We’re thrilled to welcome new members this month:
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| Superclean of Thurso is a family run business which has been running for over 30 years.
They provide professional commercial and domestic cleans, hard floor restoration, car valeting, ceramic coating and also specialise in industrial high powered carpet cleaning systems. Superclean strive to be at the forefront of the cleaning industry. |
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| Westfield Timber Supplies process and supply kiln dried firewood, sawdust and garden mulch as well as raw timber, all of which is sourced from local forests. The team can also cut timber to customers specifications. |
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| Portfolio Group specialise in 3 main areas:
maxxCare – Focussed on providing businesses with sanitising and ppe solutions to suit their needs, utilising own branded ViraPro anti-bacterial range. WeAreBrandHub – Offering a tailored and bespoke branding facility for all. Also offering merchandise and souvenirs, both bespoke and licensed. Stationery wholesale – Portfolio Group offer a large range of stationery for sale to retailers. Including the excellent Milan and Jovi. All stationery comes with a price match guarantee. |
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| The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is part of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) but works with many Government Departments.
DASA finds and funds innovative ideas that might benefit the Armed Forces and National Security. DASA runs themed competitions and the Open Call for Innovation. They provide 100% funding and respect Suppliers’ IP and equity. Dr Debra Carr is the DASA Innovation Partner in Scotland and is available to discuss Suppliers’ ideas with them and to advise on possible DASA applications. At the time of writing, DASA has funded 55 projects in Scotland in the last almost 3-years to a tune of £8M. Read more about how to get involved here |
To learn about how Chamber membership could benefit your business, see the Membership benefits page or get in touch with Fiona Levack, Business Development Manager to arrange an informal chat. You can email fiona here: Fiona@caithnesschamber.com The Chamber offers advice and support to businesses of all sizes, at all stages and in all sectors and we would be thrilled to hear from you.
In addition to chamber membership, many of our funded projects offer support and guidance to businesses in a range of ways. See the list of options, here.
Did you know that we offer a membership referral scheme? If you refer a business who joins the chamber, you could benefit from £50 off your next renewal. Read more here.
Following a motion put forward by the Caithness Committee, today Highland Councillors have given their commitment to continue to work to secure the sustainability of Wick John O’Groats Airport and to press for Public Service Obligation (PSO) status as a matter of urgency.
Wick has had commercial services from its airport since the 1970s, with services connecting to Edinburgh and Aberdeen. In its 50 years of operation the Airport has been instrumental in supporting the economic growth of the north, first through Dounreay and the oil and gas industry, and latterly to the decommissioning journey and the positioning of Caithness at the forefront of onshore and offshore wind, wave and tidal energy. It also plays a role in the wider business and tourism sectors.
In her speech, Chair of the Caithness Committee Cllr Nicola Sinclair highlighted the work done to prepare a strong business case and stressed that to be truly focused on socio-economic recovery it is vital that the doors of the Airport remain open.
She said: “Caithness Chamber of Commerce and other local stakeholders took early action and commissioned a detailed, independent feasibility study in 2019 which was then worked up into a full business case. This asks the Scottish Government to consider a dual-route public service obligation to protect our services to Edinburgh and Aberdeen which we believe is a sustainable model.
“A PSO would require an annual subsidy of £3m over four years, but it’s projected to deliver £5.2m in economic benefit and up to 46,000 passengers per year by year four. The Airport is a catalyst for 400-600 local jobs as well as 60 directly employed at the Airport. It’s therefore critical to the economic prosperity of the region that we secure the investment from the Scottish Government for a PSO.”
Transport Scotland has made it clear that any PSO would need to be supported by Highland Council and other stakeholders. For this reason, members of the Caithness Committee today called on Highland Council to identify financial support for the Airport.
Cllr Sinclair explained: “We are asking the Council to continue with its efforts in exploring the resource implications of a successful PSO bid. Any support from the Council would need to go through the usual process of scrutiny and democratic approval with a full business case being presented to a future Highland Council meeting.
“Today we asked for that process to begin in earnest and to reflect the urgency of the situation. In the motion to Caithness Area Committee I made the point that socio-economic recovery and reversing population decline are key priorities for our county, and that cannot be achieved without a show of confidence in Caithness and positive decisive action.
