North West business briefs: Aztec Aerosols; Manchester Airports Group; Kids Planet; Equans; You’re Safe Here

Aztec Aerosols' warehouse opening

Crewe-based Aztec Aerosols is expanding following the opening of a new warehouse due to ongoing growth over a four-year period. The company said it is increasing capacity on its evening shift and is considering introducing a night shift, which will both require extra staff on top of the current 50-strong workforce.

The 661 sq m building is based alongside the current site at Gateway Business Park and was recently officially opened by Crewe Mayor, Cllr Tom Dunlop. The new-build, took 18 weeks to complete and consists of warehouse space, which will provide the firm with much needed capacity for an additional 2,000 pallet spaces. The expansion was needed to meet an increase in sales and production demands for products which include the filling of aerosols ranging from air fresheners to brake cleaners and line marking paints.

This latest investment follows a series of major investments from parent company, Instarmac Group. Aztec Aerosols has been based in Crewe for more than 20 years, having moved operations to the town in 1999.

The new warehouse was completed by local firms with Crewe structural engineer Pioneer Design and Build leading the project and Lantern Fire and Security providing a state-of-the-art fire alarm system. Paul Butcher, sales director at Instarmac Group, said: “The redevelopment of the land and construction of a new warehouse represents a significant investment in Aztec Aerosols by the parent company. The building supports a strategic production capacity increase and allows higher stocking levels of critical components.

“Running alongside this development is the installation of a new high speed aerosol filling machine which is due to be fully operational by the end of the year. These investments will allow Aztec to triple its current production capability and provide faster, more efficient service levels to its customer base.”

Crewe Mayor, Cllr Tom Dunlop, said: “It was a pleasure to have been invited to such a lovely event. It’s great a company of your size chose Crewe and to expand here, and future plans bringing more employment to Crewe.”

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Small and medium-sized businesses can learn more about how they could become a supplier to the UK’s largest group of airports when Manchester Airports Group (MAG) hosts a ‘Runway to Recovery’ meet the buyer event tomorrow, Wednesday, December 8.

The virtual event will be free to join for all and will be hosted by senior leaders from across the group. The managing directors of all three MAG airports – Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands – will provide an overview of their respective businesses, alongside information from MAG’s procurement team about the process of becoming a supplier, and current available opportunities.

Businesses from across the airports’ surrounding areas in the North West, East Midlands and East of England can sign up to the event to learn more about their local airport and the wide ranging business opportunities they provide. The group works with hundreds of partners and suppliers at each of its airports, spending more than £780m annually. Suppliers are critical to the effective running of the airports’ operations, which, collectively, welcomed more than 60 million passengers in 2019.

As well as gaining insight into working with MAG, businesses can also learn about how to become a leader during changing times through the use of innovation and technology, as well as have an opportunity to network with like-minded businesses. MAG had previously hosted a meet the buyer event at London Stansted Airport for a number of years, and after its long running success, decided to roll the scheme out across the group to promote the creation of local supply chains which support local businesses.

Neil Robinson, MAG CSR and airspace change director said: “Our ‘Runway to Recovery’ meet the buyer event will provide SMEs from the areas local to all three of our airports with the opportunity to get a unique insight into how they could do business with us. By hearing from our airport managing directors and our procurement teams, businesses can see how their product or service could contribute to our supply chains which help our airports run seven days a week, 365 days a year.”

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Chef Gonzales

As part of Kids Planet’s commitment to providing children with the healthy, nutritious food they need to learn and grow, the Kids Planet Training Academy is launching a new dedicated Chef Academy this month.

Working closely with head chef, Victor Gonzalez, the Training Academy has put together a programme of learning for apprenticeship chefs with the Lymm-based nurseries business. The Academy is keen to upskill existing staff to achieve accreditation and higher level qualifications through apprenticeship routes. The team is in the process of identifying and recruiting new apprentices to support the initiative across the company, and supporting other early years employers and organisations preparing food for children.

