Coronavirus update – the latest news from Yorkshire businesses

Apprentices from Keighley College are supporting a local engineering company in manufacturing parts for the Ventilator Challenge.

Keighley-based Yorkshire Precision Engineering specialises in computer numerical control mill and turned parts.

Due to the pandemic, there has been an increased demand for ventilators across the care sector. As a result, the firm joined the VentilatorChallenegeUK consortium; a collection of businesses who have come together to produce medical ventilators.

Working with Keighley College, two students on the Level 3 Advanced Engineering Apprenticeship have been gaining experience at the firm.

Daniel Fuller has been on his apprenticeship since August 2018, enabling him to develop valuable engineering knowledge and experience.

Samuel Steventon has been an apprentice at Keighley College since January 2019 and transferred to Yorkshire Precision Engineering in March, following the closure of a local company.

Both apprentices have been supporting the production of ventilator parts, including setting tooling and monitoring the performance and consistency of the two parts.

Lynda Laybourne, sales and finance director at Yorkshire Precision Engineering, said: “Daniel and Samuel have been instrumental in the production of ventilator components.

“As part of the Ventilator Challenge, the team has produced a fantastic 8,000 parts within a week.

“We’ve been working tirelessly around the clock to make this happen; the apprentices’ work ethic is admirable and we’re incredibly proud that they can help us fight against the virus.”

Ronnie Magee, deputy head of Keighley College, said: “Our apprenticeships are extremely valuable and this is shown through the masses of practical skills and knowledge developed during their time at great local firms.

“Yorkshire Precision Engineering is committed to its apprentices and has ensured Daniel and Samuel have stayed working during these challenging times to help manufacture and inspect the high value ventilator parts.”

The business has produced 8,000 brass turned parts and 4,000 plastic mill parts as part of The Ventilator Challenge. These will be distributed to hospitals across the country.

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A Leeds-based web development and digital marketing agency has selected three local businesses to benefit from completely free of charge e-commerce websites.

GRM Digital launched the campaign after seeing local businesses struggling to trade offline during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The initiative saw dozens of businesses without an e-commerce website apply, with three worthy candidates chosen from the region.

Winners include Leeds events firm TPL Experiences, and Barnsley-based ICD Training which offers courses in energy and utilities. Both firms offer online training and will benefit from bespoke-built booking platforms that allow users to book specific time slots via the website.

The third winner is off grid renewable energy experts, Xerogrid, from Leeds which has worked with businesses and domestic properties across the globe to install solar energy.

Run by entrepreneur, Ian Emberton, Xerogrid originally formed as Ian E Energy in 2014.

Having experienced phenomenal growth, the firm re-branded to extend the company’s services across the globe. But as a business dependent on travel and supplier referrals, the Covid-19 lockdown saw orders disappear overnight.

Emberton said: “Xerogrid is a young business which has previously relied on word of mouth and orders from our suppliers.

“The Covid-19 pandemic meant there were difficulties in working with international suppliers and our orders quickly dried up.

“When I saw GRM Digital’s offer, I jumped at the chance to get a website people can order directly from, as I know there are still people unable to connect to the grid, as well as those who want to find a more sustainable way to power their homes and businesses.”

Nej Gakenyi, CEO and founder of GRM Digital, said: “We received several applications which we carefully read through and selected the three winners we believed we could best support.

“It is clear that all three firms will benefit from an e-commerce website which our team is working hard to develop and we hope our support not only helps them to get through the current pandemic, but helps them to thrive in the future too.”

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A Bradford-based manufacturing company will be donating 1,000 sauce and meal kits to local communities and key workers during the month of May.

Gordon Rhodes, the retail arm of fine food ingredient manufacturer, The Dalesman Group, is offering 1,000 Saucy Meatball Meal Kits and Gourmet Vegan Sauce Mixes to an array of groups in the local community as well as unheralded care heroes.

Ian Rhodes, company director and founding member, said: “It is incredibly important to support people in our local community and our unsung heroes as much as we can during these unprecedented times.

“Our gourmet, gluten free sauce mixes are designed for use in a slow cooker and our Meatball Meal Kits are perfect to use at the moment.

“We have seen a large increase in demand for our products and it is with thanks to our committed key worker staff that we have been able to meet this demand whilst keeping our staff safe.

“We understand there are a lot of people who are isolating, and we hope these gifts can help them have a hearty meal that can be batch cooked.”

Gordon Rhodes will be distributing the 1,000 packs – which each feed up to four people – to food banks, people in the community, care home staff and carers in the community.

The company will also be reaching out to its followers on social media to nominate other worthy recipients for the free products.