City briefs: Tissue Regenix; DFS Furniture; and more

Leeds-based regenerative medical devices firm, Tissue Regenix, has completed phase one of its expansion plans which increases manufacturing capacity at its facilities in San Antonio, Texas.

The San Antonio base includes the company’s existing facility and a 21,000 sq ft adjacent property, on which it has a ten-year lease.

Tissue Regenix confirmed on 18 March 2021 that it had completed the initial part of its expansion project. It states that overall, phase one was completed both on time and on budget.

The remaining aspects of phase one consisted of expanding the space for supporting administrative departments, which has taken place in the company’s leased facility next to its existing base, and building and qualifying two additional clean rooms.

Both clean rooms are being used for the processing and packaging of tissue products, bringing the company’s total number of clean rooms to seven.

Relocation of the supporting departments to the adjacent building has also created additional expansion opportunities for production and quality functions in the company’s existing facility.

Daniel Lee, chief executive officer, said: “The completion of our phase one expansion plans on time and on budget is excellent news, and provides us additional capacity and flexibility in line with our projected growth in our different target markets.

“Staging our expansion was a prudent opportunity to meet our demand and capacity needs in an efficient manner.”

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Doncaster-headquartered retailer, DFS Furniture, has appointed Loraine Martins as independent non-executive director of the company.

She will be a member of the Audit Committee, Nomination Committee, and Remuneration Committees.

Since 2012, Martins has been the director of diversity and inclusion at Network Rail, which is responsible for the UK’s rail infrastructure.  

In 2021 she was awarded the OBE for her work on diversity and inclusion at Network Rail.

Prior to that, she was responsible for jobs & skills and equality & inclusion in the construction of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park for the London 2012 Olympic Games, for which she was awarded an MBE.

Ian Durant, chairman of DFS, said: “I am delighted to welcome Loraine to the DFS Board. She brings with her significant skills and experience working within large organisations including Network Rail to develop their diversity and inclusivity strategies. 

“These skills as well as her health and safety experience will be of great benefit -to DFS as a non-executive director. 

“We are very much looking forward to working with her and are sure that she will make a valuable contribution.”

Martins, said: “At a time when businesses are increasing their focus on being more responsible – be it the environment, sustainability and diversity and inclusion, I’m honoured to be joining the DFS Board, with the Group poised continue its market leadership and enhance its social responsibility.”

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ITM Power, a Bingley-headquartered energy storage and clean fuel company, hosted a high level delegation from Chile lead by Juan Carlos Jobet, Minister for Energy and Mining at the company’s new gigawatt electrolyser factory at Bessemer Park, Sheffield.

The visit was part of a roadshow throughout Europe to present Chile’s National Green Hydrogen Strategy.

Launched in November 2020, the strategy will help Chile achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. 

The three main objectives of the strategy are: to have 5GW of electrolysis capacity under development by 2025; to have installed 25GW of electrolyser capacity by 2030, producing the cheapest green hydrogen in the world; and, to be among the world’s three largest hydrogen exporters by 2040.

The visit was hosted by ITM Power’s chairman, Sir Roger Bone and the company’s CEO, Dr Graham Cooley.

Following a tour of the facility, both parties enjoyed a full discussion about target end user markets, electrolyser manufacturing, coupling electrolysis equipment to Chile’s renewable power sources and presenting green hydrogen strategies at the forthcoming COP 26.

Bone said: “Chile has one of the most ambitious green hydrogen strategies in the world. We were delighted to discuss the strategy with Minister Jobet and his team and to show them round our factory here in Sheffield. 

“We are keen to focus our company’s development on those countries with significant low cost renewable energy resources and strong green hydrogen strategies, of which Chile is a very important example.”

Minister Jobet added: “Our visit to ITM Power’s Gigafactory, their impressive gigawatt electrolyser facility, gives us confidence that ITM Power has a product portfolio and a manufacturing capacity that could play a key role helping Chile meet our ambitious green hydrogen targets.  

“It was fascinating for us to see the manufacturing process, the scaled-up products and to meet people with the skills and knowledge to deliver industrial scale green hydrogen.”

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Darcy Wilson-Rymer, chief executive of Card Factory purchased his first shares  n Friday.

The boss who joined the business in March from Costcutter Supermarkets purchased 84,112 ordinary for £50,542 on Friday and now holds  0.025% of the Wakefield-based business’s ordinary share capital.

Speaking when he was announced as the new CEO in December 2020 he said:

“As a long-standing admirer of Card Factory, I am thrilled to be able to lead the business through the next phase of its growth journey.

“Working with the team at Card Factory, my ambition is to unlock the true potential of the business by delivering its transformation strategy in the UK and internationally.”