North West business briefs: IoT initiative; Pandemic Institute; PLAY; Medicash; Science in Sport; Chester Zoo; Vita Group

Cheshire College South West Crewe Campus

Cheshire and Warrington region has been selected by the Department for Education (DfE) and Institute of Technology (IoT) to lead on a highly prestigious project between employers and colleges that will see £14.2m invested within the region.

The IoT initiative is part of a wider government plan to equip young people with the technical skills they need in priority areas, such as advanced manufacturing, digital and cyber security, health and life sciences, agri-tech, construction, science and maths, which will also benefit local employers.

The project will mean direct investment for employers, local businesses and colleges in the Cheshire area with £14.2m capital investment, giving students within the region access to state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, providing them an ideal environment for learning and the opportunities to gain higher level technical qualifications.

Cheshire College – South & West is leading this joint venture, which also includes Warrington and Vale Royal College, Macclesfield College, Reaseheath College, University of Chester and Priestley College. The IoT work to ensure world class training and education opportunities in the region and is a unique collaboration between employers, colleges and universities that specialise in offering high quality higher technical education and training. In Cheshire, this training will be provided by organisations such as Encirc, Warrington and Halton NHS Trust, Bruntwood SciTech at Alderley Park and JCB, keeping the region at the forefront of industry developments.

Dr Kath Mackay, director of life sciences and managing director of Alderley Park, Bruntwood SciTech, said: “I’m thrilled that we will be supporting Cheshire and Warrington’s IoT from Alderley Park. Connecting the companies based at our campus with the right skills and talent is imperative to creating and retaining jobs in the region.

“With over 4,500 people now working at Alderley Park, I’m excited to be supporting the next generation of innovators and providing a platform into science and technology careers for our learners.”

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High level visit

The Government’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) chief scientific adviser, Prof Lucy Chappell, visited Liverpool recently to learn more about the role of The Pandemic Institute and its partner institutions, in tackling infectious diseases.

The visit included the University of Liverpool’s Ronald Ross laboratories, the NIHR Clinical Research Facility led by the Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) Accelerator Research Clinic. All are playing a key role in helping The Pandemic Institute in tackling emerging infections and future pandemic threats

Researchers from these institutions shared their latest outputs and future plans including details of how they are using the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to address infectious disease challenges more widely. Key city figures including Mayor Joanne Anderson, Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and University of Liverpool Vice-Chancellor Prof Tim Jones joined the discussions.

Sir Patrick Vallance said: “It was great to visit The Pandemic Institute in Liverpool and see first hand the work that is being done by a collection of leading institutions in preparing for future pandemics and tackling infectious diseases.”

Prof Tom Solomon, director of The Pandemic Institute and chair who also heads the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections, said: “We were privileged to be able to share our current research and future vision with the chief scientific advisors to the government and to the DHSC. The Pandemic Institute has worked very closely with the Government Office for Science and DHSC throughout the pandemic, and this visit provided a chance for us to discuss how we will continue to play a leading role in protecting us from emerging threats.”

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Ikechi Chima Apakama and his friends

A Liverpool man won free flights for life for being the one millionth passenger of low-cost Icelandic airline PLAY when he and his friends took a flight from Liverpool John Lennon Airport to Keflavik on February 17.

The crew began the celebrations after take-off in Liverpool, announcing to passengers that it was a milestone flight carrying PLAY‘s one millionth passenger, with the winner due to be revealed upon landing at Keflavik International Airport.

All passengers were greeted with gift bags, prosecco and cakes to mark the occasion, and millionth passenger Ikechi Chima Apakama and his two friends were met with a surprise celebratory party as winner of the prestigious prize.

Ikechi and his travel companions then travelled on to their destination from Keflavik Airport in style, with a Cadillac full of treats and goodies to enjoy while spotting billboards around Iceland welcoming and congratulating Ikechi on his victory.

PLAY’s CEO, Birgir Jónsson, said: “I want to thank each one of the one million guests who chose to fly with PLAY and the PLAY team for delivering our award-winning service. Reaching one million passengers is a huge milestone for a new airline that only 18 months ago was facing a global pandemic and unprecedented travel restrictions. While I’m sure this is a big deal for Mr Apakama, it’s a huge moment for PLAY.”

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Paul Gambon

Liverpool-based health plan provider, Medicash, has built on the success of its 150th anniversary year in 2021, with a record-breaking increase in policyholders in 2022.

In its fastest-growing year on record, the company closed the year with 482,000 policyholders on its books – marking a net increase of more than 125,000 new policies in one year. Seeing its policy base surge by 35% in 2022 makes this Medicash’s most successful year for growth in its 150-year history.

Sales and marketing director, Paul Gambon, said: “Even though we have been growing year on year, the number of policies sold this year has been truly exceptional and this reflects the hard work and commitment of the business to offer market leading products and services. On average, we sold one new policy every two minutes in 2022, with sales up an incredible 84% on our previous record year.”

