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.
Integrated marketing agency The Bigger Boat is entering an exciting new chapter of growth, marked by the addition of three new team members and several senior leadership appointments.
As part of this next phase, the business has integrated the acquired Huddersfield PR agency Scriba into The Bigger Boat brand and established a dedicated PR department.
The Mirfield-based agency has bolstered its design and digital marketing capabilities with the addition of three talented professionals, including Karla Robbeson as senior designer, Rodger Dumisani as a midweight designer and Max Singh as SEO manager.
Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, Karla brings nine years of expertise in layout, branding, UI and social media content design.
Her experience spans a range of B2B and B2C industries, including fintech, beauty and eCommerce. A graphic design graduate, she believes meticulous attention to detail is what elevates a design to the next level.
A University of Huddersfield graduate with a degree in graphic design and animation, Rodger brings six years of experience working across in-house and agency roles with brands such as Asda, McCain Foods and Riso Gallo.
Skilled in brand design and motion graphics, he has collaborated with clients across the hospitality, retail and engineering sectors.
Meanwhile, Max Singh returns to The Bigger Boat after starting his career as a digital marketing intern at the agency in 2019.
Max has since gained significant experience, progressing to SEO consultant at Manchester agency UNRVLD (formerly Kagool & Delete). Specialising in technical and on-page SEO, he will now lead SEO strategies and client campaigns at The Bigger Boat.
These hires coincide with key leadership appointments to support the agency’s growth and enhance its service offering.
Emma Heslop is now commercial director, overseeing client satisfaction, retention and profitability.
Alison Croston takes on the role of director of strategy and growth, focusing on creating effective client strategies and achieving results aligned with the agency’s vision.
Carrie Webb has been appointed head of communications, managing content, PR and social media services, and Louise Jaggar continues as operations and HR manager, ensuring efficient business processes.
The Bigger Boat has also created new roles for internal promotion within the team, including PPC and tracking manager, junior social media manager and digital account manager, allowing team members to specialise in key areas and deliver outstanding results for clients.
The award-winning agency was also recently recognised as one of the UK’s best Workplaces in Advertising, Media & Marketing by Great Place to Work UK, highlighting its commitment to fostering a supportive and innovative environment for its growing team.
Commenting on the agency’s growth, managing director and co-founder Andy McCaul said: “These latest hires and promotions demonstrate our ambition to deliver exceptional work for our clients while fostering a culture where talent can thrive.
“Karla, Rodger and Max bring a lot of valuable experience to our growing team, and we’re delighted to welcome them aboard.”
A textile apprentice who trained with the Huddersfield-based Textile Centre of Excellence has scooped a prestigious industry award.
Apprentice weaver Dylan Branter won the ‘Lord Barnby Award’ from The Worshipful Company of Woolmen. The award is an annual prize given to the most promising young person employed in the West Yorkshire textile industry.
Dylan, who works for Halifax-based Avena Carpets, was presented with a silver medal and a cheque for £500 by Manny Cohen, The Master of Woolmen’s Company, at the Goldsmiths Hall in London.
Dylan began working at Avena Carpets in 2022 and was enrolled onto the Textile Manufacturing Operative Apprenticeship with the Textile Centre of Excellence.
Apprenticeship tutor at the Textile Centre of Excellence, Claire Eaton, said: “Dylan has been a pleasure to teach. He is the type of learner that will have a strong future in this industry. He is a worthy winner of the Lord Barnby Award.”
Alastair Morris, managing director of Huddersfield-based precision engineering components distributor Accu, chaired an industry panel discussion that focused on digital technologies. He said: “Embracing new technologies isn’t just an option, it’s a necessity for staying competitive in today’s fast-paced manufacturing landscape.”
Alastair was one of the keynote speakers at the Advanced Manufacturing Conference held at The Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire, Sheffield, which also included Dame Julie Kenny DBE DL, Philip Rodrigo, the Master Cutler, Dr Graham Honeyman CBE, Mayor of South Yorkshire Oliver Coppard and BBC TV’s Amy Garcia.
