In brief: Signature’s Hartley bags procurement gong; Lowry tribute & more

LIVERPOOL property group Signature Living’s chief operations officer, Alan Hartley, has won Procurement and Supply Chain Management Professional of the Year at the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply awards.

The awards, which celebrate excellence and exceptional examples of best practice, shine a light on the contribution professionals make towards their business.

Hartley, who joined the property group last month to oversee the company’s UK-wide expansion, was honoured for his work whilst at Urenco – one of the world’s major uranium enrichment companies.

The judging panel, which included high-profile individuals from companies like Pepsi, Kingfisher and Britvic, recognised Alan’s work in transforming Urenco’s dated and fragmented procurement teams into a global high performing function.

Hartley, who managed a global team of 60 people and oversaw an annual spend of £800m whilst he worked for the company, said: “I’m really happy to have received the award – it came as a shock when my name was called out.  It is a real privilege to have been chosen, as there were other fantastic professionals who were also nominated in the same category.”

Hartley joined Signature Living’s senior management team as the firm identifies sites across the UK and Europe for expansion.”

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A STATUE created by apprentices at engineering and fabrication company WEC Group in tribute to Lancashire artist LS Lowry has become a seaside visitor attraction.

The work celebrates Lowry’s famously painted matchstick man and his dog, included in several of his works, is located at Knott End on the Lancashire coast.
 
It was unveiled to visitors for the first time at a ceremony on Friday September 11, which was organised by Preesall Town Council in association with Wyre Borough Council.
 
The statue will sit on the town’s ferry slip site where the artist created some of his acclaimed work during summer stays at the seaside village.
 
Apprentices at WEC Group’s training academy in Darwen created the statue, which has been designed in stainless steel and will stand more than 5ft tall on the ferry slip site.
 
The project has been overseen by Tom Elliot, divisional manager at WEC Group’s m-tec arm, which specialises in architectural metalwork fabrication.
 
It is the latest in a series of high-profile jobs m-tec has carried out, including a  stainless steel arch war memorial honouring those who served in the Great War, which was officially opened by Prince Harry in Folkestone last year.
 
The £5,000 project has been funded by Preesall Town Council and Wyre Borough Council.
 
The Mayor of Preesall Philip Orme and his deputy Gordon McCann visited WEC Group’s training academy to see the statue taking shape and have worked closely on the project with the company.
 
The mayor said: “The design is fantastic and it is great that the project has been carried out by apprentices.
 
“The idea is to get more people into the village and to give them something to look at. We’re really looking forward to seeing the completed work.”

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EUROPE’S biggest shoe retailer, Deichmann shoes, has opened a new store in Manchester at the Arndale Centre.

Occupying the former Poundland store, the company has spent £390,000 on refurbishing the 5,080 sq ft unit.

Chris Walker, store manager said: “It’s been a challenging few weeks as we were determined to keep trading for as long as possible during the refurbishments which, we succeeded in doing as the store was only closed for a few days.

“The store is looking fantastic and visiting us is going to be an even better experience from now on. I’m really looking forward to welcoming old and new customers alike.”