Gambon attributes much of Medicash’s success to an increased awareness of employee wellbeing among UK employers: “The demand for employee health benefits has surged in the wake of the cost of living crisis. There has been a huge rise in employers looking to support their staff’s physical and mental healthcare costs, and a health cash plan provides the perfect means of doing so.”

Chief executive, Sue Weir, said: “I’m overjoyed to know that our health plans are providing more and more people across the UK with better access to healthcare in these uncertain times.”

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Global performance nutrition brand Science in Sport (SiS) has announced it is to be the performance solutions partner of French football club, Olympique Gymnaste Club – most commonly known as OGC Nice.

Côte d’Azur-based OGC Nice is widely recognised as one of the original members of first division French football. With regard to the development of the club, particularly on the performance perspective, this new partnership comes at an exciting time and will see the team at Science in Sport taking an integral role in the delivery of the club’s performance nutrition strategy.

A partner to more than 330 professional athletes and teams globally, this extensive two-year partnership will see the team at Science in Sport, which has a major operation in Blackburn, working closely with the OGC Nice team, advancing their nutritional strategies and product selection, in the pursuit of optimum performance and recovery.

Prof James Morton, chief scientific officer with Science in Sport, said: “Through the years we have demonstrated the significance that nutritional strategy has in unlocking an athlete’s performance potential, and have worked with some of the best elite teams and athletes around the world including INEOS Grenadiers. I speak for everyone at SiS when I say how much we are looking forward to our work with the team at OGC Nice.”

Laurent Bessiere, director of performance of OGC Nice, said: “In order to compete against the best in the world, our players need to consistently perform at their very best, and it’s vital that they are able to recover fully for the next game in their schedule. The support of Science in Sport is set to be an invaluable asset to us, enabling our players to enjoy an individually tailored nutrition approach, with insight into how to best implement this into their routine for the very greatest benefit.”

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Science at Chester Zoo

Chester Zoo has formed a new partnership with businesses and partners in the Cheshire Science Corridor to work on cutting-edge and world-leading research.

The Cheshire and Warrington Science Corridor links together national and international research facilities and science-based businesses, providing opportunities for collaboration and innovation. Now, newly-forged links between the zoo and businesses and organisations in the Science Corridor will allow for vital, cutting-edge conservation research to take place – adding significant value to the region’s science and technology offering.

It is believed Chester is the first zoo in the UK to become part of any major science and technology cluster. Dr Simon Dowell, conservation science and policy director at Chester Zoo, said: “Chester Zoo is already a major player in the field of international conservation science. At a time when species face extinction on an unimaginable scale, we’re making a substantial contribution to the task of preventing extinction and restoring biodiversity.

“Over the last decade, as a mere snapshot of the zoo’s scientific work, we’ve worked with 481 institutions across 38 countries in Europe and have provided over 1,500 evidence-based recommendations, trained 50 PhD students in partnership with 15 different UK universities and collected and analysed more than 110,000 biological samples to give us fresh insight into countless species. We use our knowledge and expertise to influence government environmental policy and are leading efforts to protect and restore vital habitat for wildlife, both globally and here Cheshire.”

Clare Hayward, chair of Cheshire and Warrington LEP, said: “Bringing together our strengths in human and animal life sciences across the public and private sectors, the zoo will add significant value to the region’s science and technology offering, particularly strengthening our capabilities in endangered species breeding programmes, conservation and zoonotic diseases that can cross over into human populations.”

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Vita Italy Naples facility

Vita Group, the Middleton-based manufacturer of premium foam products, has seen rapid progress at its Italian business, two year after it opened operations at the Naples site following the acquisition of foam manufacturer I.M.P.E. S.p.A which saw the group expand its reach into the second largest furniture producing country in Europe and one of the largest furniture exporters in the world.

Known as Vita Italy, and following its integration into The Vita Group’s operational processes, it has seen rapid increases in staff numbers and productivity. Site headcount has doubled from 30 to 60, while the quantity of foam produced has quadrupled from 3,000 tonnes annually to 14,000 tonnes.

Vita Italy manufactures value-added and differentiated polyurethane foam for the Italian furniture and bedding industry. The location has enabled Vita to enhance its offering to Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, North Africa and the Americas.

Antonio Piccolo, Vita Italy’s site manager, said: “Our business has undergone a rapid and positive transformation since we became Vita Italy. With our increased capacity we are producing more foam than ever before – and we look to increase our volume once again next year. In tandem with the excellent progress we’re making on sustainability, it looks set to be another very exciting year for Vita Italy.”

Gilbert Davids, comfort foams MD, The Vita Group, said: “Two years on from the acquisition of I.M.P.E. S.p.A our investment and training programme has resulted in enhanced facilities and better jobs for more people throughout Naples. The Vita Group now has an established foothold in one of the most prestigious furniture markets in the world, supporting our entry into new demographics and helping us bring our sustainable products to more customers globally.”

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