North West business briefs: Polaris Media; Fanattik; Metrolink; Fusion21; TES Communication Solutions; TerraConsult
A former journalist, now PR boss, has written a book on public relations in the maritime industry.
Making Waves has been authored by Ben Pinnington, managing director of Merseyside and Manchester public relations firm Polaris Media, and is published by Rethink Press. It features insight from leading maritime industry figures, maritime journalists as well as PR thought leaders, with 20% of profits going to Liverpool Seafarers Centre and the Battle of the Atlantic Memorial.
Ben said ‘Making Waves’ is drawn from more than 20 years working in the media as a reporter and PR with 12 years in maritime. He said it features ‘how to’ chapters on brand, media relations, crisis, social media, strategy and evaluation.
He said: “The maritime industry has some of the greatest stories to tell of any sector in the world and is fundamental to global trade. However, maritime does not always communicate well with the media and often prefers a low profile. Recent incidents like the Ever Given crisis and the Black Trail documentary have brought this into sharp focus.
“Making Waves is written to try and help executives understand how to use PR better at a time of greater scrutiny especially with decarbonisation and ESG measures like the Poseidon Principles. PR is more than communications gloss, more than an add on to marketing, it is a discipline in its own right that should inform the strategic direction of the company.”
Mandy Pearse, the president of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations said: “Making Waves provides real insight into the maritime industry in a time of change and the strategic value of public relations in supporting its work. What comes through clearly is the necessity for theory and professional practice to be matched with insight and knowledge of the sector. This book is a call to action to business leaders to put strategic public relations at the heart of their operations and for practitioners to become the trusted advisors those leaders need.”
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Anthony Marks, Fanattik
Fanattik, the Cheshire based pop culture specialist has signed a pan-European gift license with ViacomCBS Consumer Products for Nickelodeon’s iconic SpongeBob SquarePants.
The deal covers home décor, barware, gifts and collectibles and products will be available from September in gift and toy stores across Europe.
Anthony Marks, MD of Fanattik, said: “An internationally beloved and timeless brand, SpongeBob SquarePants is one of the most watched programmes in the world with 100 million global viewers monthly and a feature film on the way in 2021. This was a brand the whole team wanted to have in the Fanattik portfolio.”
Fanattik has received multiple awards and enjoyed phenomenal growth over the past three years with multiple pan-European licensing agreements signed but this is the first time Fanattik have partnered with an animated show.
“With half of all viewers being adults, we are going to make sure the products we create appeal to the original fans as well as new ones.
“Each item will have that Fanattik twist which makes our pieces stand out from anything else in the market,” added Melissa Tudor, head of product development.
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Whitefield Metro stop
Work has started on a new temporary park and ride facility in Radcliffe as part of plans to increase the number of parking spaces at both the Radcliffe and Whitefield Metrolink stops, with the intention of opening up the network to more people.
The temporary facility, which will be situated close to Spring Lane School and have enough spaces for 250 cars, is due to be fully operational by mid-autumn. Once complete, the temporary park and ride will remain open until all works to install an extra parking deck at the existing Metrolink park and ride sites in both Radcliffe and Whitefield are finished.
The project will see the number of spaces at Radcliffe and Whitefield increased by 111 to 480 and 123 to 331, respectively.
Cllr Mark Aldred, chair of Greater Manchester Transport Committee, said: “Ensuring as many people have easy access to public transport for some or all of their journey is critical if we are going to encourage more people to use buses, trams and trains and park and ride plays an important role in the overall development and expansion of the Bee Network.
“By giving more people the opportunity to park and ride we can get more people onto tram services running across Greater Manchester – helping to reduce congestion on the highways, tackle poor air quality and incorporate public transport into people’s travel plans.”
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Jo Hannan
At a time when young people need support more than ever, Fusion21 – the Huyton-based procurement organisation and social enterprise – is supporting The Prince’s Trust to help young people build a better future for themselves and their communities.
