FiB finds positivity amongst West Midlands family businesses

WEST Midlands family enterprises are ‘overwhelmingly positive’ about the year ahead and are already implementing ambitious expansion plans, according to the region’s specialist support organisation for firms in the sector, Families in Business (FiB).
 
Family firms from across Birmingham and the Black Country met at family-owned Swinfen Hall, Lichfield, to discuss their plans for 2016.
 
FiB’s CEO Dani Saveker said: “Family enterprise leaders from across the West Midlands joined us for the event at which we set-out to unravel the opportunities and challenges facing the region’s family business sector this year. 

“These evenings provide a safe, supportive and highly confidential environment for leaders and executives of these entrepreneurial businesses to share thoughts, offload issues and discuss challenges.

“Amongst the businesses taking part were manufacturers for the air and sea sectors, packaging businesses, plant hire and pharmaceutical companies, recruitment, fire and security organisations, aged between five and 148 years and with an average annual turnover of £11m.
 
“All believe this year will be better than previous years, and said they are fed up with the doom and gloom across the region’s business communities and media.”

National Windscreens makes £1m investment

TAMWORTH’S National Windscreens has invested in a programme designed to ensure it is equipped to meet the growing demand for camera and sensor calibration (CSC) for ADAS (Advanced Driver Assist Systems) throughout the UK.

ADAS utilises multifunctional windscreen mounted cameras in safety features including lane departure warning systems, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and adaptive cruise control.

In the event of a replacement windscreen being fitted the ADAS camera and sensor should be calibrated to ensure the technology works as intended.

This current recommendation affects the whole windscreen replacement industry.

National Windscreens is taking a market leading role by maintaining a national network of 108 fitting centres that can provide the workshop conditions required for accurate calibration of the vast majority of camera sensors at the time of a windscreen replacement.

Wolverhampton firm helping to beat construction sector’s biggest killer

A TRAINING specialist has teamed up with the ‘Working Well Together’ campaign to help prevent construction workers from being affected by the biggest single cause of work-related deaths.

Experts from Wolverhampton’s C&D Consultancy will provide three interactive ‘Asbestos Awareness’ workshops later this month, with 36 free places available for individuals keen to gain more understanding of this potentially deadly topic.

The 2.5 hour sessions – to be held at Wolverhampton Science Park on January 28th – will examine the types, uses and likely occurrence of asbestos and asbestos containing materials in buildings and plant and how to avoid coming into contact with them.

There will be practical examples and advice on the procedures to be followed when dealing with an emergency, such as an uncontrolled release of asbestos dust into the workplace.

Specialists will also outline the effects on health, including the increased risk of lung cancer for asbestos workers who smoke.

Warwickshire woman celebrates first year in business

A WARWICKSHIRE woman who left the corporate world to set up her own coaching business is celebrating her first anniversary.

Marie Haycocks set up Certanovo – a business which specialises in coaching for young people, individuals and professionals – after working in financial services for 18 years where she had undertaken a number of senior project manager roles.

Faced with redundancy and having recently become a mother to her son Ethan, she took the difficult decision to leave her job and embark on the road of self- employment.

Haycocks specialises in helping people to understand where their talents and passions lie and to look at the opportunities available to them. In particular, she enjoys working with young people and has recently completed a project with Stratford High School where she helped sixth form students assess their skills and passions and identify career paths that they could find rewarding.