It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.  It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years. Here we speak to Kenton Robbins, Managing Director at PFF Group. We all worked tirelessly through 2021, focussing on the belief that 2022 would hail a return to the good times we remember. COVID-19 would be a thing of the past and the New Year would be an opportunity for us all to get back to normal. Yet, as I write we are heading into a ‘soft lockdown’ with a return to working from home being advised by the Government and mask wearing once again as fundamental as coffee and tea! 2022 is going to be the hardest year yet of this pandemic for business. We are staring down the barrel of inflation and supply chain shortages, the like of which we haven’t seen for many years. Energy prices will continue to be the lead item on boardroom agendas through 2022 as we face the greatest increase in wholesale marketing pricing in a generation. Those that have not hedged or have an ability to do so will face profitability challenges based on energy increases alone. Businesses based on a sourcing model of importing cheap goods from across the globe will see their margins eroded like the cliff sides of the East Coast unless they drive significant price increases to their customer base to offset their increased costs. The availability of everyday items we have all taken for granted throughout our lifetimes will soon be something of a fond memory. You only need to walk the aisles of a B&Q store looking for Far East sourced electrical sockets to see an issue that historically would have had the buying dept in a tailspin (incidentally, if any readers have a three-way switched Georgian brass effect socket going spare, I’ll pay good money, no questions asked)! We have spent months focussed on the Northern levelling up debate only to miss the much more significant global levelling up issues right under our noses. As much as I am an advocate for balance between the North and South, it should not distract us from the bigger picture which could be the driver for a year of positive change for UK plc. This coming year will see a huge opportunity for British business to fill the gaps which historically have been filled through so called ‘value’ global sourcing policies, aka ‘cheap’ products. We have to educate the British consumer as to the benefits of buying British and to look beyond buying solely on price – quality and price equals value. British manufacturers are world-leading innovators and produce quality products here in the UK, supporting domestic jobs, as well as the environment. I predict that 2022 will be the year that sees capitalisation of the UK manufacturing sector which will step up to the mark and establish itself in the mind of the domestic consumer as the value driver of the UK economy. 2022 should be the year we all make a choice to invest in ourselves, our country, our products and our planet’s future sustainability by buying the things we make well on our own doorsteps. After all charity starts at home and if there was ever a year that we should look to support ourselves, it is 2022.

Ahlmark Shipping (UK) LTD has signed a new 10 year deal with Associated British Ports (ABP). The new 10 year deal demonstrates that the timber market remains resilient. Ahlmark Shipping has a dedicated terminal at the Port of Hull where they offer stevedoring, warehousing, ships agency and Customs Clearance services. Ahlmark Lines was one of the first shipping lines to move Swedish timber through Hull and has been regularly calling at the port for almost 40 years, helping to make Hull one of the largest UK ports for sawn timber imports. Ahlmark’s fleet sees the company ship 30% of Swedish timber to the UK. Simon Bird, Director at ABP Humber, said: “This new deal with Ahlmark highlights that ABP remains a valuable and trusted partner for timber imports and exports in the Humber. The Humber Ports afford many businesses an opportunity for growth, and ABP is committed to investing in its services and infrastructure to aid that.” Tim Hollands, Managing Director at Ahlmark Shipping (UK) Ltd, said: “This agreement highlights the continued commitment to the timber industry and to the Port of Hull by Ahlmark Lines A.-B., a long-term relationship that now includes regular liner services to the ABP East Coast Ports of Immingham, Grimsby and Kings Lynn. With the support of ABP, Ahlmark Shipping (UK) Ltd is in a strong position to develop business through the Hull terminal, directly handling volumes on weekly sailings from Kristinehamn, fortnightly sailings from East Coast ports of Skelleftehamn and Iggesund; and monthly services from Domsjo, Gruvon and Ala. Ahlmark have also taken on an additional land to support their services in Hull as the business goes from strength to strength.