She added: “I am delighted that today we got unanimous support and we can now send a clear a message to the Scottish Government that we are united in our support for Wick John O’Groats Airport and the ongoing prosperity of Caithness and Sutherland.”
Caithness Councillor Struan Mackie who joined Cllr Sinclair in signing the motion presented to full council added: “Over the last number of months it has been refreshing to be part of a cross community campaign, with stakeholders, businesses groups and individuals all seeking a solution in resuming flights from Wick.
“After years of progressive market failure in providing regular and convenient services from the airport, it is clear that the public service obligation is the only option left on the table. The support given by Councillors today is a step forward in seeing this come to fruition.”
It’s been another strange month, not just for us but for all our members and businesses nationwide. We continue to do our very best for our members as things progress in these unprecedented times. We’re thrilled to welcome new members this month, Belzona, teclan & North Coast Distillers.
Belzona are a global designer and manufacturer of repair composite materials and industrial protective coatings. Since the company was founded in 1952, the team have made it their mission to exceed customers’ needs and expectations by providing long-lasting, quality repair and maintenance solutions.
Belzona technology can provide the answer to an extensive cross-section of repair areas, from full turnkey systems to simple in-situ repairs. They are committed to providing bespoke solutions that are tailored to the specific needs of each and every client. Their approach to refurbishment and protection avoids the need for replacement, reducing repair and maintenance costs, and above all, downtime.
teclan are a Digital Marketing agency specialising in web design and development, SEO, PPC, Social media and email marketing. They also offer additional services such as PR, design and brand development. teclan have designed a special offer exclusively for fellow Chamber members.
Do you know how to easily reach your new and existing customers, wherever they inhabit online, whether that’s local or national news brands, Facebook, local radio, Youtube, TikTok, Twittter and many more?
The offer is a minimum of 100,000 adverts served online across a four-week period – the teclan team can help design the ad and they’ll provide a comprehensive report afterwards. The cost of this to Caithness Chamber members is only £250 plus VAT, a saving of £50 plus VAT.
North Coast Distillers creates premium small batch and sustainable spirits from their North Coast Distillery site in Forss, West Caithness. Their website is set to launch this week, you can head over and sign up to the mailing list to be kept in the loop here. You’ll also find them on various social media platforms. Facebook, Instagram & Linkedin. We can’t wait to see the range of spirits which which will be on offer, it’s always brilliant to see new business in the North Highlands.
To learn about how Chamber membership could benefit your business, see the Membership benefits page or get in touch with Fiona Levack, Business Development Manager to arrange an informal chat. You can email fiona here: Fiona@caithnesschamber.com The Chamber offers advice and support to businesses of all sizes, at all stages and in all sectors and we would be thrilled to hear from you.
In addition to chamber membership, many of our funded projects offer support and guidance to businesses in a range of ways. See the list of options, here.
On 29th October 2020 we’re hosting a Maximise Your Membership event which will allow chamber members to learn more about the benefits of their membership. The interactive session will allow members to ask questions and remind themselves of the opportunities chamber membership offers. Learn more about it and register to attend here.
Did you know that we offer a membership referral scheme? If you refer a business who joins the chamber, you could benefit from £50 off your next renewal. Read more here.
Young people at school are the winners as a result of discussions between High Life Highland and The Highland Council that will see the Charity’s staff phased back into schools after the October break.
Speaking about the arrangement, High Life Highland Chairman, Ian Ross said, “I am delighted that once again our partnership working arrangements with colleagues in The Highland Council mean that High Life Highland staff will be able to recommence their work with young people during the school day and within school buildings.
“High Life Highland has always fully supported and accepted that the Council’s priorities were the safety of pupils and getting them back into full-time education. However, this new agreement will see some of our music instructors, youth workers and active school coordinators returning to school buildings where they will working with the pupils and support Head Teachers and other school staff.
The Charity Chair continued, “In order to fully comply with Scottish Government guidelines, there will still be some restrictions in terms of the types of instruments that can be used during music tuition, as well as the ‘coming and going’ of HLH staff from school grounds. However, there is no doubt this is a move in the right direction and will see our staff being able to re-engage with pupils and young people.”
Highland Councillor, John Finlayson, Chair of the Education Committee commented, “It is great to see the positive outcomes that can be reached by partnership working.
“I understand that HLH staff re-accessing schools will see the phased return of active school coordinators; music instructors; school library staff and youth workers.
