As a member of Lancing Business Park don't forget to regularly visit our members offers page www.lancingbusinesspark.co.uk/Member_Offers and support fellow businesses on the Park. If you would like to submit an offer please email admin@lancingbusinesspark.co.uk

We’re 40...but we don’t look it!

Parafix Tapes and Conversions Ltd are delighted to be celebrating their 40^th year of providing bespoke solutions for industries such as electronics, automotive, aerospace, military & defence, renewable and healthcare. Celebrations are being held next month at Pangdean Barn in Pyecombe. A barn dance and hog roast are being provided for Parafix’s 50+ employees and friends of the company.

Parafix was formed in 1972 on the South coast of England where the company has grown in both size and capability. Parafix were quickly appointed as a 3M preferred distributor for the local area and over the following years a strong relationship was built, resulting in the current status of being one of only 12 Global Preferred Converters for 3M. Other strong relationships were built and are enjoyed by Parafix; including Preferred Converter status with Rogers and Laird.

Manufacturing has faced many difficulties over recent years, but Parafix’s commitment to continuous improvement, providing excellent customer service and focus on employee development are examples of their response to the challenging economic climate; which is why, despite the recession, the company has seen steady growth.

Playing an active part in supporting the local community has also been important to the company and is one of Parafix’s core values; they are keen sponsors of local charities, including the Chestnut Tree House and also sponsor local sports activities including golf, Sussex County Cricket Club and Brighton & Hove Albion FC.

Their community and business efforts have been recognised on a number of occasions, including winning Manufacturer of the Year at the 2010 Worthing Business Awards, winning the Company of the Year trophy at the 2011 Sussex Business Awards and being recognised in the Manufacturer of the Year category at the 2011 Southern Business Awards.

Steve Barwick, Sales and Marketing Manager, says of their work: “We have a variety of applications and customers we work with at Parafix, there’s always something new and exciting. We have high hopes for the future and perceive us to be just as strong throughout the next 40 years”.

For more information about Parafix’s history please visit: http://www.parafix.com/en/index.cfm/Our-History/.

 

 

 

Lancing Business Park - Estates Excellence Pilot Project

The Lancing Business Park Committee is pleased to announce its partnership with Adur and Worthing Councils, the Health and Safety Executive and the NHS, to reduce the costs associated with accidents and ill health in the workplace.

We feel strongly that companies on Lancing Business Park could see real benefits from participating in the new national initiative called ‘Estates Excellence’. Our business park has been chosen to pilot this project which aims to reduce red tape, by developing a new collaborative and more sensible approach to managing business risk. The pilot will be designed to directly meet the health and safety needs of businesses, to help lower costs, improve the health of staff and reduce concern regarding legal requirements.

The pilot will provide free health and safety training and support for all businesses on the park, to help improve performance without unnecessary costs. This is a non-enforcement based approach, where officers will freely give advice and access to the following help, without any obligation:

•    Free face to face contact with health and safety professionals giving guidance in a non-enforcement context
•    Free advice and coaching on health improvement
•    Free training and taster sessions
•    Increased knowledge and competence
•    Opportunity for occupational health assessment
•    Clear guidance on what measures are actually required
•    Opportunity to collaborate and save e.g. through joint procurement
Phase 1 of the pilot will begin on the 28th May and run until 15th June 2012, with the Estates Excellence Team calling on all businesses on the park to give them a quick overview of the pilot. Please note that this initial visit should take no longer than 15 minutes. The team will ask for information about your business and your main health or safety concerns to ensure that Phase 2 meets your business needs. Businesses will then be offered an opportunity to participate in Phase 2.

Phase 2 will begin on 2nd July and run until 3rd August 2012 and will offer a free informal “benchmarking” visit which will take about an hour and aims to identify any gaps in health or safety provision, which your business could benefit from addressing.

Phase 3 will begin in September 2012 and will offer a full menu of free training and events aimed at addressing the issues identified in Phase 2.
 
This is a unique opportunity for our business park to lead the way in raising standards ahead of any future health and safety inspections. It will further improve our reputation as an excellent business park and we hope you will be able to share our enthusiasm for this project and take full advantage of it.

 For further information go to:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/estatesexcellence/index.htm
Or contact the Environmental Health Team at Adur and Worthing Councils through alison.lindley@adur-worthing.gov.uk  tel.01273 263437 or
paul.unsworth@adur-worthing.gov.uk  tel.07827 926 266

The team challenges at Teamsports Go Karting have been a big success and congratulations once again to Alverstone Autos in winning the Team Sport Indoor Karting Challenge held on the 22nd March.

This fun event is organised for Lancing Business Park members and open to anyone to participate.


Obviously the guys from Alverstone are professionals so perhaps they should be awarded a handicap for the next event

The next race is planned for the 5th June. Please contact Jon direct at  trackmanager.brighton@team-sport.co.uk  if you are interested in taking part.

