SERIOUS clients, Ballyrashane and Genesis, are being featured in a campaign by Spar in NI.

Pop up testimonials have been created to highlight the two brands can be bought through Spar stores.

Genesis, a great example of a local artisan bakery, has listings in a range of outlets including Tesco and Waitrose as well as a host of independent retailers.

Listen in to BBC Good Morning Ulster’s Business podcast to find out what Tesco in Northern Ireland is doing to encourage local artisan producers to come and talk with them at this year’s Balmoral Show  http://bbc.in/JJlCIj.

Winner of £5k dream garden makeover announced at Acheson & Glover fun dayNorthern Ireland’s favourite paving and walling company, Acheson & Glover, (www.acheson-glover.com) have celebrated the official opening of their new Outside Room showroom at Samuel Kirk’s builders’ merchant, Glengormley, with a fun family day.The event, which included an outdoor roadshow, was in partnership with U105 Radio and the highlight of the day was the draw for a £5,000 dream garden makeover provided by Acheson & Glover in conjunction with The Landscape Centre, Ballyclare.Over a hundred people attended the fun-filled event with balloon shapers, face-painters and even a Morelli’s ice cream van on hand to ensure visitors had plenty to occupy them.The winner of the £5k Dream Garden Makeover, which was promoted by U105 and in The Mirror, was Ryan Nelson from Annesborough Park, Lurgan. Ryan was chosen out of hundreds of entrants from throughout Northern Ireland. Speaking afterwards he said he would be using the top prize for a brand new drive-way. Acheson & Glover’s Outside Rooms’ Manager, Lauren Acheson, congratulated Ryan. “We all know how paving and walling can make our homes unique and give them that extra kerb appeal and we are looking forward to working with our partners for the competition, The Landscape Centre, to deliver something of which Ryan can be proud.  We’d also like to thank everyone who entered and our partners Kirk’s, U105 and The Mirror for helping us make our official opening something truly memorable and great craic too.” Kirk’s Builders’ Merchants is one of five new Acheson & Glover Outside Room Showrooms to be opened for the new outdoor season, bringing the Tyrone firm’s total presence across Northern Ireland to ten such showrooms. For more information on the locations of Acheson & Glover’s Outside Room Showrooms you can log on to http://www.acheson-glover.com/home-owner/.

Always lovely to finish a busy week on a high so we were delighted to receive confirmation we have been appointed by Tesco to handle a major ongoing PR programme in NI.

The appointment follows a rigorous and highly competitive pitch process and we are really looking forward to hitting the ground running.

Warm congrats to our team.

The McAvoy Group has helped a multi-national pharmaceutical company reinforce its ‘green’ credentials by supplying high-spec refurbished modular accommodation for its Dublin HQ.

Faced with an acute accommodation problem due to the need to grow its European presence pharma giant, Amgen turned to McAvoy’s Hire division for the supply of a 2,000 sq m double storey building on a three year hire deal worth almost €1.5m.

The building, which has been especially adapted to provide Office, and meeting rooms for 250 people and, canteens, serving areas, toilet blocks and changing facilities for around 950 people is a mix of reconditioned galvanised steel framed buildings allocated from McAvoy Hire’s extensive range of modular accommodation.

Eoin Daly, Director of Sales Maccom / McAvoy explains “Altogether it comprises 80 sections. Externally it boasts double glazed windows and has a one-hour fire rating, while internally it is fully turnkey, with carpets, air-conditioning, IT cabling and full mechanical and electrical engineering.

“The brief was to provide something that could accommodate around 250 Amgen staff and up to 700 construction management personnel but one of the greatest challenges we faced was it had to be up and ready within just eight weeks.

“This type of ex-stock modular solution was perfect in that we could adapt an existing building, make it fit for our client’s purpose and deliver it in a fast-track time-frame with manageable fixed costs.  Most importantly, it meant the client didn’t have to build accommodation which would only be required for a fixed period of time, thereby cutting down on carbon footprint and working efficiently all-round.”

McAvoy Hire provides a range of portable and modular accommodation units for sale or hire in the UK or Ireland. It is an integral part of the McAvoy Group of companies, one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of off-site building solutions in the UK and Ireland with a track record for the design, manufacturing and installation of modular and sectional buildings stretching back almost 40 years.

McAvoy has two purpose-built, state-of-the-art manufacturing plants, totalling 120,000 sq ft. at Dungannon and Lisburn which are equipped with the latest production machinery and utilising the latest manufacturing equipment, techniques and processes including lean manufacturing. The group also offers full design, transport and installation services and has an extensive commitment to new product design.