“The current pandemic can be challenging for everyone in our communities, not just adults. It is vitally important, now more than ever, that our children and young people in schools are supported through these times.
“Getting school pupils back to face-to-face music tuition with the instructors; participating in outdoor activities organised by the active school’s team or receiving personal pastoral support and advice by the HLH youth team can only enhance the experiences already being offered by Head Teachers and their staff.
“I am extremely pleased that we have been able to put measures in place that will see the see Highland pupils’ school-day experience, outside of the classroom take another step towards some level of normality.”
Ian Ross, Chairman of the Highland Charity concluded, “We will continue to work with the Elected Members and Officials of Highland Council to build on the existing arrangements and move towards the reintroduction of the full range of HLH services across school and community facilities.
“We are extremely proud of the work we undertake with children and young people across the Highlands. Thanks to the arrangements being put in place by The Highland Council after the October break, HLH can resume its role in supporting young people in schools and communities across the Highlands at a time when it is most needed.”
The partnership arrangement will see HLH and The Highland Council working towards the next phase of introducing other wind instruments, singing tuition and community libraries to schools, in line with the Scottish Government guidelines.
Home-Start prides itself on the unique offer of volunteers providing one-to-one home visiting support for families and children. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, Home-Starts have been unable to offer this face-to-face support in people’s homes.
Home-Starts acted quickly to adapt services to provide support to families over the past six months – whether that is over the phone, video calls, or group chats. Home-Starts have also provided thousands of families with deliveries of essential supplies, doorstep visits and activity packs to keep children entertained.
However, there will be occasions where digital methods may not have been enough to engage families. There may be concerns about the mental health, wellbeing or isolation of a parent that warrant different approaches. There may be vulnerabilities or concerns in the household that a physical meeting might help identify.
As restrictions are lifted it is becoming possible to restart those face-to-face visits, in a safe and secure way for families and volunteers.
Home-Start UK has been working with local Home-Starts, national directors and our insurers and have now released guidance to enable local Home-Starts to safely return to face-to-face services if they wish to.
The decision to re-initiate any face-to-face family support services (whether home visiting or group work) remains one that must be taken by each individual Home-Start, and families and volunteers should contact their local Home-Start for details of the support that they are able to offer.
Whether it is face-to-face or remote Home-Starts are all committed to making sure families are supported through the challenges they face.
Imenco are happy to announce that they have been picked as one of the finalists in the Northern Star Business Award, Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce’s celebration of business success across the region.
We are nominated as one of four finalists in the Inspiration from Innovation category.
Open to both members and non-members of the Chamber, the Awards recognise the exceptional accomplishments of organisations across a range of fields from innovation, marketing and sustainability to people development and international growth.
This year saw a record 130 nominations submitted for the 12 categories.
The finalists in the categories are:
- Business of the Year
- Aberdeen International Airport
- Goldstar Cleaning Services
- Infinity Partnership
- Motive Offshore Group
- Customer First
- Arrowdawn
- Grace May
- Infinity Partnership
- Nimbus Blue
- Stompers Childcare Services
- Driving Sustainability (sponsored by Circular North-east)
- Glulam Solutions
- Keenan Recycling
- Legasea
- Wood Recyclability
- Family Business (sponsored by Aberdeenshire Council)
- Dalriada Luxury Lodges
- Greenwell Equipment
- Marshall Farms
- The Knowes Hotel and Restaurant
- Going Global (sponsored by Aberdeen International Airport)
- EnerQuip
- Fifth Ring
- James Fisher Offshore
- Load Monitoring Systems
- Inspiration from Innovation
- AISUS Offshore
- Ecosse IP
- Imenco
- Xergy Group
- Inspiring Futures (sponsored by DYW North East)
- Aberlour Futures Aberdeen
- Bon Accord Care
- Grampian Training Services
- University of Aberdeen Business School
- Making the Difference (sponsored by Balmoral Group)
- Charlie House
- Denis Law Legacy Trust
- NESS
- Sport Aberdeen
- Marketing Magic
- Aberdeen City Council – Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museum
- BIG Partnership and Aberdeen Football Club
- Charlie House
- University of Aberdeen
- Rising Star (sponsored by University of Aberdeen Business School)
- Cumming and Co
- Hudsons Catering
- Nucore Group
- Taxassist
- Staff Matter (sponsored by Spirit Energy)
- Brimmond Group
- Hutcheon Mearns
- Taxassist
- Texo Group
- Student Placement (sponsored by Robert Gordon University)
- BW Offshore
- Kirkburn Court Care Home
- NHS Grampian
- TAQA
The 2021 ceremony will also see a new award introduced, the Regional Contribution Award. The nominees for this award will be announced shortly.
