30/03/2008 by admin.

Leading IT solutions Company MCW Group is planning to host a unique Microsoft day at their head offices in Wrexham. This will give people the opportunity to see first hand the benefits and features of using some of the very latest Microsoft technologies to enhance their business.

MCW Group are working closely with Hope House in Oswestry and Ty Gobaith in Conwy to raise funds for the two hospices. These hospices give much needed help and support for the families of terminally ill children whilst also providing practical and emotional support to families facing the pain of losing their precious child. It costs £3.5 million a year to run both hospices which rely almost entirely upon donations. MCW Group are supporting the charity by donating all funds from the event to Hope House Hospices.

Richard Morris MD of MCW Group said: “Ty Gobaith and Hope House is a very worth while cause and whilst most of us are lucky enough to have healthy happy children, many of these families supported by Hope House have to live with the pain that their children may not be with them for much longer. Hope House give support and make the lives of the children more fulfilled. Organising events like this goes a long way to help them in the good work that is being done”.

Richard goes on to say “not only would this event help Hope House but it will give many companies the knowledge and help that they may need in moving their companies forward using Microsoft Products and bringing awareness of all the services available. Many Microsoft products are not being utilised to their full potential and hopefully this Microsoft day will educate people in these areas”.

1. Everything you need to know about Microsoft Licensing
2. Features and benefits of Microsoft Server 2008
3. Why should you upgrade to Microsoft Exchange 2007
4. Microsoft Office 2007 Overview
5. Tips and Tricks for Office 2007
6. Why should you consider Sharepoint.

Each session will be approximately 1 hour long with sessions running at various times throughout the day enabling people the opportunity to attend each session or to hand pick sessions most suited to their needs.

The cost per session will be £10 per person with all proceeds going to Hope House Hospice.

For further information or to attend, please contact Gemma on 01978 340347 or email Gemma@mcwgroup.co.uk.

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29/03/2008 by admin.

Wrexham drinks company Calypso Soft Drinks is celebrating after its new home-freezable smoothie was named Best New British Product at the Alimentaria International food and drink exhibition in Barcelona, Spain. The firm was awarded the title for its Jubbly Smoothie which is made from pure juice and crushed fruit. Calypso produces a variety of healthy soft drinks and freeze drinks.

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24/03/2008 by admin.

A Wrexham businessman has designed an innovative and environmentally-friendly way to deliver food parcels. David Jones, managing director of temperature-control packaging company IcerTech, based on Wrexham’s Industrial Estate, has created the UK’s first all-cardboard insulated mail order box following calls from food producers for environmentally-friendly boxes suitable for posting chilled and frozen products to customers.

Most insulated boxes keep their contents cold by having thick polystyrene or foam liners inside the box, but the new style box uses corrugated cardboard liners and tests prove it is just as good at keeping contents cold.

The packaging industry has been seeking alternatives to polystyrene and foam boxes and liners for years, and IcerTech’s research and development department has become the first to develop an alternative.

IcerTech currently employs 10 people and has a £50,000 turnover, which it expects to double this year thanks to advance orders and growing interest in its cold chain packaging.

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24/03/2008 by admin.

Official figures have revealed a surprise 1% leap in retail sales last month denting hopes of an April cut in interest rates.

Food sales boomed in February as Valentine’s Day and Mothering Sunday saw champagne, wine and chocolates fly off the shelves, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

But the 1% month-on-month hike was far greater than expected by economists and experts suggested the figures would dampen prospects of a reduction in interest rates next month.

The February figures are at odds with recent news from retailers, which have been posting gloomy news amid fears of a sharp consumer spending slowdown.

Next warned last week of a like-for-like sales decline of between 4% and 7% across its high street stores in the first half of this year.The British Retail Consortium also reported a slide in sales growth to 1.5% in February from 2.6% in January.

The ONS said food sales soared 1.6% in February, the largest monthly increase since June 2006. Non-food stores saw sales increase by 0.5%, although sales in shops selling household goods dropped by 4.2%, which was the largest decrease for eight years. Total sales volumes in the three months to the beginning of March were 4.7% higher than the same period last year, while clothing and footwear sales surged by 2.5%.

The rise in internet shopping was also confirmed as the non-store retailing and repair sector – which includes mail order and specialist online retailing – rose by a survey high of 18.6% year-on-year in the three-month period.

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20/03/2008 by admin.

Wilkinson Business Park is a new office development on Wrexham Industrial Estate. The £10 million scheme features 60,200 sq ft of mixed office accommodation. More than 30 commercial property agents and local dignitaries attended the launch at Wilkinson’s Business Park to mark practical completion of the buildings.

