On the move: the latest East Midlands hires
Sleaford Quality Foods, the Lincolnshire-based supplier of ingredients and blends to the food industry, has taken a significant step towards realising its growth plans after appointing Trevor Holmes as innovation manager.
Holmes, who previously spent more than 26 years at Bakkavor as culinary innovation chef, will play a vital role in Sleaford Quality Foods’ plans to develop and expand its innovation and new product development capabilities during 2023 and beyond.
He said: “James [Arnold] as an MD is an engaging person to work alongside.
“The growth and development plans that he outlined to me were exciting and we’re now busy putting plans into place for the next four years to achieve our targets. There are huge opportunities for the company to add to its foodservice and manufacturing channels and to expand into the retail sector. It’s an exciting time to be working here.”
Arnold, managing director at Sleaford Quality Foods, added: “It’s great to have Trevor on board for what will be a period of rapid growth for Sleaford Quality Foods – and he will play an integral role in that. Trevor’s vast experience, skills and vision will be vital as we look to expand our innovation capabilities. His focus on the performance of our business will go a long way to ensuring we meet our targets for 2023 and beyond.”
A state-of-the-art £14m hub supporting start-up creative businesses in Northampton has appointed a new team to run the operation.
Vulcan Works, which is managed by Oxford Innovation Space, opened its doors in February following an extensive refurbishment.
Garrick Hurter has been named as centre manager and will be supported by assistant centre manager Gail Haddon.
Hurter has worked in the industry for 15 years, setting up and operating a number of serviced offices across the UK.
He said: “I am excited to be a part of the Vulcan Works journey and help local businesses, whether they are starting-up or scaling up. Our focus will be on providing a low-risk flexible space that brings together the communities of customers within the creative and digital sectors. I look forward to meeting and working with the business community.”
Hannah Tanner, Garrick Hurter, Darren Smith and Gail Haddon
Haddon worked in the customer service industry for 39 years before spending the last three years in the serviced office industry.
She said: “I have the most amazing role, becoming the assistant centre manager at the Vulcan Works. I am so excited to be a part of this new venture, where we are creating an innovative community, offering a variety of offices, workshops, hot desking, coworking, plus a variety of meeting room facilities. It is much more than a workspace, as we provide bespoke support for all businesses within our centre. I can’t wait to see what wonderful businesses join us.”
The duo have also added customer experience assistant Hannah Tanner and business growth manager Darren Smith to the team.
The refurbishment of Vulcan Works – a Grade II listed former ironworks factory – was funded by West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) and South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP), who facilitated a Local Growth Fund contribution of £6.3m, together with £3.06m from the European Regional Development Fund.
