Business Diary: March 12

ARE leaders born or made?
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Are some of us blessed with the strategic nous of a Wellington or Montgomery, but just don’t know it?

Questions like this have plagued Diary for years. By the end of this week, it seems the top brass at Chesterfield Special Cylinders (CSC) might be able to answer them.

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On Thursday, CSC is running a management training day on the lines of an armed forces leadership session. It’s held a number of these events, in order to put staff through their paces in a testing environment.

Meadowhall-based CSC, which is part of the Pressure Technologies group, is no stranger to ties with the military. It recently won a £2m contract to supply high pressure gas cylinders for the Royal Navy’s sixth Astute Class nuclear submarine, HMS Agamemnon. The course will be run by former soldiers from Expert Leadership Training, which is based in Sheffield. The course, which includes an orienteering session in the Peak District, will help

CSC identify those who are ready to take on more responsibility.

A spokesman for CSC said: “It will show who is perhaps hiding their management light under a bushel and who thinks they’re ready for promotion when they’re not. These training sessions have demonstrated the important contribution good and clear communications makes to teamwork. This has helped shine a light on people who are not – and will never be – team players.”

A grand gesture

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As one might expect from a product of Eton College, Sir Michael Peat’s manners were impeccable.

The long-time financial adviser to the Royal Household was visiting the region last week to take part in a round table debate at Deloitte.

Introducing himself to delegates, he said: “Our family, as it happens come from North Yorkshire but we are rarely allowed in anywhere as grand as Leeds so it’s nice to be here.” As grand as Leeds? The former Keeper of the Privy Purse knows how to flatter.

Quality counts

Green shoots are here, judging by the quality of marketing material for Pinnacle, the refurbished and rebranded office block in Leeds. The Albion Street tower’s particulars are printed on the best quality paper seen since the last recession. Or the one before, Diary is losing count. Jones Lang LaSalle and Savills are marketing the building, which promises “breathtaking” panoramic views across the city.

Core blimey!

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Stockbroker Panmure Gordon clearly has lofty ambitions for its biotech client Avacta.

But perhaps it was stretching it for an analyst at Panmure to draw comparisons between Avacta, based on an industrial estate in Wetherby, with US tech giant Apple, which makes one of the fastest-selling pieces of consumer technology in history.

Avacta’s recent stock market update warned sales of its upgraded Optim device – which analyses samples for drug companies – are proving “slow”.

Panmure’s explanation?

“The platform is finally available, but just as Apple’s sales of the iPhone 4S drop off in anticipation of the launch of iPhone 5, we note the company’s statement that ‘unit sales were slow’.” There’s nothing like setting your sights high!

Passport to success

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What do voltage optimisation systems, fresh fish, fairtrade bags and handmade cakes have in common?

Well, they are all products of enterprising firms in our region that were honoured this week by UK Trade & Investment for successfully competing in international markets. Four regional businesses have been named as the first ever winners of awards organised by UKTI to promote its Passport to Export programme for novice and new exporters.

Green technology manufacturer EMSc UK, of Ecclesfield, Sheffield, took the title of Exporter of the Year after working with UKTI to expand into Australia.

The other winners included Chill Fresh Fish, of Grimsby, for Most Original Use of OMIS (Overseas Market Introduction Service) in working with the Vietnamese Fisheries and Agricultural Department to secure a licence to export to Vietnam, and Bag It Don’t Bin It, of Sheffield, for Best Use of OMIS in securing business in Japan.

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Propermaid, of Lindley, Huddersfield, won the accolade for Most Improved Business Performance in taking a business that started out in a home kitchen to Europe and beyond.

It just goes to show that an export-focused strategy can suit a vast array of sectors.

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