Wirral Life September 2017 | Page 79

W BUSINESS NEWS L CAMMELL LAIRD WELCOMES NATIONAL SHIPBUILDING STRATEGY LJLA COMPLETES £3M LATEST PHASE OF IMPROVEMENT WORKS Cammell Laird shipyard is throwing its weight behind the unveiling of a new National Shipbuilding Strategy by Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon. Commenting Cammell Laird CEO John Syvret CBE said: “This announcement is the most significant change to the UK military shipbuilding industry in decades. This is bold and ambitious and will provide the industry with a unique opportunity to pursue export opportunities and create a cost effective and self generating highly skilled industrial base. In adopting the shrewd recommendations of the Sir John Parker report the Government’s new National Shipbuilding Strategy will revitalise the sector making the procurement process more competitive and stream lined leading to significant efficiencies and economies of scale to the benefit of the UK taxpayer.“ “Having an internationally competitive industrial base will create jobs and wealth for multiple communities around the country. Growing the UK navy, and working in partnership with our large blue chip technology industries can result in Britain once again being a proud and world leading shipbuilding nation. Here on Merseyside Cammell Laird will be looking to continue its proud tradition of naval shipbuilding, deploying the innovation and cost benefits from our commercial work to support the Ministry of Defence. We believe we are well placed to play a leading role in building the first batch of Type 31 frigates for our Navy. Moreover, due to our 130 acre site, infrastructure, workforce and management teams, we have the ambition determination and capacity to deliver the export version our international allies.” SURE SOLUTIONS AWARDED £2.2M ORDER FOR LEADING FOOD MANUFACTURER Sure Solutions, based in the Wirral, has been awarded a £2.2 million contract by a leading UK meat processor to provide a large freezing, chilling and air conditioning refrigeration installation for their new production facility in Bury. The equipment selected is of the very latest highly efficient design and, by using natural refrigerants, offers vast opportunities to utilise ‘heat recovery’ for the factory process and so reduce energy consumption. The client, Cranswick Continental Foods, are part of the Cranswick Group PLC who supply most major supermarkets with own brand and branded meat products. As a firmly established top 10 UK food producer and with a turnover in excess of £1.2Bn, Cranswick are an ideal client for a growing and aspirational SURE Solutions business. The project is now under construction and will take 9 months to complete. This latest project win comes on the back of a recently completed SURE Solutions installation for a large multi-national dairy producer which helped their volume output increase from 1.5 to 2 Million litres of Milk per day. The latest phase of development work aimed at further improving the customer experience for departing passengers at Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) has now been completed. In recent weeks, the Airport has seen a number of new retail brands start operating, new shops, bars and restaurants open up and the refurbishment and upgrade of approximately 2,000 sq m of the upper floor of the Airport’s Departure Lounge. These works create a more comfortable and exciting space for passengers to shop, eat and drink, or simply pause for a moment before their flight. Based upon feedback regarding the type of shopping and eating facilities that passengers want to see at the Airport, almost £3 million has been invested over the past nine months at LJLA. High Street brands Dixons and Accessorize have subsequently opened new stores offering goods at tax free prices, 20% less than on the High Street, along with a premium Cabin Bar that offers the best views across to the runway, a new Ritazza coffee shop with its extensive range of coffees and the Beer House with its selection of beers, wines and pub food. Other improvements have also included new and improved stores for existing retailers, completely new washroom facilities, large flight information screens, new seating and new lighting to create a lighter and brighter passenger environment. Once the summer season has finished for the Airport, work will then commence during the Autumn and Winter on the next phase of improvement works costing a further £2m, which will see an expansion and redesign of the existing World Duty Free shop and improvements to other areas. Lucy O’Shaughnessy, Liverpool John Lennon Airport’s Commercial Director commented, “Previous investments in a number of passenger facilities at the Airport have seen our customer satisfaction levels reach an all-time high. We believe these latest improvements have created a real ‘wow factor’ for passengers as we welcome them into the Departure Lounge, building on existing positive passenger feedback and further enhancing the customer experience.” wirrallife.com 79