We love it when businesses send us their good news and here’s our latest good news round-up, kindly sponsored by PALADIN. Awards, expansion, new contracts or new appointments, if you’ve got some good news you want to share please email the editor, Martin Shaw, on martin@huddersfieldhub.co.uk.
Bagden Hall hotel in Denby Dale has been named one of Yorkshire’s best wedding venues, winning a Hitched.co.uk Wedding Award 2023.
Following thousands of pandemic-enforced delayed celebrations, 2022 was the year of the ‘wedding boom’ and the Hitched.co.uk awards serve to pay tribute to the industry. Bagden Hall was named among seven winners following a five out of five star rating.
Bagden Hall is spread across 40 acres with stunning views and has capacity to host weddings of up to 180 guests.
General manager Caroline Gleeson said: “Our aim is to deliver the best wedding events for our customers, taking care of every detail that help to make their special day truly unforgettable.
“This award is validation of the work we are doing at the hotel and recognition of our fantastic team who work tirelessly to deliver the best wedding experiences for our customers.”
Leading local Amazon agency, Venture Forge, has revealed a brand overhaul to celebrate another year of record-breaking growth and a raft of new high profile client wins.
The company has undergone an extensive branding project to reshape its core principles, service set, and visual identity to underline Venture Forge’s position as the most trusted and respected Amazon partner for brands across the UK, Europe and America at a time when other agencies are diluting their Amazon offering. Design studio Hello Katy was tasked with Venture Forge’s rebrand project and Crush Pixels, built the new website.
Venture Forge has achieved 100% growth every year since its launch in 2018 and now boasts a team of 20 and a £1.5m+ turnover.
The firm manages over £35m of revenue annually for some of the largest brands on Amazon with recent client wins including SikSilk, Kodak Batteries, Trends Toys, and ZenB.
As a member of the Amazon Service Provider Network, Venture Forge takes the complexity out of selling on Amazon, maximising returns for vendors.
The agency has recently formalised partnerships with Taxually, Huboo, and Payoneer to help clients expand internationally and launched Creative and Amazon Advertising divisions, alongside its strategic offering to help brands grow and succeed on the platform.
Andrew Banks, Huddersfield-based founder of Venture Forge, said: “Whilst we can see competitors diluting their offering to support brands on other marketplaces, we remain confident that for brands to grow and succeed well on Amazon, they need a specialist agency who knows and understands Amazon inside and out, and that agency is Venture Forge.
“Our growth, success and 100% client satisfaction across every quarterly customer survey in the last year are testament to the hard work and dedication of our team and our commitment to providing specialist Amazon agency services. As we continue to expand our offering and global partnerships, we are excited to see what the future holds for Venture Forge and our clients.”
Venture Forge was established in West Yorkshire, but since the pandemic, the agency operates remotely full-time, with team members based across the UK from Ainley Top to Plymouth.
Huddersfield-based direct mail expert, Propack, has won a contract to develop a new website for Barnsley Carers Service on behalf of Cloverleaf Advocacy, as it further expands its digital offering.
The website, www.barnsleycarers.co.uk, which launched at the beginning of April, has been created in line with NHS accessibility guidelines and will offer a user-friendly platform to connect unpaid carers with support services in the region. Barnsley Carers Service is a free to access service, aimed at supporting carers in their role. .
Over the past four years, Propack has ramped up its digital offering and successfully delivered projects for the likes of TUI, Auto Trader and Centrepoint, as well investing over £2.7m into new technology and equipment.
Propack produced the website on behalf of its client, Cloverleaf Advocacy, a not-for-profit organisation which delivers and facilitates the Barnsley Carers Service. The brief was to create an effective, accessible signposting site with a user-friendly content management system.
Despite the strict criteria and considerations surrounding the NHS accessibility guidelines, the website has been designed with carers at the core, considering emotional, practical and financial challenges that carers may face.
The site also includes useful resources and information, such as details of local support groups and events, together with an advanced accessibility module from Recite Me.
Carl Stafford, graphic designer at Propack, said: “We are proud to support this project as we understand the range of challenges carers may face.
“Working with Cloverleaf Advocacy on this project meant that we could get a fuller understanding of their needs and requirements for the site to make it the most useful resource possible for carers in the region.
“While we have a heritage in print, digital projects like these are a fantastic example of how we have expanded our offering and expertise to provide a holistic marketing service, helping our clients to communicate effectively.”