The event’s main focus was the evolution towards Industry 5.0 and featured key themes including the economic future, skills, adopting new technologies, sustainability and optimising digitalisation.
Alastair said: “In our business, we use technology to make the purchasing of engineering components quicker and easier for our customers. It’s not just about having great products, but giving a great customer experience too and using the latest technology enables us to do this.”
There were a number of panel discussions throughout the day and the Optimising Digitalisation, Automation & AI panel comprised of Alastair, Jamie Hinton, CEO of Razor, Claire Scott, Technology Adoption Specialist at Made Smarter and Habiba Lais, NDE Research Technical Fellow at AMRC.
The panel discussed how companies can seamlessly integrate cutting-edge technologies into their operations. Discussions highlighted the importance of digitalisation in enhancing efficiency, reducing errors and accelerating production timelines.
Alastair added: “Whether you see technologies, such as AI, as a threat to society or an opportunity to increase productivity, it’s undoubtedly here to stay. I think we all need to get our heads around its opportunities, its threats and the barriers to implementing it in our businesses.”
Huddersfield retail guru Kate Hardcastle MBE has been appointed as Non-Executive Director of Global Consumer Engagement at Future Stores, a hybrid retail media platform.
Kate will use her 30 years of global retail experience to drive innovation and growth for Future Stores launches both in London and around the world.
Kate’s appointment also bucks a trend with recent research that showed within UK tech companies that 77% of director roles are filled by men. The stats from Tech Nation also suggest that only 26% of the workforce are women.
Known as ‘The Customer Whisperer’, Kate is a renowned expert in international shopping habits and brings unrivalled knowledge of both consumer behaviour and trends and retail data use.
As one of the top female retail leaders worldwide, Kate was awarded the MBE in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for her services to Business and Entrepreneurship and is the founder of retail insight agency ‘Insight With Passion.’
Futures Stores has just opened its first store on London’s famous Oxford Street. It’s described as an experience as much as a retail outlet.
Kate said: “The launch of Future Stores is to retail what the launch of the iPhone was to the telecoms market. It’s a pivotal moment which will change the way we buy and sell on the high street forever – and I’m thrilled to be a part of the team powering this culture shift.
“Modern consumers are searching for a powerful personalised experience which is truly meaningful to them, and I will help Future Stores deliver this to millions of customers worldwide.”
Future Stores offers a personalised experience that’s as fluid as a social media feed, featuring a rotating line-up of brand ‘showcases’ or ‘activations’ that will change every two to six weeks.
Upon entering the two-floor, immersive space, that spans an entire Oxford Street block, shoppers are met with 400m² of stunning high-definition Micro LED displays, monumental billboards and cameras.
Consumers connect with brands through live demos, tutorials and showcases led by influencers and creators, turning each visit into a vivid, shared experience.
Staff and doctors at The Huddersfield Hospital, part of Circle Health Group, have been recognised for the outstanding quality of care they deliver to patients.
The hospital, along with other Circle hospitals, won the prestigious Laing Buisson award for best private hospitals nationally.
The private hospital in Huddersfield was praised for the way it supported staff and patient outcomes, and the award presented to the hospital’s owners specifically recognised the contribution The Huddersfield Hospital makes to the overall success of the organisation.
The award also looked at how The Huddersfield Hospital supported its 170-strong workforce. In 2023 they were involved the launch of the independent sector’s first university programme in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University to offer staff a range of professional development courses sponsored by Circle Health Group.
Additionally, The Huddersfield Hospital leveraged the national apprenticeship levy to support staff, offering them over 30 unique courses from nursing to administration and finance.
Paolo Pieri, CEO of Circle Health Group, said: “I am incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication shown by the staff and doctors at The Huddersfield Hospital.”
