The Official Magazine of Somerset Chamber of Commerce August / September 2017 Hinkley Point C: Building a Somerset Legacy 18 | FEATURE 6 | CHAMBER NEWS New manager appointed for Hinkley Supply Chain Team 10 | FOCUS ON: MARKETING & PR Chamber Members discuss elements of their sector 32 | BUSINESS NEWS Citizens rights following Brexit Creating opportunities Get in touch to to connect – stimulating find out how we business growth for Somerset can help your business grow Become a member today - membership packages starting from as little as £150 per year somerset-chamber.co.uk T: 01823 444924 E: [email protected] 3 CONTENTS First Word 4 Patron News 5 Chamber News 6-9 Focus On 10-11 Members Area 12-17 Feature 18-21 #WellConnected 22-23 The Big Interview 24-25 18 | FEATURE Members News 26-31 HINKLEY - A SOMERSET LEGACY Business News 32-33 Town Chamber News 34 5 | PATRON NEWS 10 | FOCUS ON Disclaimer The views expressed in this magazine are 34 | TOWN not necessarily those of the Chamber. This CHAMBER publication (or any part thereof) may not be NEWS reproduced, transmitted or stored in print or electronic format (including, but not limited to, any online service, any database or any part of the internet), or in any other format in any media whatsoever, without the 12 | MEMBERS AREA prior written permission of the publisher. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information contained in the magazine, Somerset Chamber do not accept any responsibility for any omissions or inaccuracies it contains. Somerset Chamber of Commerce We are social Equity House Blackbrook Park Avenue Blackbrook Business Park @chambersomerset Taunton, Somerset TA1 2PX Editorial and advertising: Watch us on YouTube E: [email protected] T: 01823 444924 Printers: Print Guy, Somerset Find us on LinkedIn Design by: Thoroughbred Design & Print, Somerset 4 Get in touch FIRST WORD Marketing Scarlett Scott-Collins Marketing Supervisor We all live in what appears to be an ever-increasing paced life, with technology at the heart of change. If you look at the number of T: 01823 444924 years certain products took to gain 50 million users, it was 62 years E: [email protected] for cars, 12 years for mobile phones and Twitter just under 2 years. This will, no doubt, continue to accelerate. Membership So, sometimes it is good to get off the treadmill and reflect on what has been achieved. For the Chamber, the last 12 months have seen us Alistair Tudor re-defines ourselves in terms of our brand, our vision, our objectives, Membership Sales Manager our values, how we communicate, and I thank my growing team for T: 01823 444924 | M: 07912 054195 their efforts in helping us to develop to benefit our members and E: [email protected] Somerset. Our members now employ over 30,000 staff, compared to 22,000 just over 12 months ago, which includes our growing network of affiliated town chambers. Events Also I remember back in May 2016 there were only a few hundred Loren Gray working at Hinkley Point C. Today the site bears little resemblance, Events Manager with good progress being made and approaching 2,000 workers on site. Whilst many opportunities have and will be presented to South T: 01823 444924 | M: 07821 950379 E: [email protected] West businesses, we recognise the impact the project will have on the local and wider economy of Somerset, and as such we will Brooke Gilbertson continue to work to mitigate them to create a positive legacy. Advanced Business & Administration Apprentice I would encourage all Somerset businesses who have not entered T: 01823 444924 the Somerset Business Awards so far to do so before the deadline E: [email protected] of 21st August. I am looking forward to the Awards evening on the 20th October, which promises to be another highlight of the Somerset business calendar. Hinkley Supply Chain Chris Langdon Hinkley Supply Chain Project Lead Dale Edwards T: 01823 443425 | M: 07771 791736 CHIEF EXECUTIVE E: [email protected] Sam Evans Hinkley Supply Chain Business Engagement Manager OUR PATRONS T: 01823 443425 | M: 07525 809274 E: [email protected] Contact us to find out what benefits Alan Windsor Somerset Chamber Patrons receive. Hinkley Supply Chain Data Coordinator T: 01823 443425 T: 01823 444924 E: [email protected] E: [email protected] General Enquiries T: 01823 444924 E: [email protected] First 5 PATRON NEWS A-Plant Wins Hire Get in touch Somerset Patronage announcement Company of the Year Weston College is an Ofsted Dale Edwards, Chief Executive of Award outstanding college of further and Somerset Chamber of Commerce, higher education in Weston-super-Mare, commented, “I am thrilled to welcome A-Plant was recognised as the providing education and vocational Weston College as the latest Patron Plant, Tool & Equipment Hire training to nearly 30,000 learners across to Somerset Chamber of Commerce, Company