Offices are available to buy or lease. Prices for freeholds at Wilkinson Business Park are based on £130.00 psf, with quoting rents around £11.00 psf. Sole agent is Legat Owen.

Gladman Developments is the UK’s largest developer of speculative office and industrial accommodation. Further information on the company is available from www.gladman.co.uk.

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13/03/2008 by admin.

Tomorrow sees the beginning of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Annual Conference at the Hammersmith Novotel. The Conference will be opened by National Chairman, John Wright when he will tell Conference delegates that yesterday’s 4p raise on beer will hit community pubs.

The speech will follow the launch of a campaign to Keep Trade Local, which will descend on Parliament as a mass lobby at 12 o’clock today.

The FSB is keen to reverse the trend of 2000 small shops going out of business each year and is working to put pressure on the Government to rectify the Competition Commission’s failure to deal with unfair competition from the big supermarkets.

John Wright, FSB National Chairman, says: “The extra 4p on a pint of beer won’t stop people binge drinking, but it might stop people going to the local pubs that support so many of our communities up and down the country.

“That’s why it is so important that we get our message across to as many people as possible that we need to keep trade local – we need to do more to support local economies and help them thrive, which in turns creates nicer places to live and work.”

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13/03/2008 by admin.

A major road scheme to Wrexham’s Industrial Estate was given a £1m boost yesterday. Welsh transport minister Ieuan Wyn Jones announced the grant aid as part of a £117m package of transport funding. The access road to the industrial estate would bypass the town from the Gresford to Marchwiel sides, completing a virtual ring road for heavy goods vehicles.

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13/03/2008 by admin.

WREXHAM MP Ian Lucas has welcomed Chancellor Alistair Darling’s first budget as “steady, sound and good for Wrexham.”

Among the measures Mr Lucas welcomed in the Budget were pledges on the environment, a rise in the winter fuel allowance, and measures to ensure that the country is kept on a sound financial footing.

He said: “I think this budget shows that the Chancellor is aware of both the need to maintain Britain’s economic strength and work to improve the environment.

“Among the environmental commitments are those to create more than a million jobs in environmental industries, the measures to tackle the use of plastic bags and the range of incentives announced for motorists to buy greener cars.

“But the Chancellor has also balanced measures on the environment with an understanding of the economic realities for people – I am pleased that he has listened to concerns over the rise in fuel duty and is delaying its introduction.

“The other thing that I believe this Budget shows is that Alistair Darling is a solid character who can be trusted with the economy.

“While the Conservatives’ gimmicky proposals have been designed to catch the headlines, their record in office is of boom and bust.

“In contrast, the Chancellor is maintaining the course that has brought Wrexham prosperity under a Labour Government.”

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13/03/2008 by admin.

Supermarkets in Wrexham need to get their act together over the mountains of carrier bags they give away every week - or face a Government imposed levy, local AM Lesley Griffiths warned yesterday. Read more…

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12/03/2008 by admin.

The Federation of Small Businesses, FSB, welcomed a Budget speech with few alarms and surprises for the UK’s 4.5 million-strong small business community.

John Wright, FSB National Chairman, said: “The Treasury’s dithering since the Pre-Budget report and a series of damaging tax rises in the last year have totally undermined the Government’s position with small businesses.

“Alistair Darling’s first Budget is unlikely to make that situation much better, but it is a relief that it will not make it any worse either. Finally it seems we may have an announcement from the Chancellor that doesn’t spring any nasty surprises on small businesses.

“The deferral of plans to change income shifting rules, which would have forced tens of thousands of family businesses to create and maintain a massive amount of extra paperwork on individuals’ contributions to their business, is welcome news. The plans should now be abandoned permanently.

“We welcome the freeze on fuel duty until October, but the issue is unlikely to go away. The cost of fuel is damaging small businesses and their customers in every industry and every area of the country.

“Plans to reform regulation, improve access to finance by expanding the small firms loan guarantee scheme, help female entrepreneurs and for a goal to give at least 30 per cent of public sector procurement to small and medium-sized businesses all have our support. These plans will need to be backed up with real action.

“Small businesses are totally opposed to road pricing that does not discriminate between essential business use of the roads and non-essential use. We’re worried that the Chancellor appears to be pushing ahead despite massive opposition.

“The laudable aim to make all new non-domestic buildings zero carbon by 2019 must be handled carefully because it could restrict small businesses’ access to premises.”

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