Sentinel, The; Stoke-on-Trent (UK)

Your Stars with Shelley von Strunckel

ARIES: Mar 20-Apr 19 0901 470 0481 While in retrospect you''ll recognise just how worthwhile the recent process of exploring various options was, you''ll still be relieved that decision time has come. Not only that, you''ll need to call on what you learned and the experiences you had to convince certain individuals that your ideas are the way to go. TAURUS: Apr 20-May 20 0901 470 0482 The idea of discipline may sound intimidating. At the moment, however, there are one or two areas of your lif...

Steelite Plans to Create 200 Jobs

UNEMPLOYMENT may be at a 20-year high in a stuttering economy - but Steelite International has plans for up to 200 new jobs over the next two years. A global leader in the world of crockery for hotels and restaurants, its business is booming with record sales of Pounds 60 million and pre-tax profits up 45 per cent in its latest financial year.

French Lining Up to Buy More Storage Tanks

WINNING export orders can be tough - but Tuffa Tanks is booming on the strength of its sales to mainland Europe. And while its tanks are the storage kind, and not the sort some UK politicians would currently perhaps like to send into France, it is the French who are among the biggest buyers. Uttoxeter-based Tuffa's cross-Channel shipments for its sales year just ended are almost six times the volume sent over in the previous year. Its trade increase into Eastern Europe has also been impressiv...

David Johnson ; Each Week David Johnson, Account Director at Shepherd Pr, Takes a Look at the Staffordshire and Cheshire Business Scene

G IVEN Stoke-on-Trent's recent political history, it's interesting to sense the excitement in other cities about the prospect of introducing the elected mayoral system. There was excitement here as well, both before and immediately after the electorate voted for the system in 2002, but the honeymoon period was verging on the non-existent. Six years later the same electorate decided it had got it wrong and reversed the decision in a second referendum. There were a number of reasons - some of t...

Internet Changing Fortunes of Firms ; Investments and Businesses Need Constant Monitoringeach Month Richard Farmiloe, Investment Manager at Brewin Dolphin's Hanley Office, Gives His Opinion On the Movers and Shakers in the Sentinel Brewin Dolphin Index, an Indicator of the Performance of the Region's Eight Listed Companies, Compared to the Wider London Stock Exchange

THE local index rose last month, though both it and the larger UK stock market currently show losses for the year in the run-up to the Christmas period. The only negative move in the list was NWF. Although the company announced that trading was in line with management's expectations, profits will be slightly behind the strong comparative prior year period due to difficult market conditions and costs relating to the recent acquisition of Swan Petroleum. Milder weather has reduced demand at the...

Smart Start: A Nursery Business [...]

SMART START: A nursery business is expanding with a new pre- school. Directors at Karetakers Day Nursery have expanded their Longton site to accommodate SmartStartUK, which aims to prepare children aged three for their transition to school. They have won Government funding for the project, which can provide up to twoand-half days a week of free childcare and education. Owner Gavin Donlon said the new pre-school, which has 34 places, had created two new jobs.

Business Ethics: Author Phil Birch, [...]

BUSINESS ETHICS: Author Phil Birch, pictured right, says he wants to change the way the world does business. Phil, who runs coaching firm Birch Business IQ in Church Lawton, is preparing to launch his second book on ethical business later this year.

Firm On Up Down Under ; Telesales Specialist Celebrating After Securing Contract in Australia

OUTSOURCING can be something of a dirty word in this part of the world, but one firm is benefiting from the trend after landing a contract from Australia. Telesales specialist 24 I.S. has signed a deal with a Melbourne- based solar panel company which will see the Newcastle firm selling solar panel installations to Australian customers from its UK call centre. The contract has created five new jobs immediately, a figure which is expected to double over the next few weeks. 24 I.S. is based at ...

Find Out How to Protect Your Personal Data

BUSINESS owners and IT managers are being invited to a free event to find out more about protecting business and personal data. The event, which takes place at the Britannia Stadium on January 20, is the third held by The Staffordshire Technology Alliance Group (S.T.A.G), a not-for-profit association made up of local companies. Members set up the group after becoming fed up with having to travel to Birmingham or Manchester for the latest mobile, online and IT infrastructure information and ne...

More Forms to Be Filled In

NEWCASTLE accountancy firm Barringtons has criticised plans to introduce a new monthly tax return, which it claims will land employers with a timeconsuming and costly administration task. Managing director Phil Wood said the proposed Real Time Information (RTI) scheme would outsource a major HM Revenue & Customs role to the private sector, proving a nightmare for local businesses already battling red tape. Under RTI, employers and pension providers would be required to file monthly PAYE retur...

Director Zooms in to Capture Mumbai Marathon On Film ; Award Winner Secures Deal to Cover Races in India

AN AWARD-WINNING film-maker is travelling to India to film its biggest marathon. Junction 15, based at Parkhouse Industrial Estate in Newcastle, has signed a deal with India's Star TV to film races across the country. Director Andrew Rowell, who won an Emmy for his work on the Beijing Olympics for U.S. broadcaster NBC, filmed the Delhi Half- Marathon in November. And this week he is heading back to India to work on the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, which has seen 38,775 runners sign up.

Top of the Chops: Staffordshire [...]

TOP OF THE CHOPS: Staffordshire butchers William M Perry has landed five awards for its sausages, bacon and pies. The Eccleshall firm started life in Small Lane in 1927 and is now based in Stafford Road. And at the Staffordshire and Birmingham Agricultural Society English Winter Fair, it picked up two gold awards for its traditional pork sausage and home-cured bacon, two silver awards for its pork, leek and stilton sausage and speciality pie, and a bronze award for its traditional pork pie.

Law Firm Scores with Franchise Win in the U.S.

Sales Grow for Web Designers

WEB design firm Cyberzia is launching a new apprentice scheme as it marks its 10th anniversary. The Longton-based company said it enjoyed a record year in 2011 as sales grew by 20 per cent. It has now decided to set up an apprentice scheme to help aspiring web designers get their first step on the career ladder. Cyberzia currently employs six people. It is recruiting for a further two in sales and web development and hopes to take on its first apprentice during the first quarter of 2012.

Outsourcing with a Twist ; Bus Ness Daily by Business Editor Louise Psyllides

TODAY'S business pages offer more evidence of North Staffordshire firms doing well in far-flung places. On page 21 you can read about the Newcastle film production firm heading to Mumbai to work with an Indian TV channel, while on page 24 there's the tale of the telesales company providing services for a solar panel installer - in Australia. It's outsourcing my friend, but not as we know it. Help with export is of course one of the many services offered by the North Staffordshire of Commerce....

'The Signs Are 2012 Is Going to Be Tough' ; Chamber's New Chief Executive Is Ready for a Challenge

How are you settling in? I'm really enjoying it. The people are great and everyone has been very friendly and welcoming. Before Christmas I spent two months shadowing previous chief executive Bryan Carnes, pictured below, which meant Bryan could get on with his job and I had the opportunity to get out there and meet absolutely everyone, from MPs to chief executives. What were your first impressions of the region's economy? There are some fantastic companies here. It's interesting when you com...

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Companies Missing Out On Tax Relief

ALMOST one quarter of Staffordshire entrepreneurs are missing out on significant reductions to their company tax bill, according to accountancy firm RSM Tenon. The company says 20 per cent of businesses in the region are unaware that they are entitled to tax relief on any research and development (R&D) that they are carrying out. The figure was released in RSM Tenon's quarterly Business Barometer which surveys senior management in small to medium-sized fir ms.

The One Jasper Carrott 8.30pm, [...]

Film I Now Pronounce You [...]