of the Year (over the South West and nationally. which has an excellent reputation. £10million turnover) at the The College and the Chamber share The College is regarded as one of the prestigious Hire Association Europe the same passion for providing the top FE colleges in the UK and won (HAE), Hire Awards of Excellence. facilities and environment to develop both “College of the Year” and “Overall our future talent in order to help Further Education Provider of the create a vibrant Somerset economy, Year” at the 2015 Times Educational particularly as we currently have a Supplement Further Education Awards. skills and labour shortage in Somerset The College’s higher education and the South West. We look forward provision, University Centre Weston to working in partnership with the has recently been award a Gold college over many years to come.” rating following the national Teaching The College is entering an exciting Excellence Framework (TEF), which phase as we invest in new skills CEO at A-Plant, Sat Dhaiwal places the College in the top 20% training provision for law and commented, “We are extremely of university providers in the UK. In professional services, health, proud to win Plant, Tool & September 2017, the College will be construction and civil engineering. Equipment Hire Company of the opening a new Law and Professional Our patronage with Somerset Year at the HAE Awards. The HAE Services Academy in the historic Chamber will offer new partnership does a lot of important work for Winter Gardens in Weston. opportunities for the College and we our industry so to win this award Dave Crew, Director of Business look forward to hearing the latest from them is a fantastic honour Growth, said, “We are delighted to member news, supporting Chamber for A-Plant. What’s more it is great become a Patron of the Somerset events and sharing our successes”. recognition for the hard work our Chamber of Commerce as we feel it’s people put in day in and day out, as extremely important to be part of the such this award belongs to them.” business community across Somerset. Sat continued, “In the last 12 months Weston College has strong relationships we’ve continued with a period with employers across the region, of significant growth, our service providing a highly-skilled workforce for centre network has grown, we’ve industry and by strengthening our links employed more people and we’ve in Somerset through the Chamber, we invested record breaking levels in will continue to develop partnerships new equipment and services so our with employers. customers can hire the youngest, safest and most environmentally efficient equipment available.” Defence Minister Visits Leonardo Helicopters Minister for Defence Procurement and supporting small and medium Harriett Baldwin visited Leonardo enterprises (SMEs) in the supply chain, Helicopters in Yeovil 3rd July to many of which are in the South West. hear how Ministry of Defence (MOD) During her visit, Mrs Baldwin was research and industrial partnerships briefed on the progress being made on with Leonardo are supporting UK jobs, the second phase of a jointly-funded exports, and rotorcraft capability. £8 million Rotary Wing Unmanned The visit also marked a year of the Air System (RWUAS) concept innovative Strategic Partnering demonstrator; cross-Government efforts Arrangement between Leonardo to support the export of the AW159 and Helicopters and the MOD, which lays AW101 helicopters; and company plans out shared commitments to cost for continuous improvement and to Minister for Defence Procurement, Harriett effectiveness, jobs, and exports, underpin design engineering capabilities Baldwin, with Marcus Fysh, Yeovil MP; Daniele recognising the key role both that are vital to ensuring the continued Romiti, Managing Director, Leonardo Helicopters; parties play in building national safety and airworthiness of the MOD’s John Ponsonby, UK Managing Director, Leonardo Helicopters and members of the team working prosperity through exports, sustaining Merlin, Wildcat, Apache and Sea King on the Rotary Wing Unmanned Air System employment and specialist skills, helicopter fleets. concept demonstrator. SOMERSET VOICE | THE MAGAZINE OF SOMERSET CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017 First 6 CHAMBER NEWS Somerset business leaders gather for annual Chamber dinner Around fifty of the county’s leading business world. business people gathered in Taunton Instead he has on Thursday 15 June for the annual created a bottom- Business Leaders’ Dinner, organised by up process, Somerset Chamber of Commerce. so the people dealing with the Held at the Castle Hotel, the event is customers have one of the highlights of the Chamber’s the tools that events calendar, attracting many of enable them Somerset’s most successful businesses to change the and biggest employers.