Smart tech specialist Sauce has teamed up with former boxing champion Tommy Coyle to develop a unique app to improve health, wellbeing and workplace performance. Sauce was tasked by Tommy to roll out the next phase of his project with renewable energy giant Siemens Gamesa to create a healthier, happier and more productive workforce. The former Commonwealth lightweight champion is working with Siemens Gamesa to help transform the lifestyles of more than 750 staff at its wind turbine blade factory in Hull. His Coyle Health and Wellbeing programme is built on the pillars of “move well”, “eat well”, “think well” and “sleep well”. Through the programme, Tommy and his Coyle Health and Wellbeing team introduced pre-shift warm-ups to avoid injuries, regular health checks for staff, wellbeing planner boards around the site and healthier options in the canteen. However, the introduction of Covid restrictions, including on visitors to the factory, meant Tommy and his team were unable to physically attend the site. During lockdown, sessions continued to take place online, but the opportunity to provide a dedicated platform to continue and expand on the good work already carried out became clear. Even as restrictions have lifted, the uncertainty created by Covid-19 has increased demand for a digital solution. Now, award-winning Sauce has developed the Coyle Health and Wellbeing App. Unlike other health apps on the market, which focus on specific elements such as fitness, diet, or sleep patterns, the Coyle Health and Wellbeing App brings all four pillars of his programme together on one platform. Through the app, Siemens Gamesa staff can follow warm-up and workout plans, track their steps and other fitness goals, monitor their calorie intake, access positive mental health support and receive tips to improve their sleep. It includes a health assessment feature, so users can check on their overall wellbeing based on the information they’ve inputted, or pulled in from other health apps. Users then receive guidance about what they need to do to feel better and be healthier, such as improve nutrition, exercise or change sleep patterns. The app also allows the staff to set and share targets and performance data to encourage healthy competition across the factory. It is now being rolled out across the site to help improve the physical and mental health and wellbeing of staff in all departments, ultimately leading to a more efficient and effective operation. Jim Wardlaw, Chief of Product and Design at Sauce, said: “There’s no doubt the world has become more digital because of the pandemic. Companies and industries have had to adapt to new ways of working to survive and grow and, along with the challenges, there are positives that have come from this. “Through having to deliver his sessions with Siemens Gamesa remotely, Tommy realised there wasn’t an app that brought together all aspects of health and wellbeing in the same place. That’s what we’ve now created. “The Coyle Health and Wellbeing App is effectively a one stop shop for everything related to physical and mental health and wellbeing. Users can access advice and guidance, follow specific training plans, carry out their own health analysis, and interact and engage with their colleagues. “It’s designed primarily to improve the health and the wellbeing of the individual but, by using it in a corporate setting, it can help improve performance because a healthy workforce is a productive workforce.” The app has been developed specifically for Siemens Gamesa’s Hull factory, but can also be scaled up and adapted for other operations across the country, and the world, in the future. Tommy said: “The pandemic highlighted that we were unable to deliver our programme with Siemens Gamesa as effectively as we would like as we weren’t able to be on site. “We saw that as a challenge but also an opportunity, and through their technical expertise, Sauce have allowed us to adapt and innovate and now we don’t have to be in the factory every day to get the same results. “Siemens Gamesa want a winning team to make the best wind turbine blades in the safest and most efficient way possible. We’re helping them do that by improving the health, wellbeing and, ultimately, the productivity of their staff. “The app now allows us to take that support to the next level and deliver even greater results.” A spokesperson for Siemens Gamesa said: “Siemens Gamesa are proud partners of Coyle Health and Wellbeing and are excited to take part in the launch of the new app. “Our continued relationship with Tommy Coyle is a prime example of our progress to being an industry leader of health and wellbeing at work.” Sauce is based at Hull’s Centre for Digital Innovation (C4DI) tech hub and has established an outstanding reputation for enabling businesses and other organisations to achieve their objectives through technology solutions. It adopts a flexible, “agile” method of working, acting as co-collaborators with its clients, which include Nestlé, RB, Rix and Ideal Heating, among others.