A television campaign highlighting the risk of dry eye from increasing screen time has been launched by The Body Doctor Ltd, manufacturer of the Eye Doctor range of eye drops, compresses and eyelid wipes based in Clayton West.
Based on a data survey of office workers and extensive clinical data, the campaign highlights that adults are spending eight hours a day on average looking at screens which can lead to dry, sore and gritty eyes. The messaging also warns that intensive screen use can reduce blinking by up to 60%.
The month-long campaign from the Yorkshire manufacturer is running throughout June and will be shown on Sky live and on-demand in the Leeds and Sheffield areas. It highlights the soothing benefits of The Eye Doctor eye drops for dry eye and ends with the slogan, ‘You Care, We Care, Eye Care.’
The Body Doctor’s sales and marketing director Sam Wymer said: “We have launched this year’s TV campaign to raise awareness on the importance of looking after our eyes.
“As we all know, the modern day consists of screens, screens and more screens. From checking our phones, using computers and watching TV, this can lead to long term damage from dry eye. We are very excited about the potential patient response to this initiative.”
The Eye Doctor range for dry eye includes Daily Refresh Eye Drops, Intensive Relief Eye Drops and the new Intensive Relief Dry Eye Mist – designed for ease-of-use and fast-acting relief on-the-go.
For more information, visit www.the-body-doctor.com, email sales@the-body-doctor.com or phone 01484 868816.
Elland-based high-voltage engineering and contracting firm Smith Brothers continues to expand its workforce with the appointment of a new operations manager.
The latest appointment also coincides with promotions for existing colleagues too, with Liam Smith moving into the role of technical director.
Joining as operations manager, John Rowland — who boasts an established and varied career in the industry — will support on the delivery of all design projects, services, and infrastructure as well as orchestrating the day-to-day running of all site staff. Having worked on a range of notable projects, including helping to deliver the Northern PowerGrid’s first-ever full Active Network Management (ANM), John brings decades of expertise to the business.
Prior to his time at the Northern PowerGrid, John spent 22 years as an electrical engineer in the military. He then worked for Powell (UK) Ltd (formerly Switchgear & Instrumentation Ltd) where he delivered HV and MV switchgear projects in the Oil and Gas and Petrochem sectors across the UK, Middle East, Far East and USA.
Commenting on John’s appointment, commercial director Dave Ogden said: “John joins the business as we continue to focus on building on our industry-leading engineering capabilities, and we look forward to him supporting the wider team with his vast experience and knowledge.
“John’s wealth of experience made him the obvious candidate, and he will provide invaluable support to the team as we continue to deliver a portfolio of projects in an exciting time of growth and new technologies.”
Established in 1999, Smith Brothers has worked with a vast range of organisations ranging from major nationwide utilities providers and blue-chip brands to local SMEs and construction partners.
Leading Software as a Service (SaaS) provider, Adventoris, has signed a partnership deal with global Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) expert, Vision33, as it moves towards a fully integrated future for the brand.
Adventoris has appointed former tennis pro and FMCG expert, Matthew Pinel, as its first ever head of partnerships to oversee the firm’s growing partnership programme.
Vision33, an SAP Gold Partner, is one of the largest implementation partners for SAP Business One and SAP ByDesign business software for growing businesses and subsidiaries of large enterprises.
Pinel, a former tennis pro and coach, has worked in FMCG management for the last 10 years in Australia for the likes of Emma and Tom’s, and Gamekeepers.
The partnership will see Vision33 offering Adventoris’s flagship product, B2B sales app SwiftCloud, to its clientele as a fully integrated solution, helping firms to streamline their operations through automation and boost efficiency. Two of Adventoris’s clients are already reaping the rewards of the partnership, with AFAK Trading and AR Wholesale both being onboarded.
SwiftCloud is a customisable B2B mobile app platform designed specifically for distributors and wholesalers that enables their customers to see products, communicate with the company and make orders 24/7.
CEO of Adventoris, James Clarkson, said: “Our partnership programme is an integral part of our business. We believe that through trusted partnerships, we can work together to build a tech community that opens new sales channels, reaches new customers, and helps mutually improve product portfolios.
“Working with the Vision33 team has been fantastic for us as we look to grow our partnership division to offer a fully integrated solution for our clients.”