We are writing to let you know that Adur District Council and Lancing Parish Council have joined forces to commission a study which will form a regeneration vision for Lancing village centre and seafront. BDP has been appointed to carry out the research drawing on our expertise and experience of working in Sussex; including Littlehampton, Worthing and Shoreham-by-Sea. The vision will provide a strategy for regenerating the village centre, identifying land use zones and measures to stimulate economic growth, as well as transport, visual and streetscape improvements. It will also include an action plan for putting the proposals in place. Download full document here

Parafix named Sussex Company of the Year to cap successful 2011

Lancing-based manufacturing firm Parafix has been named Company of the Year in the Sussex Business Awards.

Parafix, a UK leader in the adhesive tape industry, converting and cutting filmic tape, beat dozens of entries to win the coveted title at an awards ceremony in Brighton.

The award caps a successful year for the firm in which growth has been strong despite difficult economic challenges.

The company has continued to invest in state of the art technology to ensure it remains at the cutting edge of the adhesive tape sector.

And it has demonstrated its on-going commitment to staff training by helping half its UK workforce to gain NVQ certificates, a strategy that impressed judges on the awards panel.

In total, 26 employees at the firm’s Lancing factory have successfully gained NVQ qualifications in Business Improvement Techniques since 2009 despite a cut in Government funding for NVQ programmes.

Managing Director Mike Punter said: “It was an honour to accept the Sussex Company of the Year award on behalf of all the team at Parafix. They all played a vital role in winning the title. 

“For me, investing in our people is crucial. By helping them to grow and learn, so the company has grown. I believe it is this ethos that has seen us through the recession to become a strong and proud Sussex manufacturer.

“We pride ourselves on not only engaging our staff but also delivering exceptional customer service, and we believe this makes Parafix a role model for manufacturing in the region; as strategists, responsible employers and innovators.” 

Parafix converts and cuts filmic tape to incredibly accurate specifications for use in sectors such as electronics, healthcare and engineering.

Since 2009, Parafix has invested £350,000 in market-leading equipment helping to improve productivity and efficiency, and as a result was able to expand, adding a factory in Russia to its already successful overseas operations launched in Hungary.

The firm stayed focused on customer satisfaction, scoring an 80% repeat business rate and an increased new business win rate, using an advanced online product selector to help customers choose the right product.

As a result of the company’s commitment to its staff and customers, it remained profitable for 2009 and 2010 and has now returned to pre-recession sales.

Welcome to Team Sport Indoor Karting

For serious adrenaline junkies of all ages, TeamSport Brighton, the new state-of-the-art go kart experience, is now open here on Lancing Business Park. The circuit boasts one of the longest indoor tracks in the country.  Now with 11  tracks around the UK, TeamSport is Europe’s biggest and most successful indoor kart operator.

The centre’s brand new, full size 200cc petrol karts, each worth a whopping £3000, tear round like rockets.  They can reach speeds of up to 40 miles per hour, but at just two inches off the floor it can feel like twice that!   The 450 metre track has challenging bends, plenty of overtaking opportunities and an amazing corkscrew flyover for the ultimate grand prix buzz.

Facilities at TeamSport Brighton include a trackside restaurant,  briefing rooms and comfortable changing rooms.  Precision electronic timing systems, plus smart new racing suits and helmets are also part of the deal.  Friends, family and colleagues can take in the action from the first floor viewing gallery.

A suite of stylish, fully equipped new conference rooms complete a comprehensive corporate offer for up to 60 delegates, making TeamSport Brighton perfect for awaydays, team-building or the best work Christmas party ever!  Driving experience gift vouchers are also available – a perfect present for the man (or woman) who has everything. Visit Team Sport at www.team-sport.co.uk/brighton

ROAD REPAIRS - UPDATE

All of the resurfacing work has now been completed and the disruption was minimal.  Work on repairing the cracked joints will commence on Monday 5th December and again this work will take place overnight. 

As a lot of these ‘joints’ are in the middle of the road it is likely that there will be a rolling programme of road closures for safety reasons and as before these will be properly managed by the highway authority.  The plan is for all of this work to be completed before Christmas and we should be left with a very acceptable set of roads!  

Thank you all for your cooperation whilst this essential work was carried out, and your anticipated cooperation over the next two weeks.

I have been informed by West Sussex County Council that they are hoping to bring forward the road repairs to week commencing 21st November.  This is obviously good news although this still has to be confirmed.

The intention is to carry out the majority of the work overnight in order to minimise disruption however this will have an impact on businesses that operate outside normal working hours.  To facilitate these repairs road closures are inevitable, so could any business that would normally expect to operate between the hours of 19.00 hrs and 06.00 hrs, please contact me by   email so that arrangements with WSCC can be discussed to avoid any unnecessary problems.

Please ensure that your message includes details of who should be contacted within your business and obviously their direct contact information. 

Please keep an eye on the website where general information and updates on the road repairs will be placed.

Ken Green