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Deb celebrates with The Princess Royal
HRH The Princess Royal visited Deb Group during September to commemorate its 70th anniversary and to officially open its new global headquarters.
Welcomed by Jeff Bell, Deb’s managing director, HRH The Princess Royal was given a tour of the 150,000 sq ft headquarters, research and development centre and European manufacturing site including the extensive warehouse, state-of-the-art production facility and three-storey office accommodation. The Princess Royal was introduced to a number of personnel including long service staff members from both past and present. She concluded her visit by unveiling a commemorative plaque to officially open the new facility.
Jeff Bell said: “We are delighted that HRH The Princess Royal has taken the time to visit us today and join us to celebrate our 70th anniversary by officially opening our new facility.”
www.debgroup.com
Clean Slate expands regional reach
Clean Slate, one of the region’s largest independent commercial cleaning companies, has expanded into Leicester and plans to recruit up to 40 new staff in the next year. The company, which has been operating in Derby and, more recently, Nottingham for the past 60 years, has 150 staff operating throughout the region. It has taken the bold move due to the increased number of high-profile contracts gained in the city and surrounding area.
Currently more than 20 operational staff operate from the new Leicester base in Millstone Lane and, as new contracts come on board, there are plans for significant growth.
Clean Slate’s managing director, Mike Armitage, said: “The opening of the Leicester base is a significant expansion for us in these continuing difficult economic times and in a highly competitive industry. With an established profile in Derby and Nottingham, we have taken this step to support the staff we already have working in Leicester including those at the new Gateway College in Hamilton and GP surgeries. Our sales team is extremely proactive in the Leicester area and is paving the way for further expansion in the city and surrounding area.”
Armitage, who has overseen growth of over 600% in the last 10 years to take the company to a £1.3 million turnover, continued: “By having an owner managed team, we have been able to take a proactive and forward thinking approach to cleaning. We have invested heavily in introducing structured quality processes and in comprehensive staff
training to support our commitment to excellent customer service. A key factor to our continued success has been our unique guarantee to customers that if standards drop, or if we miss a day, we will clean for a whole week free and also that customers are not tied into a fixed contract. Quality and reliability is something that customers quite rightly demand from their cleaning contractors and, since introducing this guarantee two years ago, we have yet to refund a customer.”
Funding offer for technical certificates
Government funding is available for facilities management and cleaning employers to put staff through training for the following technical certificates: Cleaning principles; Equality and diversity; Customer service; Business administration; Team leading; and Hospitality.
Technical certificates are specialist courses that link to key components of a set job role. Working with recognised training providers, Asset Skills, the Sector Skills Council for facilities management and cleaning, is pleased to offer employers the chance to support their staff and take advantage of funding targeted at raising their workforce’s skills and knowledge.
The courses take place as distance learning programmes that last between 3-6 months. There will be an initial face-to-face induction for enrolment, course introduction and advice on how to use the high quality support materials to guide them through the training.
Assessment is usually through a combination of multiple choice questions and an assignment.
The courses are nationally recognised and accredited by awarding organisations such as NCFE and City and Guilds. They can help employees with their career development and act as evidence they are operating to agreed national standards.
The courses on offer are:
• Cleaning principles - targeted at those in roles that involve cleaning of sites and covers the core techniques on the best ways of ensuring high standards of cleanliness.
• Equality and diversity - particularly useful for those involved in public sector contracts as this is a key area of focus due to the Equality Act 2010. It aims to assist employees understand the benefits of a diverse workforce and provides a guide on best practice to avoid and deal with instances of discrimination, harassment and bullying.
• Customer service - looking at how to deal with queries from internal and external customers.
• Business administration - suitable for those involved in regular office administration tasks.
• Team leading - aimed at supervisors and deals with the best ways of managing people through appraisals, 1-to-1s and meetings.
• Hospitality - helps employees who are involved in front or back of house roles in the hospitality industry.
The employer needs to provide minimum groups of five candidates.
Employees must work in England, have been resident in the EU for the past three years, aged over 19 and not be studying, or hold the same or a higher qualification.
There is a processing charge to the employer of £25 plus vat that will be payable for each employee who enrols onto the course.
For more details please contact Tom Orton, the Asset Skills UK Academy coordinator, at torton@assetskills.org or call 0844 822 2525.
Contract cleaning market optimism for 2012
A new report on the contract cleaning market from MTW Research suggests that the industry is on track for above inflation growth from mid 2012, with specialist cleaning services in particular set to drive market value in the near term.
Based on sales data for more than 80% of the industry value, the findings suggest that, whilst business confidence remains fragile in 2011, growth of 2% is likely for this year, with opportunities for improved margins becoming more tangible in 2012.
MTW points to a number of strengths evident in the market, with just under 60% of contractors having grown sales in the last 12 months and 90% of the industry having a healthy credit rating in September 2011.
