North West business briefs: Oldham Active; Yourgene Health; Together; Andrew Kay; Sports Insure; David Wilson Homes NW
Oldham Active (Oldham Community Leisure), the charitable trust that operates leisure facilities in the borough, has invested £750,000 into the refurbishment of the gyms at Chadderton Wellbeing Centre, Failsworth Sports Centre, Oldham Leisure Centre and Royton Leisure Centre.
Due to start this autumn, the works will see a substantial upgrade to the gym space at all four of the leisure centres, including a total replacement of the cardiovascular equipment by Oldham Active’s partner, fitness equipment provider, TechnoGym.
Oldham Active is also introducing ‘BLAST’, a new group training experience using TechnoGym’s specialist curved treadmills, Skill Mills, SKI ergs, which replicate Nordic ski function movements, rowers, free-weights and other pieces of functional training kit. Lauren Connis, Oldham Active’s new group health and fitness brand manager, said: “The plan is to offer a blend of programmed classes in the early morning, at lunch times and peak times during the evening as well as a programme specifically for young people, around these times the space will be open for gym users to access.”
Each of the indoor cycling studios will benefit from either new or upgraded bikes and there will also be a new, fully interactive gym floor cycle zone at Oldham Leisure Centre with TechnoGym Ride. These specialist, interactive bikes allow users a real life immersive cycling experience that includes training apps, on demand coaches and a variety of outdoor routes. Across all sites the leisure centre opening times will be extended for gym and pool users.
Following requests from customers, a state-of-the-art sauna will also be a new addition to Royton Leisure Centre. Stuart Lockwood, Oldham Active chief executive, said:
“We have listened and are extremely excited be introducing a sauna suite as part of the investment. We hope customers will enjoy the physical and mental health benefits of this facility for years to come.
“This substantial investment demonstrates our commitment to continuous improvement. This isn’t just a lick of paint – the plans are extensive and will ensure our spaces are safe, welcoming and inclusive to all.”
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Dr Robert Henke
Manchester-based Yourgene Health, the international molecular diagnostics group, has launched its Yourgene MagBench Automated DNA Extraction Instrument and Kit.
MagBench offers a simple, fast, and cost-efficient, bench-top robotic cell-free DNA (cfDNA) extraction workstation optimised for Yourgene’s Sage 32 NIPT (non-invasive pre-natal testing) Workflow. This provides clinical laboratories with a streamlined solution, from sample to report, enabling them to provide a more accurate and competitive NIPT service. The MagBench solution is available to Sage customers across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.
Increased automation during DNA extraction limits hands-on procedures, minimising the chance of human error and with single-use tip disposal and a built-in UV lamp for decontamination between runs, it minimises the risk of cross-contamination. It also helps improve the accuracy and consistency of pipetting, resulting in a lower failure rate.
Dr Rob Henke, vice president of sales, Asia-Pacific at Yourgene Health, said: “Yourgene is committed to delivering best-in-class NIPT solutions, where precision and quality assurance are key.
“MagBench enables an economical and automated NIPT workflow. Reducing manual procedures improves user experience, facilitating true walkaway time while minimising the risk of contamination and improving testing accuracy. This decreases the number of screening failures, greatly improves efficiency, and helps lower expectant parents’ anxiety.”
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Gerald Grimes
Cheadle-based specialist lender, Together, has committed £1m to charitable causes in the coming year as part of its sustainability strategy. The announcement comes as part of its Thrive Together initiative – the lender’s commitment to supporting the community.
The finance company, which provides personal and commercial loans, has previously donated to good causes such as providing a donation for new affordable housing for young people facing homelessness and another to a Cheshire college to support education in the construction industry. One such charity was Manchester-based Centrepoint, which received a £250,000 donation for its independent living programme. The programme provides high quality, affordable housing for young people to create a home of their own.
Together also donated £100,000 to charity Forever Manchester. The finance was used to establish a ‘Together Energy Fund’, which supports local community centres across Greater Manchester with rising energy costs. Charites such as St Ann’s Hospice, which helps adults with life-limiting illnesses, and childhood cancer charity, The Joshua Tree, also received donations, enabling them to continue providing vital support.
Together will be maintaining its long standing charity partnership with Seashell Trust. Based in Greater Manchester, Seashell Trust provides a creative, happy and secure environment for children and young people with complex needs and additional communication challenges from across the UK.
Gerald Grimes, CEO designate at Together, said: “Given the current economic climate, our communities need us now more than ever. As a responsible lender, we have committed to donating £1m to community projects in 2023 as part of our Thrive Together Initiative. Over the past year, we have already been able to help organisations across the region, addressing crucial societal issues such as homelessness.”
