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Cannon confirms commitment to floorcare and roller towels
Following the proposed strategic divestment by OCS Group UK Ltd of Cannon Textile Care to Johnsons Apparelmaster Ltd, Cannon Hygiene has confirmed its long term commitment to roller towel and floorcare product categories.
The contracts exchanged between Johnsons Apparelmaster Limited, the textile rental division of Johnson Service Group and OCS relate to the divestment of the Cannon Textile Care business and specified garment, towels and linen. The service provision of roller towels and floorcare by Cannon Hygiene is not affected by this transaction.
Cannon Hygiene is expecting to increase its share of the roller towel and floorcare market in line with expectations as a leading national provider of washroom, floorcare and waste services. All customers receiving roller towel and mat products from the textile care business have been formally transferred to the Cannon Hygiene business.
Howard Sedgwick, managing director of Cannon Hygiene, said: “Roller towels and mats continue to be of upmost strategic importance to Cannon Hygiene. We wish to reassure our valued customers that this divestment by the OCS Group of Cannon Textile Care does not affect our service provision of these core products.”
www.cannonhygiene.com
Altro and Regent in joint training initiative
A drive to heighten the effectiveness of cleaning high-performance safety and hygiene flooring has prompted a joint training initiative between Regent Cleaning and manufacturer Altro.
Regent shared its experience of cleaning Altro flooring installed at its healthcare sites with the product’s maker at a specially-convened ‘development day’ at Altro's UK headquarters at Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire. Now, the two companies have joined forces to develop a special Advice Pack for operatives tasked with cleaning Altro safety flooring.
Altro service excellence manager, Terry Oakley, said: "Regent's input has been invaluable. Our better understanding of what customers and those providing maintenance services experience of Altro day-to-day plays a key role in driving our improvement programmes. We're particularly grateful to the Regent team for its ideas on how to get clear cleaning messages in front of the people that maintain Altro floors."
Regent Cleaning training & HR support officer, Mark Mahoney, added: "This initiative to improve standards and outcomes for end users brings real benefits to our training programmes and it's clear that supplier collaborations of this kind will play a growing role in their future development."
www.regentcleaning.com
Businesses ‘highly sceptical’ about government H&S reforms
UK companies are highly sceptical that the government is going to deliver on its promise to slash the amount of health and safety legislation and make it easier for them to get on with their business, according to health and safety advisor and employment law specialist Bibby Consulting & Support.
The company's 'Health and Safety Survey 2012' has revealed that not only do many businesses not know what they are meant to comply with but there is a genuine fear of even more legislation coming over the horizon. The nationwide survey canvassed 8000 organisations of various sizes and industry sectors, with around 70% of respondents either company owners or directors of small to medium sized businesses.
Michael Slade, managing director of Bibby Consulting & Support, said the survey showed there was very little faith within the business community that the government would successfully have a red tape bonfire in health and safety legislation. "I think it's fair to say there isn't a huge belief that the government is going to be able to cut the red tape in the way that it has described," he said. "There really isn't the confidence that this will happen and that is one aspect of the fear that is genuinely out there. I think the fear is well founded. When I look back at the history of health and safety legislation it has been a story of continual change in response to things that have happened. Every time there is a serious incident a new piece of legislation has been created and I don't see any great evidence that the government is going to stop doing that."
However, there is another angle to consider, Slade said. Companies might have limited confidence that the current situation was going to change very much, but even if it did and the amount of health and safety legislation was reduced, that in its own right would put enormous pressure on businesses.
"The reality for companies of all types and sizes is that any time a change happens somebody still has to get their mind around that change," Slade said. "So even if a piece of legislation is halved, someone in the organisation still has to look at what that means for day to day operations. Simplification is absolutely the right thing but with it comes change, and change can sometimes cause problems unless the government is willing to provide guidance and support along with it."
www.bibbycas.com
£250 million training fund for employers
Asset Skills wants to hear from employers about the types of skills training they think could be improved with money from a new £250 million fund unveiled recently. The Employer Ownership Pilot will allow businesses the power to design, develop and purchase the vocational training they need.
It will route public investment directly to employers - enabling them to invest in the training they need. This is a unique opportunity and potential projects could include:
• Developing and shaping apprenticeship frameworks to meet industry needs;
• Forming employer guilds;
• Gaining support for specific areas of training provision.
The above list is only a small sample of project ideas that may gain support from the fund and Asset Skills would like to hear from employers and/or groups of employers in facilities management, housing, property, planning, cleaning and parking about how best they think this investment could work for their industry.
Contact Tom Orton at torton@assetskills.org or call 0845 678 2 888.
Robert Scott acquires Contico
With effect from 1 March 2012, Robert Scott & Sons has acquired the total share capital of Contico Manufacturing Ltd from owners, Proventec Ltd. Contico Manufacturing Ltd will continue to operate from its premises in Redruth, Cornwall under the current management team.
Contico has been a major player in the professional janitorial sector for the past 39 years and the acquisition by Robert Scott & Sons Ltd is designed to both enhance and secure the company’s future in the supply and manufacture of its range of added value manual cleaning products.
Alastair Scott, director of Robert Scott & Sons, said: “This is an exciting development - both companies have long-standing reputations for quality and service standards that we feel can only be enhanced by this acquisition. Due to the unique nature of many of their products, we intend to operate Contico as a separate and distinct business thereby continuing the excellent service levels that Contico offer, whilst offering the long term stability of Robert Scott and Sons’ 80 years of trading.”
www.robert-scott.co.uk
www.conticospraychem.com
BCC stages 30th anniversary reception
The British Cleaning Council recently held its 30th anniversary reception at the Houses of Parliament, with over 45 stakeholders past and present in attendance.
The event was led by Mark Woodhead, chairman of the British Cleaning Council, who used his speech to draw attention to the BCC’s achievements since 1982, while looking at some of the recent changes aimed at strengthening the membership criteria, lobbying and the grants process.
Woodhead was followed by Norman Lamb MP, newly installed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs. Lamb used the platform to defend the coalition government’s growth strategy, and emphasise government support for the cleaning and support services sectors, outlining policies that will improve business conditions and help businesses manage their workforce numbers better.
Finally, William Keegan CBE, chief economics commentator for the Observer, gave a short address on the state of the economy and offered insights from his 50 year career in journalism. He criticised the coalition’s programme of severe austerity, and emphasised the need to utilise to the tools currently available to stimulate the sluggish UK economy.
Mark Woodhead, chairman of the British Cleaning Council, said: "For the British Cleaning Council to be celebrating its 30 year anniversary is a remarkable achievement, and I am delighted that so many of the people who have made a contribution over the years were able to attend. It was a measure of our esteem within business that we have been able to secure such distinguished speakers as they contributed to what was a very memorable day."
www.britishcleaningcouncil.org
