The Health & Safety Executive is pushing far harder for far higher penalties. £1m fines are becoming the norm and 95% of cases brought to court are resulting in convictions. This seminar shows recent examples of the sorts of fines that are being imposed and how businesses can mitigate these issues.

Phil is COO and Co-Founder of Blaze, an urban mobility brand providing technology for bike sharing schemes and consumer cyclists globally.  Their core product is the Laserlight, a front light that also tackles the blind-spot by projecting a green symbol of a bike onto the road ahead of the cyclist.

Join this session to hear Blaze’s story and how innovation is helping make urban cycling smarter, safer and more enjoyable for everyone with the belief that more people cycling improves the cities of the future and makes our world healthier.

The seminar will be hosted by Andrew Wright, MD of Huddersfield-based advanced engineering business, Reliance Precision, and the Head of Business Support at the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, Henry Rigg.

Andrew will share his company’s approach to innovation and his experience of accessing support from local and national organisations to develop world-leading products and processes. As Chair of the LEP’s Business, Innovation and Growth Panel, Andrew will also set out some of his priorities for further developing the innovation eco-system in the city region.

Henry will support Andrew by providing more practical detail on the innovation support available to SMEs  in Leeds City Region via the LEP Growth Service, including the new £9m Access Innovation programme.

Christeyns is a manufacturer of chemicals for a wide variety of industries, working in the "business to business" sector. The UK operation consists of three businesses, Christeyns UK based in Bradford employing 110 people, formerly known as "Oils and Soaps" and is probably one of Bradford's oldest manufacturing companies (founded in 1874, becoming "Oils and Soaps" in 1963), today its principal focus is the supply of detergent, supporting chemicals and engineering expertise into the Commercial Laundry sector and works with many of the leading companies in this market, also a very strong focus in manufacturing chemicals for the construction sector.

In 2012 Christeyns UK acquired 100% of the business of Alex Reid, a supplier to the dry cleaning market and also 50% of the shares of Klenzan based in Warrington, a business that serves the food and beverage sector with a strong focus in the dairy industry, acquiring the remaining 50% of Klenzan in late 2016.

Blacks solicitors will explore common legal myths and platitudes and their relevance in manufacturing and the supply chain. Is possession 9/10ths? Is might right? There’s no contract, there’s nothing in writing..

Jim Evans and Darren Evans (not related!) will talk about the internal 'journey to excellence' within Cummins Turbo Technologies, aligning systems, processes, people and operations towards a positive culture and positive organisational outputs. This very visual presentation will reference the role of internal communications in this important process with a focus on assuring your people are on board. 

Shipping out 150 years of experience in a time of severe skills gaps is an extremely bold move indeed. However, Anne Wilson of Numill did exactly this last year and has managed to not only maintain turnover but also increase profitability. Numill have completed work for some impressive companies; Ford, Renault, Rolls Royce, Cummins, Mercedes, Peugeot, SEAT, FIAT to name a few. Their value proposition is clear and simple;  "We saved Ford £175k in 12 months".

The future looks both positive and challenging for Numill and with Anne's direction, the company is in tremendous shape to grow with optimum profitability and resilience. Join Anne for an insightful seminar around leadership and inspiration.

We live in a time of rapid change – in technology, supply conditions, and consumer demands. Manufacturers that innovate to keep ahead of this change - whether that is innovation in the product, the process, or the business model - will be the ones that prosper into the future.

Innovation is never easy, but there is support available. Here at the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) we work closely with Innovate UK, with a mission to link you to the right partners and funding that can make innovation fly. Ben Peace of the KTN will explain, and bring innovation to life courtesy of candid discussions with JRI Orthopaedics (healthcare).