashback to 1985 If the tablets stopped feeding into the The White Horse, Trowse. Back in 1985, Reckitt News tells us that lanes, the LED triggered an alarm Contact Alistair Stewart the Disprin production team which enabled the line operator to take Tel 01603 436391 introduced fibre optic technology in prompt and appropriate action. This order to automate tablet detection. technology significantly reduced the HULL An LED (light number of Wednesdays, April 24th emitting diode) empty foils June 19th , September 11th, generated by a being sealed; October 23rd & December 4th at 11am small micro- that in turn Cheval Cafe, Willerby processor, sent a red light down the saved time Contact Phil Shearsmith fibre optic cable. A cable was placed sorting out empty or part filled foils Tel 07858 137 178 over each of the four tablet feed lanes, prior to being placed in cartons. It was [email protected] prior to the tablets being sealed in foils. estimated to have saved £11,500 per year. Page !2 iCONTACT April 2019 [email protected] or c/o Pensions Dept, http://www.icontactnewsletter.co.uk Reckitt Benckiser plc IN TOUCH Dansom Lane, Hull, HU8 7DS Centenary celebrations Norwich Nostalgia How many famous people have visited the Carrow site and the Mustard Shop over the years? Here are two photos from the early nineties showing Princess Anne in the Mustard Shop and the then Prime Minister, John Major on the Colman premises. Our picture (above) shows Avyi Antoniou, with her son (Stelios), family members and friends, celebrating her 100th birthday on Monday, 7th January, 2019. Avyi and her husband came from Cyprus, to live and work in the UK. She worked at Winsor & Newton (Harrow) for many years. Avyi is as quick witted as ever and was able to explain the work she undertook whilst employed by the company. She constantly surprised Paul Gilliam by recalling conversations with George, his father. Unfortunately, as a result of a fall in her home, she is now living in Frithwood Nursing Home, Northwood and Stelios explained that, whilst Avyi Other well known visitors in the seventies were James has good care, she Callaghan (Prime Minister), Cilla Black, Richard Briers, Val understandably misses her Doonican and Tommy Cooper. The card Avyi received on her independence and social life. 100th birthday from the Queen Do you remember these visits, or other famous people dropping in? If so, let us know their names and any stories (good or bad!) Meltonian photos relating to their time with Colman’s staff. Can you fill in the missing names? Edward and his brother Freddie were descendants of Brian Groom, son of Bert Groom, sent us an email with a Edward Brown, who started manufacturing Meltonian couple of photos attached. The first photo is of a during the reign of King George III. presentation being made by Mr Edward Brown with (he The second photo is of the production planning section. Bert thinks) Doris Luxton - his father, Bert, is on the right. (on the right) was a production manager, reporting to Miss Bell (second left). Brian thinks the other man might be Jack White. Brian remembers Miss Bell as a “very nice person, who moved to Hull prior to her r e t i r e m e n t ” . Who are the other two ladies? Page !3 iCONTACT April 2019 The Wheels of Indus To continue the theme of transportation seen in recent issues of the problems compared to modern iContact magazine and prompted by an email from Brian (son of vehicles” Herbert Groom), we thought we’d take a look at mechanised road Chara’ outings transportation. The RB Heritage Centre has been an extremely useful The old magazines show many photos of how the lorries were being used and, resource in collecting this information and we acknowledge their by the sounds of things, they may have continued support to the magazine. been convertible for charabanc outings. The Priestman “Motor Dray” that was perhaps less of an issue. The One such outing in 1925 describes the In the late 1880’s, Reckitts wheels were solid, weighed 10 cwts Kingston and Canister Forewomen & commissioned the Priestman brothers each and used iron shoes for brakes.