For more information on McAvoy Hire log on to www.mcavoygroup.com/hire-or-buy/

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Health Minister gets Caloriewise Dr Henrietta Campbell, Board Member of the Food Standards Agency couldn't tempt the Health Minister Edwin Poots to have a high calorie cake with his coffee at the launch of the new Caloriewise pilot scheme. The scheme will see calorie information displayed on menus in fast food retaurants, takeaways, staff canteens and coffee shops across Northern Ireland. With 8 out of 10 people eating outside the home at least once a week, the FSA hopes Caloriewise information will help customers make healthier choices when they're eating on the go. Ends

The Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland has launched a scheme which will see local food businesses displaying calorie information on menus and takeaway food for the first time.

The Caloriewise scheme, which is being trialled by eight local businesses, including three health trusts, is a drive to encourage consumers to make more informed choices when eating out or on-the-go.

Speaking at the launch, the Health Minister, Edwin Poots MLA, congratulated the organisations which have had, what he described as, the “foresight and vision” to participate in the pilot scheme, stating that he recognises the effort and commitment required to make it a success.

The Minister said: “Protecting public health is my department’s number one priority.  You only have to look at the figures to appreciate the enormous challenge we are facing: in Northern Ireland around 6 out of every 10 adults are either overweight or obese.

“We have set ourselves challenging targets in the strategy, A Fitter Future for All, not only to stop the rise in obesity levels but to actively reduce them over the next three years.

“This will not be an easy process and will require changes in our lifestyles and behaviours.

“The Caloriewise scheme gives consumers the power to make informed choices.  With so many of us eating on the move now, anything which raises awareness of the healthier choices we can make is a good thing.

“I would like to congratulate the Food Standards Agency and the participating businesses in Northern Ireland for working in partnership to deliver real benefits for consumers and I would urge other businesses to pick up this mantle and work with the FSA in order to have a positive impact on your customers’ health.”

Maria Jennings, Head of Dietary Health at the Food Standards Agency in NI explained, “In Northern Ireland, eight out of ten of us eat outside the home every week, accounting for one in six meals.  For all of these occasions, we often have no idea how many calories we are consuming. Eating out clearly presents a major information gap for customers.

“Caloriewise is not just about the occasional ’dining out’ experience, but the more frequent occasions like visiting a sandwich bar for lunch on the run, meeting a friend for coffee or regular eating in a workplace canteen.”

Research* published by the FSA in March 2011 revealed that there is a lack of knowledge around the recommended calorie intake for maintaining a healthy weight: for men 2500 calories and for women 2000 calories a day.  This need for education and awareness is something the FSA has recognised with its new campaign.

Maria Jennings continued, “The Caloriewise scheme is designed to get people thinking a bit more about their overall calorie intake in a day and encouraging them to make informed choices to keep the calories in check.  Food outlets will not only display calorie content for individual items and portions but also a clear reminder of the recommended daily intake on posters and leaflets.”

Businesses involved in the pilot scheme, which will run for six months, will display the calorie content of items clearly and prominently at the point of choice, in menus and on menu boards. Businesses signed up include: The Streat, Sodexo Catering, Botanic Inns, Aramark, and Mount Charles catering, as well as three local healthcare trusts.

The pilot programme will be evaluated to consider practical issues for businesses as well as consumer reactions and understanding of the scheme.

Congrats to our client, Premier Electrics (www.premierelectrics.com) who have been shortlisted for this year’s Ulster Business Viscount Awards in the Exporter of the Year category.

This is terrific recognition for a company that has really pushed the boundaries of export in recent years and grown their sales levels significantly.

All the best to the guys at the awards’ ceremony to be held at the Corinthia Hotel, London on 22 May.

It’s the third successive time McAvoy has secured its place on this important four year roster and that of its predecessor, Buying Solutions.

The award is further recognition of McAvoy’s expertise in developing high quality sustainable buildings that offer exceptional value for money.

McAvoy, with manufacturing plants and sales depots based in Northern Ireland and Britain, secured its place on the framework agreement through a competitive tendering process for modular buildings including applications for education, healthcare, custodial and local authority categories.

Orla Corr, Business Development Director, said: “This is a tremendous endorsement by a very prestigious and important client which, in part, reflects the extensive work we have carried out in the public sector over the past decade.

“We look forward to continuing to develop our relationship with Government Procurement Service particularly at this time when the public sector is facing significant spending restraints and is increasingly looking at off-site construction and modular buildings for cost-effective and high quality buildings.”

Public sector buyers can access information on the Modular Building Framework at http://gps.cabinetoffice.gov.uk.

McAvoy is the UK and Ireland’s leading permanent offsite and modular construction firm. It is part of the McAvoy Group which has locations at Dungannon, Lisburn, Dublin and London.

McAvoy’s core operating areas are in Education, Health, Hospitality, Retail and Sport.

The Group employs 150 staff and has a turnover of £24m.

For more information on the McAvoy Group log on to www.mcavoygroup.com.

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