Whilst pricing pressures remain intense in the contract cleaning market, the report identifies a range of opportunities for contract cleaning companies to exploit, with more specialist service provision and greater segmentation of target markets identified as offering some stimulus for near-term growth. MTW also highlights the increasing importance of differentiation in contract cleaning, suggesting that companies seeking to enhance service levels continue to outperform contractors operating on a price/volume strategy. Other key differentiators employed by contractors to add value to their core offering identified in the report include environmental credentials, rapid reaction, improved CRM strategies and staff training.
Whilst the recent economic downturn has resulted in declining liquidity and lower capital expenditure by contract cleaners, the report offers a more positive forecast for suppliers of cleaning equipment for 2012 onwards. With capital equipment purchase having been deferred for a number of years, MTW believes that contract cleaning organisations will be spending more on equipment and materials in the next 1-2 years as the market continues to recover from the legacy of the recession, business lending facilities continue to improve and a more tangible rise in business confidence becomes apparent.
Cautionary notes are also expressed in the report and it is clear that the industry is likely to only experience relatively modest growth in 2011 as macro-economic conditions remain fragile. With borrowing to the industry set to exceed £5 billion for the first time in 2012, the report highlights a clear need for the industry to deleverage in order to sustain healthy longer term profit growth. Nevertheless, the report forecasts total industry sales to rise by around 15% in the next four years, with contract cleaning sales expected to reach almost £5.5 billion by 2015.
The report finds that the industry is dominated by companies that are more than 11 years old, reflecting established trading history and experience. However, 26% of the market is accounted for by companies with less than seven years of trading experience and the report suggests that these companies remain in the most vulnerable position at present due to a combination of low profitability in the sector, a relative lack of liquidity and the current lack of credit available.
Despite these negative factors, more than 50% of the industry comprises well-established companies with more than 11 years experience. The report provides a comprehensive review of the UK contract cleaning market in 2011, forecasts to 2015 with service and end use sector shares alongside four year financial analysis for the key cleaning
contractors. With real term growth forecast in the market from Q2 2012 onwards, there are healthy prospects for the majority of contractors willing to augment their offering through differentiation. The report is available to purchase from £565 from MTW Research’s website www.marketresearchreports.co.uk.
CHSA Educational Scholarships 2011
Now in its 12th year, the CHSA Educational Scholarship Programme continues to strengthen the links between industry and education. Employees and their families of all CHSA member companies are eligible to apply for a bursary of up to £3750 as a contribution to their higher education costs at a time when financial pressures on students have never been greater.
The selection process has now been completed and congratulations go to Oliver Skipper, representing CHSA member Diversey UK Ltd. Skipper will shortly begin a course at the University of Plymouth for a BSc (Hons) in Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies. This course reflects his strong social conscience. In his spare time he helps at his local
community centre, works at a large care home and also accompanies a friend who has Down’s Syndrome to his various activities. He was also recently accepted by Hampshire Constabulary as a police volunteer.
The best wishes of all at C&M and the CHSA go with Oliver Skipper as he embarks upon the next exciting chapter in his life.
SCA and NHS discuss sustainability
Two representatives of NHS Supply Chain discovered how Tork paper products gave NHS trusts a sustainable product choice during a recent visit to SCA’s forests and mills in Sweden. And both NHS Supply Chain employees declared themselves to be impressed by the sustainability of SCA’s operation.
“We took a team from NHS Supply Chain to see our Swedish operation because they wanted to see how we managed our forests and monitored our processes,” said SCA UK and Ireland marketing manager Jacqui Dilley. “The aim was to give them a complete picture of how our tissue is produced, from its forest origins right through to the finished product.”
The visit assessed work at SCA’s seed orchards, tree nurseries and forests together with the company’s Sundsvall pulp mill and a converting mill.
Sophie Cros, sustainable procurement manager of NHS Supply Chain, said: “The need to reduce carbon emissions is becoming increasingly important in the NHS, and I was particularly impressed by the carbon neutral element of SCA’s operations. The company’s forest management - and the biodiversity achieved in SCA’s forests - were also impressive. Sustainability is obviously a major element in SCA’s culture and its forest management is very much a long-term operation.”
Diane Woodham, NHS Supply Chain’s paper hygiene products buyer, said: “Our aim was to gain a better understanding of all the cost elements that make up the whole supply chain from the seedlings to the final product. SCA came across as a very professional and sustainably-run operation. I was very impressed by the company’s water management and by the way it runs its forests.”
As an example she mentioned the fact that discarded twigs and branches are intentionally left behind in SCA’s forests after harvesting. Insects then inhabit them and break them down into mulch, which in turn attracts other wildlife.
SCA owns 2.6 million hectares of forest, making it Europe’s largest private forest owner. The company’s forest management is certified in accordance with the Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) standard, which is regarded as the highest standard in International forestry management.
SCA encourages biodiversity in its forests and one tree in every 10 is left in the forest to become part of the natural cycle and to eventually become food for insects and woodpeckers. High stumps in SCA’s forests also provide long-term habitats for insects and bird life, and diverse plants are encouraged so that various species of insects and beetles can flourish.
Tork accounts for around 50% of the hand towels supplied to National Health Service hospitals via NHS Supply Chain. Tork Advanced zigzag towels are the best-selling hand towel within the National Health Service.
www.tork.co.uk
