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“As a parent of a child with Transverse Myelitis, I wanted to give something back to the Brain and Spine Foundation,” says Lee Beetham, Commercial Director at Yorkshire fabricator Kingfisher Windows. “It was the charity’s website we first turned to so I’m in training for the London Marathon to raise money and awareness to help other parents who are faced with something similar.

“On 9 August 2016, our lives were turned completely upside-down when our previously healthy two-year old son Theo was admitted into Leeds General Infirmary with difficulty walking and paralysis of his left arm. Three days later having had a diagnosis of Transverse Myelitis, he was completely paralysed and, on a ventilator, fighting for his life.

“After 10 months in hospital, he came home. He is still partially paralysed and requires his ventilator 24hrs a day. Theo is a source of unending inspiration to me. He’s young, still growing and extremely determined. He goes to nursery school and is settled into his new life. He never complains – except about his sister!

“It’s the sense of impotence that you feel as a parent,” Lee continues. “You feel powerless as there’s nothing you can do. This is my chance to do something positive. It’s not just the Brain and Spine Foundation that have given us help. We have received support from many others, and we are very grateful to them all. We’ve had information and emotional support, accommodation for us so we could be near Theo when he was in hospital, as well as specialist equipment.

“I hope to raise a lot of money for the charity and since I set up my Virgin Money page https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/LeeBeetham  donations have been coming in to support the Brain and Spine Foundation. It includes £187 from Kingfisher Windows’ Christmas jumper day and raffle.

“I’ve never run more than 13 miles before – and I’ve only done that twice. Both times I did, I couldn’t imagine having to run it all again. This is different, on 22 April 2018 I’ll be running 26 miles because I’m supporting the Brain and Spine Foundation and Theo is my inspiration.”

Morley Glass and Glazing is once again the proud headline sponsor of the North Leeds Charity Beer Festival, which will be returning with a new twist to North Leeds Cricket Club from 6-7 April.

Now in its seventh year, the annual community charity fundraising festival, featuring food, drink and music festival will this year debut a gin bar alongside 35 real ales from seven breweries and seven ciders.

Initially created with an aim to showcase interesting and unusual beers from Yorkshire micro and independent breweries, the festival has since achieved so much more. From humble beginnings in 2012, the event has raised over £30k to enable the Rotary Club of Roundhay to support many projects in the local area and further afield.

Ian Short, managing director of Morley Glass and Glazing said: “We are delighted to be able to sponsor the 7th Annual North Leeds Charity Beer Festival. This is exactly the type of initiative we like to be involved with as it perfectly reflects our ethos of giving back to local communities.”

The post Teaming up once again appeared first on Glass & Glazing Products Magazine (GGP).

Hodgson Sealants, one of the UK’s largest specialist sealant manufacturers has been announced as the latest sponsor of The Glazing Summit.

Celebrating 50 years in business, from its beginnings as a putty manufacturer in the 1960’s, Hodgson Sealants now make a full range of premium sealants including silicones, new generation hybrid sealants and glazing tapes for the fenestration and wider construction industries. Based in Yorkshire, the firm is currently expanding its facilities to take advantage of increasing demand across Europe.

“We’re really pleased to be supporting The Glazing Summit this year,” comments Charles Hodgson, Owner of Hodgson Sealants. “With five decades of experience in the industry, we’ve certainly seen it all – first as a long-standing family-run business, but also as a key supplier to the glazing industry. We have seen many changes in the industry over these 50 years and have adapted our product portfolio accordingly. We look forward to sharing our expertise with the great and the good of the industry at this event”.

Event Organiser and Insight Data Managing Director, Andrew Scott adds: “We’re delighted to announce Hodgson Sealants as the latest sponsor of The Glazing Summit. To reach 50 years in business is undoubtedly a major milestone and a fantastic achievement – especially in a rapidly-changing and competitive industry like ours.”

“Their continued success and ability to negate economic, political and social challenges across half-a-century in business makes Hodgson Sealants a great partner for The Glazing Summit, and a strong case study of how to adapt to a constantly changing marketplace. Adaptability and longevity will be among the key topics of discussion during the conference as we look ahead to a post-Brexit industry, assess the challenges and opportunities on the horizon and investigate the impact of upcoming legislation and the much-talked-about skills shortage.”

To find out more about The Glazing Summit or to book tickets visit www.glazingsummit.co.uk.

