Birmingham Bullring shoe retailer Cloggs.co.uk celebrated their one year anniversary last weekend.

The 2000 sq ft Cloggs.co.uk store next to Selfridges in the Bullring opened in September 2009 and features touch screen internet terminals, which can display the full range of available stock.

Cloggs.co.uk is run by local brothers Nick and Chris Thomas, with business partner Damian Scarlett. It began life as an online retailer ten years ago and now stocks more than 20,000 items, including big brands such as FitFlop, Birkenstock, Converse, Crocs and they are official authorised retailers of genuine UGG® Australia.

“The last 12 months have been tough for a lot of companies in the footwear market but there has been substantial consolidation in the sector, which has helped to lift sales, particularly for specialists like us.

“We have deliberately made our store different by incorporating many of the features of our online shop, such as free next day delivery and all the same deals and discounts.

The team behind Cloggs.co.uk has more than 35 years’ experience of trading on the high street and began operating online over ten years ago. Cloggs.co.uk now stocks more than 20,000 items across specialised departments covering: womens shoes, womens boots, womens sandals; mens shoes, mens boots, mens sandals; as well as boys shoes and girls shoes. Other popular brands include: UGGs, Converse, Birkenstock, Crocs and Hunter Wellies. The Cloggs.co.uk Bullring store also recently won ‘Best New Store’ at the Drapers Footwear Awards 2010.

Visit the Cloggs.co.uk website at http://www.cloggs.co.uk/ for all the latest shoe ranges.

Autumn 2 night Special Offer at the Hillthwaite House Hotel in Windermere.

Rates from £159 per person for the 2 nights to include fabulous five course dinner, double en-suite accommodation and full English breakfast.  The price includes use of the swimming pool,  car parking and vat.

Autumn is a beautiful time of year to come and visit the Lake District with its vibrant colours. This year Hillthwaite House has a fantastic Autumn 2 night special offer available with rates from £159 per person which includes:

•    2 nights accommodation in a comfortable en-suite room
•    Fabulous five course dinner on both evenings
•    Use of the heated indoor swimming pool
•    Free car parking

Purchased in 1971 by the present owners John and Marjorie Sodeau, the house was then called Hoggs Hill Close and was a six bedroom private residence from which a small private hotel in Windermere was born. The house was very different then, with a stable block in the area to the rear of the building and a tennis court at the front. In 1980 the swimming pool extension was added and an additional 18 bedrooms were created. Additional bedrooms were added and the dining room extended in 1995, a plaque can be found on the wall below the terrace. The house next door, 6 Thornhill, was purchased and a new gravel track added in front of the hotel to provide access and a further 6 bedrooms were created.  In 2008 these rooms were refurbished and we now have 4 bedrooms in the lodge/annex, with 2 having sitting rooms with lovely lake and mountain views.

Offer subject to availability and cannot be used in conjunction with other offers. Usual terms and conditions apply. Superior rooms subject to availability and a supplement. Limited number of rooms available on this offer. Offer available until 12th December 2010, but certain dates excluded.  Minimum stay 2 nights.  Cannot be combined with any other offer. All offers are available at the hotels discretion and offer advertised can be altered at any time.

For more information on the Hillthwaite House Hotels in Windermere visit http://www.hillthwaite.com or telephone 01539 443 636.

Llite is a Private Limited organisation based in New Cleveland Street Hull with further sites in North and North East Lincolnshire and Sheffield. Established in 2001, Llite was developed in response to local people not accessing local jobs in construction and allied trades. People from out of town were being brought in by the local construction companies. Llite wanted to turn that around so that local construction jobs were accessible to local people and Llite would help to supply learners with the skills and resources to achieve this.

Llite have since developed a workforce of 45, and are now the largest deliverer of construction training in Hull, Sheffield and Scunthorpe, working with 1,200 clients per annum. Despite their growth, Llite are as passionate about developing local people and enabling them to achieve their potential as they were when first established.

James Epworth, Strategy Director of Llite said “The Construction Industry is a very good career option. For local unemployed people enrolling with Llite, learners will have the potential to develop skills in a range of Construction Industry roles. But it doesn’t stop there; we also help learners to find a job through our employability support services”.

Llite have an aftercare service which means once the learner has entered employment, they can still contact Llite to resolve any issues they may have. James continued “the aftercare service is proving to be a valuable resource to learners. If they feel they need further skill development in the future or any help or advice, then we have the facilities and resources to provide this”.