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Orca on Hunter Island
Award-winning Cumbria-based sculptor, Andrew Kay, has delivered an unusual £22,000 Canadian export order to an island off British Columbia this month as demand for his artwork grows in North America.
Kay, who specialises in creating unique life-size sculptures of wild animals and birds from welded lengths of steel, was commissioned by US property developer Rand Falbaum to create a five-metre-high sculpture of an orca’s tail for the grounds of his holiday home on Hunter Island on Canada’s pacific coast, near Vancouver. The 220kg sculpture has been shipped to Canada, on a six-week journey that passed through the Panama Canal and up the Pacific coast to Seattle, before being installed on the largely uninhabited Hunter Island which is in a maritime conservation area frequently visited by whale species, including orcas.
Andrew said: “Exports are a rapidly growing area of our business, now accounting for around 30% of our turnover, and especially in the US and Canada where we have seen a flurry of orders of late. Creating the orca’s tail for Mr Falbaum is a first, but after almost 30 years in business our work has travelled all over the world, particularly to a growing client base in the US.”
Other recent North American orders include horse and stag installations in the Maine resort town of Kennebunkport and in the Hamptons on Long Island, New York, while a herd of deer, fox and leaping horse sculptures were installed at a property in Montreal: “We also have sculptures in Singapore, several of our bulls have made their way to Spain, and earlier this year we delivered a pair of merino sheep to the grounds of a villa in the Basque Country,” said Kay.
Based at a sculpture studio and foundry near Kirby Lonsdale that he established in 1994, and where he employs a team of six, Kay regularly receives public art commissions from bodies such as the National Trust and English Heritage. The studio’s private clients include a string of well known names including Sir Tom Stoppard, comedian John Bishop, and screenwriter and director Richard Curtis. Hospitality firm Daniel Thwaites and Scottish Widows are among Kay’s corporate customers.
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Manchester-based sports insurance specialist, Sports Insure, part of the global professional services firm Aon, has announced that it is the title sponsor of the 2023 British Speedway Premier League competition.
The partnership, which covers the whole of the 2023 season, has resulted in Speedways’ top UK league being renamed this year as the ‘Sports Insure Premiership’ and provides significant investment into the sport which will support clubs and riders across the UK.
It is hoped the collaboration between Sports Insure and Speedway will drive growth of the motorcycle sport among participants and spectators by supporting investment in equipment and gear for the UK’s seven premier league clubs: Belle Vue in Manchester, Ipswich, Wolverhampton, Sheffield, Peterborough, King’s Lynn and Leicester. Another key part of the sponsorship is expanding the sport at grassroots level by creating more access for children and young people via development programmes.
Dawn Luby, client management director at Sports Insure, said: “We have collaborated and supported the development of the Speedway leagues for several years, so becoming the title sponsor for the 2023 Premier League competition was a natural next step.”
Phil Morris, CEO, Premiership Speedway, said: “This new sponsorship ensures that we can continue to invest and grow Speedway, creating opportunities for the next generation of riders, as well as providing high exposure to millions of viewers on our regular live broadcasts on Eurosport and the British Speedway Network.”
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DWHNW staffer Isla Thomas
Warrington-based developer, David Wilson Homes North West, has gathered a collection of crisp packets for a donation to a charity which recycles the packets to create survival equipment for the homeless.
The sustainable housebuilder’s staff have made the donation of crisp packets to The Crisp Packet Project, as part of its efforts to recycle and support the homeless and vulnerable community in the process. All of the crisp packets will be donated to the charity which recycles them to create survival equipment for those in need, and a £500 donation has also been made by David Wilson Homes to support the efforts of the charity.
It takes 44 packets to make a survival sheet, 55 for a blanket and 100 to make a bivi bag which, for simply keeping hold of a crisp packet after consumption, can make a huge difference for homeless people across the UK. Pen Huston, founder and director of the Crisp Packet Project, said: “Together we can make a difference in how we consume and recycle and get creative using one use plastic waste, to help someone be a little bit more comfortable in their situation and, in extreme weather, save lives. Crisp Packet Project HQ thanks David Wilson Homes for its support so that we can help others.”
The worldwide project was introduced in November 2019 by Pen Huston, and many hundreds of people have now made these items to help others to keep warm. All unwashed crisp packets are donated to Terracyle KP, an organisation which helps The Crisp Packet Project to raise funds for its headquarters in Hastings, plus the Rain Forest.
Philippa Stewart, sales director at David Wilson Homes North West, said: “For us to complete such a simple task after lunch, it’s great that we’re able to support The Crisp Packet Project’s incredible efforts to help homeless people in need and we’re proud of our employees for collecting such a large number of packets.”