Just a few months after being named the Component Supplier of the Year at the G-Awards, Mila has had yet another positive endorsement of its performance, winning an ‘exceeding organisation’ rating from consultants Grant Thornton.

Grant Thornton has just independently audited Mila’s entire supply chain, analysing everything from how it manages its inventory to how its warehouse and transport operations perform. The hardware specialist scored a very impressive 2.7 out of 4, putting it alongside some of the UK’s biggest and most successful businesses.

One of the areas which Grant Thornton singled out for praise was Mila’s handling of the Chinese New Year.

For any company which sources product from the Far East, the factory shutdown which accompanies the Chinese New Year represents easily the biggest annual challenge. Disruption can last for up to a month as workers make long treks across the country to see their families and then back again.

In the 9 years since Mila has been sourcing products from its own suppliers in China, it can justifiably claim to have mastered the art of managing the shutdown and ensuring that it delivers a seamless service to customers, with an OTIF score in excess of 95% maintained throughout.

This year, for example, when Chinese New Year fell on February 16, Mila started preparing way back in October 2017. The company’s demand planning team were tasked with ensuring that it had sufficient quantities of product in stock and it spent a record $8m on orders specifically to see it through the affected period.

Mila’s Managing Director Richard Gyde said: “I’m not sure many customers appreciate the scale or the complexity of our supply chain operation and that’s exactly how it should be. All that matters to them is that when they place an order with Mila, it arrives with them on time and in full, and we certainly pride ourselves on the fact that our customers can take our reliability for granted.

“Obviously, it helps that we work in close partnership with both customers and suppliers to get the demand planning right and I’m delighted that the quality of entire supply chain has been independently recognised.”

www.mila.co.uk

Windows Etc has become the latest Solidor trade partner to be awarded with the Showroom of the Month accolade, this time for February.

The Colchester-based company is approaching a nine-year anniversary with Solidor and its new brand-laden showroom features 19 different Solidor door designs, reflecting various styles, colours and hardware options.

Joe Solomons, managing director of Windows Etc commented: “We’re delighted to receive the Showroom of the Month award for February as we’ve spent considerable time and effort in developing what we believe is the best composite door showroom in Essex. We’re a long-standing customer of Solidor and they’ve proven to be our ideal composite door partner in many ways.”

Gareth Busson, head of sales and marketing at Solidor concluded: “It’s a great Solidor environment that Joe and the team have created at Windows Etc. They are yet another example of how to create a wonderful retail experience for prospective customers and we look forward to building our great relationship with them further.”

The post Showcasing the showroom appeared first on Glass & Glazing Products Magazine (GGP).

Tables are still available for Circus Beserkus – the 19th GM Fundraising Gala Dinner, which is taking place on 9th June 2018 at the Crowne Plaza in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Gary Morton, founder of GM Fundraising, said: “The Gala Dinner is one of our signature events and one which has been with us from the start and we are delighted to see it return to the calendar for the 19th time. Our last dinner, the Witches & Wizards Halloween themed affair which took place in October 2016 was the most successful dinner yet, raising £41,550. It will be a tough act to follow, but we are excited about the plans for the evening and have some fantastic prizes for the raffle and auction.

“Around 300 guests will be entertained by the thrills and spills of the traditional circus that plans to be anarchic and outrageous, with some sinister glamour thrown in.”

For more information about attending the event, visit the GM Fundraising website.

The post Not clowning about appeared first on Glass & Glazing Products Magazine (GGP).

Pamela Wilson, an experienced Regional Sales Manager for Carl F Groupco who has represented the hardware distributor in Scotland since 2001, has an extended sales remit which includes Ireland. Pamela will continue to support Carl F Groupco’s customers in Scotland.

The development of Pam’s role is set to increase the presence of Carl F Groupco in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The company’s full catalogue of over 7,000 product lines is available to the Irish market where FUHR door locks and Roto PN reversible window gearing are established as flagship lines. The SmartSecure range of electronic door locking and Smart access control solutions, plus the Carl F direct range of tools for the window and door industries, are also supplied to Ireland.

Carl F Groupco’s distribution facilities are based in Peterborough and Cumbernauld in Scotland. Full technical and operational support is provided to Ireland.

Carl F Groupco Limited Tel: 01733 393330

www.carlfgroupco.co.uk   

Follow Carl F Groupco on Twitter using the handles @Carl_F_Groupco and @_SmartSecure