Learners enrolling with Llite will develop skills in the following trade areas:

• Bricklaying
• Plastering
• Joinery
• Plumbing
• General Construction Work
• Painting and Decorating

Llite works with a number of stakeholders including local colleges, Jobcentre +, LSC and HLC to offer these courses to local people. Llite assess each learner on their own merits, and their learning progression is very much tailored towards that individual. If the learner needs more practical skills, a qualification or if the learner has the skills but can’t get into employment – then Llite can offer them a service that best suits their needs. If the individual doesn’t have a CSCS card for example (a passport for construction sites) then Llite will make sure they have the skills to obtain one. James Epworth continued “This (CSCS card) is great for anybody who may have been made redundant in the Construction Industry fields. Obtaining this passport along with employability sessions can greatly enhance someone’s employment prospects”.

Llites Employability Quest teams includes life coaches, basic skills tutors and recruiters. They aim to develop learner’s confidence through learning, activities and events which encourage learners to develop achievable career goals.

In January 2007 Llite obtained a Grade 1 (outstanding) Adult Learning Inspection (OFSTED). It is a major achievement and one Llite is very proud of. Further achievements in Matrix and Investor in People awards were coupled with praise of how well Llite deliver and integrate Basic Skills into Construction training programmes.

HLC have recently awarded an Adult Engagement contract to Llite whose staff have also benefited from HLC services by attending a Level 3 IAG course.

Looking towards Llites future plans James said “Key flexible New Deal contracts are essential to sustain Llite. We are hoping to expand further into North East and North Lincs and develop programmes in conjunction with local schools and colleges. We hope to be further involved in the regeneration of Hull, building schools for the future, and supplying labour from programmes run here at Llite”.

Hopes Grove Nurseries are pleased to announce their autumn plant sale dates.

Hedging plants specialists Hopes Grove Nurseies wil be holding their annual autumn plant sale on Friday, Saturday, Sunday 24th, 25th, 26th September 2010 between 9am-5pm at their nursery in Tenterden, Kent.

Hopes Grove Nurseries Ltd is a medium sized, family owned nursery situated in the heart of the Garden of England. Much of the 30 acre site was originally laid down to hop gardens.

From small beginnings in 1992, the production of quality hedging and hedges had steadily increased to over half a million saleable plants each year. The fertile soil produces robust bare rooted plants of good quality. Pot grown plants are produced on our container unit now expanded to over 35,000 square feet of polythene tunnels and almost two acres of outside beds to meet the rising demand for quality pot grown items. Their grading, packing and despatch facilities now extend to 8,000 square feet to offer an efficient service to customers all over the country.

Almost everything is produced on site, giving them complete control over all aspects of plant quality and handling. This is backed up by friendly advice and our written guarantee to offer our customers a unique standard of service and complete peace of mind when ordering.

For more information on the plants, hedges and hedging plants Hopes Grove Nurseries grow and sell and for directions to the nursery, visit http://www.hopesgrovenurseries.co.uk.

The Embedded Board Operations team at Blue Chip Technology Ltd have been busy installing a welcome addition to the Blue Chip Technology shop floor.

The new DEK ELA further improves factory throughput by fully automating the print screen element of the PCB production process. The new equipment brings a number of improvements to the process by eliminating the need to manually align and set up PCB print runs. In addition to increased speed and accuracy of throughput, the DEK ELA supports automated under screen cleaning and an integrated feed into the SMT line. The increased automation at this stage of production has allowed Operations to re- align its production team and invest valuable additional resources across product test procedures.

“We have set ourselves the challenging objective of further improving our 1st Time Pass rate for our PCB production this year”, commented Dan Sherwen, Organisational Improvement and Quality Manager, ” throughout the year we have implemented incremental changes using best practise problem solving tools, improving our month on month figures to reach our highest pass rate this year in July. This latest investment in the production line will further support our drive our for continuous improvement”.

Over the last twenty-five years Blue Chip Technology have built up a comprehensive range of resources and facilities which can be brought to bear on your project. They’re pretty unique in being able to offer UK design and manufacture at board and system level. We operate under the strict procedures of BS EN ISO 9001:2000, CE-marking our own product and attaining UL and FCC approvals on a project basis. They have forged long-standing relationships with key partners in the software and silicon sectors as well as with industry standards bodies.

Working closely with their customers across a spectrum of vertical markets, Blue Chip Technology has built up a practical understanding of the different industry requirements for industrial computer and single board computer platforms. We have worked with environmental extremes, legacy equipment, system security and industry specific compliances.

For more information on Blue Chip Technology products and services visit http://www.bluechiptechnology.co.uk

Assembly Solutions Limited announce launch of a new range of electrical cable assemblies kits specifically for the exhibition industry.