A £150,000 grant provided via the Fusion21 Foundation will support more than 400 young people on their journey to access employment pathways as part of the Trust’s transformational partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care. The main ambition of this programme is to support young people to step into, and build, a fulfilling career in the health and social care sector, through breaking down barriers and providing access to employment.
The partnership, launched in June, will also see Fusion21 staff participate in corporate volunteering opportunities, working directly with young people to help with their journey. Employees have signed up to deliver vital life skill workshops, helping to create first CV’s or becoming a long term mentor to make a difference to young people across the country.
Emily Larkin, head of corporate partnerships at The Prince’s Trust said “We are delighted to be announcing the launch of our partnership with Fusion21. Together we will provide a valuable first step for young people into employment and insight into sustainable work within health and social care. We look forward to working and engaging with Fusion21 colleagues to support over 400 Prince’s Trust young people.”
Jo Hannan, foundation manager at Fuson21, said: “This programme will enable young people across the country to access a wide range of career opportunities in health and social care – with over 350 job roles to choose from in the sector, and over 100,000 vacancies at any one time. We are delighted to be working with The Prince’s Trust and look forward to enhancing the support they provide to young people through volunteering our staff time, skills and experience.”
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A new digital radio communications system developed by a Lancashire company is meeting the demands of the Clyde Naval Base in Scotland.
The system, installed by Leyland-based TES Communication Solutions, provides for secure encryption and fibre links for consistency of data and voice communications across Babcock Marine fleet engineering delivery team which provides maintenance for submarines and other vessels. The system offers new levels of communication for 280 staff who can now work in teams and communicate across the site directly using the hand portable radios using Motorola Capacity Max technology and a central pc dispatcher terminal.
Pau Henderson, project manager-business improvements at HMNB Clyde, said: “This enables instant communication amongst the various fleet engineering project teams each using their own frequency across the site without any interference. It will help improve site efficiency and improve how we can communicate important information with key workers who may be at the other end of the site.”
Steve Smith, head of business development for TES, said: “This is proven technology adapted for these specific circumstances providing a highly secure, consistent service for HMNB Clyde and its people to enable communication across this huge area on the Clyde. We’re proud to have won the business and then delivered such a high quality of system working closely with the team on the ground at HMNB Clyde to make sure they have a system which delivers exactly what they need.”
HMNB Clyde is the Royal Navy’s main presence in Scotland and home to the core of the Submarine Service.
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Sohar waste facility, Oman
Environmental consultants TerraConsult is to officially rebrand to ByrneLooby, more than two years after it was acquired by the international engineering firm. All 45 staff will continue to be based at the company’s headquarters in St Helens as well as its other offices in Chesterfield, Leeds and Colchester.
However, TerraConsult says the name change to ByrneLooby will bring much enhanced expertise and services across 10 key sectors, including waste management, environment, geoscience, energy, water, flooding, buildings, conservation, transportation and marine and coastal.
Established in 1998, ByrneLooby is an award-winning practice of 250 consulting engineers and project managers with 16 interconnected offices throughout the UK, Ireland and the Middle East. It is ranked as one of the top 15 UK ground engineering consultants, according to Ground Engineering magazine. The company sits on significant utility frameworks including Translink (UK) and Irish Water and consults on significant infrastructure projects, most recently HS2 Crossrail and Lowestoft Port redevelopment for Associated British Ports.
John Martin, managing director of TerraConsult, said: “We look forward to working as ByrneLooby, to provide enhanced expertise and services for our clients, building upon our national and international reputation in waste management and the development of land for commercial, waste, industrial, residential, renewable energy and infrastructure projects.”
The TerraConsult team has delivered significant landfill design projects in the UK, Africa and the Middle East, including one of the largest waste management facilities in the world, the Sohar Industrial Waste Handling and Treatment Facility (IWHTF) in Oman. The super-sized waste facility is a 50-hectare, 18-million cubic metre, three landfill complex, catering for both hazardous and non-hazardous wastes. It is a cornerstone of the integrated waste facilities in Oman, servicing the entire country.