Seona Shand, the Chamber’s membership and events director, said: “This has been a very difficult year for many businesses so it has been an inspiring and invigorating process to go through the record number of entries and the many examples of bold businesses creating opportunity in the Aberdeen city region.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has launched a new grant scheme for start-up or young (less than five years old) companies / social enterprises, the Young Company Capital Investment Scheme. This will provide grant funding of up to 50% of the costs (up to £50,000) for capital equipment.
The scheme is open to SMEs with a UK registered address, that can provide evidence of economic activity in the Highlands & Islands. Both unincorporated (sole trader, partnership, etc.) and incorporated (limited company, community interest company, etc.) forms of business can apply.
Full details of the scheme and eligibility criteria can be downloaded here. Anybody wishing to apply should contact enquiries@hie.co.uk for an application pack.
Note that businesses are required to provide various forms of evidence in support of an application. The Chamber is happy to provide advice and guidance to assist with, for example, drawing up an outline proposal or putting together cashflow projections. Simply email info@caithnesschamber.com or call us on 01847 890076 and one of our team will be happy to help.
Note that all completed applications must be submitted to HIE by 12 noon on 23 October 2020.
With Scottish Retailers losing nearly 1.9 billion pounds of sales in the first four months of the pandemic – ILM Highland like every other business has had to look very closely at how they promote their retail shop offering to the Highlands.
ILM Highland is a Charity and Social Enterprise based in Alness which delivers valuable services to benefit the community, economy and environment throughout the Highlands. The Electrical Retail Shop is home to new and refurbished items such as washing machines, fridges and freezers, tumble dryers, cookers, vacuum cleaners and many other electrical products and has been one of many stores to make a significant loss over the last few months.
Profits which are made from the Electrical Retail Shop support our charitable services to help keep vulnerable people living independently at home through our Care & Repair and Handyperson services. With this in mind and to ensure ILM’s offering can reach the whole of the Highland community we are delighted to announce the launch of our online retail shop!
ILM Highland Business Development Claire Weaver has said – “Having the online retail shop allows us to reach a wider audience, we get many phone calls with customers looking for stock and they are faced with concerns over budget or perhaps issues with delivery to the Highlands. Having our stock online will allow them to browse what we available and work to a budget that they have. All of our stock is also available for delivery throughout the Highlands – this can be done on the same day depending on where the customer is located. We want to make things that little bit easier for people.”
ILM Highland also offer a collection service for your electrical items – all items that are collected are recycled or reused by their Waste Electrical service – this lowers the amount going to landfill and also helps the charity fund the additional charitable services of their business.
Maree Todd MSP, enthused “It’s great to see social enterprise re-evaluate and pivot to make things easier for people who might be more vulnerable in our communities. ILM Highland offer a fantastic service to local communities within the Highlands.”
For more information on ILM Highland or to browse their Electrical Retail Shop you can visit https://www.ilmhighland.co.uk
Dounreay has awarded a major contract as the world’s deepest nuclear clean-up job gets underway.
Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (DSRL), on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, awarded the £7.5 million contract for “advanced transition works” at the 65 metre deep shaft and silo to Nuvia and its partner Graham Construction, through the site’s decommissioning framework following a competitive tendering process. Nuvia is an international nuclear engineering, project management, products and services contractor.
The work will include the rerouting of existing services as well as minor construction and demolition works, preparing the 2 waste facilities to be emptied of legacy higher activity waste.
DSRL Programme Delivery Director, David Hubbard, said:
The shaft and silo contain solid waste and sludge which must be retrieved and repackaged for safe above-ground storage. I’m very pleased that we are one step closer to the clean up of these historic waste facilities through the award of this contract.
Physical work on site is expected to take place in late autumn 2020. In the meantime the company has been delivering activities remotely.
DSRL is the site licence company responsible for the clean-up and demolition of Britain’s former centre of fast reactor research and development. A wholly-owned subsidiary of the Cavendish Dounreay Partnership, it is funded by the NDA to deliver the site closure programme.