The next time you’re attending an exhibition, take a moment to appreciate the complexities of setting up a successful exhibition. The demands made on the construction crew are enormous. Working on a strict “do or die” deadline, they must have 100’s of booths, lecture areas, refreshment stalls and many more constructions finished and functioning perfectly before the doors open. One of the most critical tasks they face is setting up the intricate network of cable assemblies that power the entire exhibition.

ASL (Assembly Solutions Ltd.) is the “Complete Wiring Capability” company. Since 1995, ASL has been manufacturing and delivering cable Assembly Solutions to UK and overseas enterprises that demand the most sophisticated and reliable cable assemblies that money can buy. In addition to their Bolton factory headquarters, ASL now has factories in Poland and China to produce cable assemblies in the quantities their ever increasing clientele demands at the most competitive prices in the market.

Recently, ASL announced the launch of a new range of electrical cable assemblies specifically for the exhibition industry. The demands of the exhibition industry are somewhat unique, because their cable networks must be both as complex as permanent large installations and mobile. Exhibitions are set up one day and pulled down the next, only to be re-installed in another location for the next exhibition. This requires cable assemblies that can be quickly and repeatedly assembled and dismantled, without any loss in functionality.

ASL’s Exhibition Cable Assembly Kit answers this need with specially designed “Plug and Play” wiring harnesses that have been specifically designed and constructed for the needs of the exhibition industry. These PNP cable assemblies are exceptionally versatile and strong to accommodate the range of applications each exhibition demands and the abuse of repeated installations and removals.

With years of experience designing and manufacturing wiring harnesses, control panels, wiring and cable looms and the full spectrum of other cable products, ASL is uniquely qualified to produce cable assemblies for the exhibition industry. This company has been called upon for providing cable assembly solutions for some of the most demanding projects in the industry, including the automotive industry, the utilities industry and the transport industry.

Assembly Solutions Ltd. works closely with the companies that choose them to provide cable assemblies for both one-off custom projects and assembly line production runs. Their reputation for delivering high quality at competitive prices is second-to-none.

For more information on ASL’s cable assemblies, wiring looms and control panels visit http://www.assembly-solutions.com

WinMan ERP system goes live at AK Industries

Based at Rotherwas, Hereford, A K Industries Ltd (AKI) provides technically demanding, custom injection-moulded component and sub-assembly solutions to more than 50 industries. 75% of AKI’s employees are engaged in production functions, in the 20,000 sq ft air-conditioned manufacturing hall on a 40,000 sq ft total site with 30
injection moulding machines from 6 to 450 tonnes clamping force, plus a broad spectrum of robotic handling, ancillary and assembly equipment. Annual turnover exceeds £5 million.

Replacing the outdated Infor system written in Germany and used at AKI for the past seven years, a new WinMan ERP system went live at A K Industries on 6th April 2010.

It is intended to take the company up to the stage of a fully integrated manufacturing management, accounting, estimating and customer relationship management (CRM)
system – the last-named broadened out to “company relationship management”. The Infor system revolved around cumbersome manual data entry, not real-time data as
provided by WinMan.

AKI SUMMARISES THE EIGHT KEY FACILITIES PROVIDED BY WINMAN

Allen Green, Managing Director of A K Industries, comments:

“We regard WinMan as essentially a tool for business improvement because it will impact favourably on all areas of our business, over and above shopfloor operations,
and work out cost-benefit analysis and realtime snapshots helpful to management decision-making and control”.

“WinMan will pull together disparate satellite systems such as sales database and accounting packages which we would use outside our previous ERP system Infor. In many cases manual data entry, time-consuming and naturally open to human error, will be superseded by automated solutions.

“In summary, the eight principal features and benefits we see of the WinMan system are :-
* the tooling database (where the Infor tooling database never worked properly);
* the link to Mattec scheduling;
* electronic order processing, keeping us a step ahead of customers’ needs;
* the company relationship management (CRM) & associated quotation system;
* the barcoding of material movements – raw materials, work-in-progress & finished goods;
* an integrated accounting system replacing a standalone Sage system and enjoying full and free exchange of data inside WinMan;
* the failsafe alert system by email to warn of exceptional events;
* the attachment of all associated documentation to the Bill of Materials (BOM) aka Bill of Structure.

“In the final analysis, our new WinMan ERP software system is a discipline which will revolutionise the culture of our company and put us in the best of shape for the new decade and whatever manufacturing challenges it may bring. We can now look forward to the future with real confidence.”

For more information on how Winman ERP software can help your business visit http://www.winman.com