Clearview National September 2016 - Issue 178 | Page 10

INDUSTRYNEWS

CROWNED BEST EMPLOYER AT BUSINESS AWARDS
»»OLDHAM’S GEMINI UPVC LTD., A
fabricator of industry-leading PVCu systems
from The VEKA UK Group, has staved off
competition from 38 other companies to win
a revered local business award.
The annual Oldham Business Awards
recognise companies in the region across 12
categories. Gemini picked up the award for
Employer of the Year, topping a shortlist of
three finalists in attendance at the Queen
Elizabeth Hall prize-giving. The company also
reached the final three in the Business of the
Year (£1m - £5m turnover) category.
Celebrating its 30th Anniversary in 2016,
Gemini is one of two companies established

Picture Courtesy of the Oldham Evening Chronicle:
Laura Smart, Director at KPMG who sponsored
this award, Paul Griffiths (centre) and Cold Feet
Actor John Thomson who presented the awards.

by Robert Griffiths, the first being AWC
Windows. In the 1980s, Robert’s sons
Paul and Michael took over the running of
Gemini and AWC respectively, continuing

Landmark asbestosis
ruling is good news
for sufferers
»»IN A LANDMARK
asbestosis case, The Court of
Appeal has ruled that asbestosis
sufferers could be entitled to
proportional compensation
from as low as 2.3% from
negligent employers, based upon
the number of years worked.
The historic ruling confirms that
proportional compensation is
applicable even if the employer’s
overall contribution to the
condition was minimal.
The ruling relates to retired
electrician, Mr Albert Carder,
who was exposed to asbestos
whilst working at Exeter
University. Although most of
his asbestos exposure occurred
earlier in his career, Mr
Carder’s lawyers, Moore Blatch,
calculated that his employment
at the university contributed
2.3% toward his asbestosis.
The Court of Appeal upheld
the calculation and judgement
made by The High Court in
July 2015 that Mr Carder was
entitled to compensation. But
at the time, Exeter University’s
insurers appealed, arguing the

proportion of the exposure was
minimal and had made “no
discernible difference to his
condition”.
Moore Blatch asbestos
disease lawyer, John Hedley,
representing Mr Carder
comments: “Whilst there is
a long established principle
around minimal contributions
to asbestos exposure by
employers, this case helps define
what minimal actually means.”
Mr Carder’s overall damages
were assessed at approximately
£67,500, with the university’s
contribution confirmed to be
£1,713.

10 » SE P 2016 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M

the successful partnership of fabrication
and installation businesses their father had
started.
Besides championing systems from The
VEKA UK Group, both companies actively
engage with the PVCu giant’s two-tiered
installer support offering, as Paul explains:
“VEKA’s Approved Installer Scheme and
Network VEKA definitely played a part in
Gemini winning this award. Our Approved
status clearly demonstrates our commitment
to quality, and has helped us to grow an
already loyal customer base.”
www.vekauk.com

NEW CONTRACT MARKS
FIFTH ANNIVERSARY
Roseview Windows, the fast growing
PVCu sash window fabricator, has
marked five years working with
industry marketing specialists,
Purplex, by signing a new contract.
»»ROSEVIEW’S TURNOVER
has quadrupled during the last
five years with Purplex, and
as Marketing Manager, Mike
Bygrave ,explains, the strong
ROI delivered by Purplex was
one of the many reasons he had
no hesitation in putting pen to
paper for another term.
“We appointed Purplex in
2011 and it’s no coincidence
that our turnover has grown
from £2m to £8m during that
period,” Mike said. “Purplex has
delivered time and time again
and I’m looking forward to
continuing our relationship into
the future.
“When we first started
working with Purplex most
of our marketing was print
based, so mainly PR and direct
mail. Traditional marketing
is still a very important part
of our strategy, but we have

also added in sophisticated
digital marketing into the
mix as well. For example,
our consumer facing website
(www.sashwindows.co.uk) is
generating hundreds of leads
for our trade customers every
month, which we achieve
through a clever combination of
online content marketing and
Pay Per Click.”
www.purplexmarketing.com