Clearview Midlands April 2014 - Issue 149 | Page 87
BUSINESSNEWS
DOUBLE STANDARDS - OR NO STANDARDS?
There are many manufacturing companies
involved in the glazing industry from
extrusion companies, glass processors to
window and door frame manufacturers.
But at the window production level, not
all are working to the same standards, says
Leon Day, Universal Arches MD.
“As an industry we should all be working
to the same standards, yet this is often not
the case,” he explains. “While start-up costs
are very modest for fabricators, the time,
cost and effort to adopt world-class processes
and procedures are considerable - yet they
do help to separate the good, the bad and
the ugly.’
Leon admits that while most of the
companies at the top of the supply chain carry
internationally recognisable quality standards,
these become more diluted towards the
consumer end. “Universal Arches is the only
bending and arching company to carry ISO:
9001:2008 and in its last five audits had zero
non-conformities, an incredible achievement,”
Leon adds.
More recently at Universal Arches, both the
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the
local Fire Officer arrived unannounced, both
reporting an impressive, safe manufacturing
environment with impeccable reporting
procedures and processes.
Pre-recession
GDP peaks could
be reached this
year, say BCC
But more business investment is needed.
UK GDP could reach prerecession levels this year
the British Chambers of
Commerce (BCC) says as they
adjust growth forecasts for the
next two years.
The business body estimates
that GDP growth will reach
2.8% in 2014, up from their
previous forecast of 2.7%; the
change based on amendments
to historic data from the Office
for National Statistics. Q2 this
year could beat the pre-recession
2008 Q1 levels as household
consumption and output from
the services sector drive the
economy.
Business investment in 2016
is, however, expected to fall
slightly below its 2008 peaks.
The overall unemployment
rate is expected to fall to 6.6%
in the final quarter of 2016
while youth unemployment is
expected to fall to 17.8% by the
same time.
Director General of the BCC,
John Longworth, welcomed
the new estimates, but warned
business is not investing
enough.
“There is more to do in
securing access to finance for
growing firms – as this too
will be crucial to securing our
economic future. So is getting
public and private sector
funding together to address
the crippling gaps in our
transport, digital and energy
infrastructure,” he said.
“We just hope that as the
General Election gets closer,
politicians are not tempted to
abandon a drive for long-term
economic security in favour of
short-term vote winners.”
To read more, visit www.clearview-uk.com
The company is now also embarking on
an NVQ training programme.
www.universalarches.com
BUSINESS
SECRETARY
OPENS
VEKA UK’S
NEW
MIXING
PLANT
‘A European
success story’
The VEKA UK Group welcomed
Vince Cable back to the
company’s Burnley HQ to open
officially the system supplier’s
new mixing plant.
The Business Secretary enjoyed
a tour of the Farrington Road site
with the UK Company Directors
and Global VEKA Group Board
Member Boni Eichwald, who had
travelled from Germany to attend
the opening of the state-of-theart mixing plant, which has seen
investment of £5m.
Before unveiling a
commemorative plaque of the
official opening, the Business
Secretary discussed the scale of the
development and described it as “a
European success story” which will
strengthen trading relationships
across the UK and abroad.
The VEKA UK Group’s new
facility is now the most technicallyadvanced mixing plant in the UK.
It has been designed with future
expansion in mind, which could
potentially take capacity from the
current 48,000 tonnes to a possible
72,000 tonnes. The plant features
two mixers and three coolers and is
fully automated to ensure absolute
efficiency.
VEKA plc, 01282 716611,
www.vekauk.com,
[email protected]
APR 2014
87