Full training will be given, including training in Kids Planet kitchen operations and the use of appliances. Apprentice chefs will assist the chef with the Kids Planet Food Management System and running of the nursery kitchen, while engaging in all elements of the apprenticeship programme.

Gill Mason, head of training and development at Kids Planet, said: “We know good nutrition is of vital importance to children’s development, so we are keen to promote apprenticeships and training opportunities in early years nutrition.

“It is essential that both our new and existing kitchen staff are given the opportunity to achieve training and qualifications to ensure they are competent and confident to provide the best food for the children.”

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Tree planting initiative

Equans, the new brand for Engie’s regeneration and services-led activities, has planted 800 trees across Cheshire as part of National Tree Planting Week in partnership with Cheshire East Council (CEC), The Wildlife Trust, Bollin Valley Rangers and Ansa.

Equans said it is committed to providing social value across all operations, including in Cheshire East having recently been awarded a 10-year, £97m facilities management (FM) contract by CEC. Having successfully worked together for seven years, the contract will see Equans not only deliver FM, capital projects and compliance services work to council buildings across the region, but also serve as a strategic partner to support Cheshire East’s ambitious net zero carbon targets.

The trees, funded by Equans, were planted in three sessions across three different sites in Wilmslow with volunteers from Equans and CEC guided by members of The Wildlife Trust and Bollin Valley Rangers, who instructed the team across the three sessions. During the week, Equans also planted 50 trees in Flintshire as part of a long standing relationship with Flintshire County Council, where earlier this year Equans completed work on a £3.1m solar farm.

Ryan Pearce, partnership director at Equans UK & Ireland, said: “It’s great to get involved in activities such as this one with Cheshire East Council and partners, combining social value with sustainability – two of our biggest priorities. We’re proud to be improving the communities we work in and look forward to continuing to work with CEC as part of our partnership moving forward.”

Chair of the environment and communities committee for Cheshire East Council, Cllr Mick Warren, said: “The council has an ambitious target to become carbon neutral in its own operations by 2025 – and in working together with the wider borough to support individuals, schools and organisations to reduce their emissions. Where we are unable to remove our own carbon emissions completely, we are taking steps to offset carbon locally – through initiatives such as tree planting.”

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A scheme to create safe spaces in venues across the Liverpool City Region, developed in response to a spate of hate crimes against the LGBT+ community in the city, has started rolling out across the city.

Fifty-three venues are now accredited with the ‘You’re Safe Here’ mark, following training sessions delivered by LCR Pride Foundation in partnership with Merseyside Police And Crime Commissioner, Emily Spurrell, Stop Hate UK, Merseyside Police, Liverpool Nightlife CIC and other city partners. The mark aims to reassure the public that they are in a safe place and that staff will know what to do if they are a victim of a crime, need help, or are faced with intimidation or other unacceptable behaviour.

The training sessions, delivered at a range of venues around Liverpool, provided information for venues on how to deal with an extensive range of scenarios, including recognising hate crimes and incidents relating to gender and sexuality, race, disability and more, supporting victims and how to report hate crimes, as well as awareness of sexual violence, unsafe drinking, grooming and student safety.

From next week recipients of the new standard will display the accreditation mark in windows, on tables and on posters inside the venues, which contain a QR code linking to further support. Speaking of the first wave of training sessions, LCR Pride Foundation CEO and co-founder, Andi Herring, said: “The initial response to the training scheme has been fantastic and clearly reflects the commitment of venues across the city region to providing safe spaces for all. While this scheme was launched following a series of hate crimes against the LGBT+ community in the city, it is intended to improve safety for anyone living in, or visiting, the city. Feedback from participants has so far been excellent and has created a foundation for ongoing partnership working.”

Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner, Emily Spurrell, said: “The overwhelming response to the You’re Safe Here scheme shows just how strong the shared determination is across our city to make it as safe as possible. Liverpool is known for being one of the friendliest, most welcoming cities in the country and this initiative is yet another example of how local people will go out of their way to help others.”

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