< PreviousEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk30MANUFACTURINGwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 31complexity and statistics felt moregrown up! It was at this point that I wasdrawn into a particular period of history,the age of the musket”.Tell us about your relationship withGames Workshop.“The principal factor that led me to setup Warlord was that I was maderedundant from Games Workshop after24 years. I was sales director there.“Games Workshop is a wonderfulcompany, and it taught me well. I’m stilla shareholder, in fact. I’ve employed alot of ex-Games Workshop peoplebecause they’re well trained andmotivated.“I started Warlord because I alwayswanted to do historical games rather thefantasy and sci-fi stuff Games Workshopproduces”.How has the business grown overthe years?“Warlord started out as a two menand a dog – literally. We’ve now got 71employees and a small office in PhoenixArizona, which we set up with the helpof a UKTI grant. We began with a wargame called Black Powder. The rules arewritten by a guy named Rick Priestley,who wrote Warhammer. Our biggestseller is now Bolt Action.“The company grew by 51% lastmonth, so we’re rocking and rolling! Wecontinue to add trade accounts aroundthe world – two thirds of what we sellgoes abroad – and we’re about to openour first store here in Nottingham, andan exhibition hall (both at the MarcusGarvey centre in Lenton)”.What’s unique about Warlord?“We like to think of ourselves as themost fun wargames company around atthe moment, although our rules are verydetailed. Our game designs are verydynamic and about getting stuck in,which makes us different from othercompanies”.How big a problem are skillsshortages? “Our manufacturing is broadly ascience but there’s definitely art in theretoo. Skills challenges definitely exist.We’ll have to set up our own trainingschemes to overcome them. We useapprentices a lot but we expect toactually take them on – hence the needto train them internally. Very fewschools and colleges teach the skills weneed”.How do you find the East Midlandsas a base?“The East Midlands is a fantasticplace to run a business. Property ischeap. People move up from Londonwhen they realise they can buy apalace. The council premises we’vehad for 8 years have been fantastic,and we’re well placed for going North,South, East and West. You can be inthe Capital very quickly.“In terms of support, the council hasbeen very good to us. The sitemanager here is great.“And we’ve benefited from thepresence of Games Workshop, ofcourse”.What advice would you give topeople looking to start a business?“Get a good accountant and be thebest at what you do. You need uniqueselling points. In addition, get goodstaff. We ruthlessly recruited thepeople we needed right at the start.Finally, get a really good website –we’d be nothing without ours, which isfantastic. People find us easily and arevery pleased to have done so”.MANUFACTURINGEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk32PRINTING“Our outlook isdefinitely upbeat”Midland Regional Printers (MRP)prints everything from marketingliterature to cardboard packagingand self-adhesive labels. TheBasford-based company recentlywon big at the FlexoTech Awards,so we had a chat with businessdevelopment manager MattSeaford to find out why things arelooking up for the family firm. Midland Regional Printers wasestablished in 1969 by currentchairman Stephen Tew and JohnNewbold. Today it is listed as one ofthe Top 500 UK printing companiesand continues to go from strength tostrength. Seaford says the firm islooking forward to the future.Hi Matt. Tell us a bit aboutyour background – whendid you join MRP?I came on-board 11 years ago as atrainee salesperson, so I’ve been withthe company since leaving school.Midland Regional Printers is very mucha family business, and I’ve almostbeen embraced as part of the family!We like working with other familybusinesses. They get a bit of a mirrorimage when they work with us, which Ithink they really appreciate. How has the businessgrown in recent years?The company has changed in recenttimes. Originally it mainly printedleaflets and brochures, but in the last 5years the focus has shifted topackaging – largely because peopleweeks. Nottingham is an ideal location for us.We have customers in London,Newcastle, Kent and Wales – all over,really. The transport links are really goodhere, with the M1 and the railway, so Ican travel to any of those places quickly.Tell me about thecompany’s greencredentials.People seem very aware of theenvironmental impact ofour industry. Customerswant products that are asgreen as possible. Weendeavour to usesustainable materials andrecycle as much as wecan, and it’s important toensure that no nastychemicals are used.What’s next forthe business?We’ve just installedanother gluing machine,so there are two running side-by-sidenow. This has doubled our gluingproduction and given us options to bringin more staff. In the New Year we’ll beinstalling a new printing press as well.It’s a Heidelberg press, so it’s a hugeinvestment, but it will allow us to domore automated quality checking. Ididn’t see this coming 5 years agoduring the recession! Our outlook isdefinitely upbeat at the moment. www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link33PRINTINGget their information from the internetrather than leaflets these days. We’ve seen a marked upturn inbusiness since making this shift. Theeconomic crash in 2008 hit us hardbecause marketing is one the first thingspeople cut out, but in the last few yearswe’ve picked up lots more business andreceived more referrals. That’s becauseof the quality of our products. Packaginghas to work – it has to be superior –whereas a brochure just has to lookgood. Our work was recently acknowledgedat the FlexoTech International Print andInnovation Awards in London, whichwere presented by former football starMatt Le Tissier (see image). We won theLabel Printing Award. How important is location?Nearly everyone who works for us isfrom Nottingham and the surroundingarea, and we’re bringing in more peopleas we speak. We’ve just taken on anapprentice, a gluing operator and aproduction manager in the last fewEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk3420 years of success for Rush HairTop London salon Rush Hair recently opened its second East Midlands location following ahugely successful opening in Leicester. We asked Stell Andrew, co-founder of the award-winningbrand, why the company chose to open in the region.Rush Hair is one of the fastest growing hair brandsaround. What makes the business unique?We’ve got over 20 years of experience in the industry andwe make sure we use everything we’ve learnt along the way togive our clients the best hairdressing experience they can get. It is important to us that, regardless of which of our salonssomeone steps into, they walk out feeling like they have beenreally looked after. We hand-pick our teams to make sure theyare the top of their game and offer all the latest trends andtreatments. Additionally, we work our opening hours around theunderstanding that people have busy lifestyles. Opening late inthe week, and all day Sunday, means it’s convenient to fit anappointment in around other commitments. Tell us a bit about the Rush Hair storyThe first Rush Hair salon opened its doors in Wimbledon in1994. I met Andy Phouli, the co-founder, when he was about12 years old. From school days, I knew his older cousinGeorge, also a director at Rush, and quickly Andy and Ibecame friends. Although we didn’t have any previousbusiness experience, we both knew we wanted to open asuccessful hairdressing chain of our own. Growing up I helped out in the busy restaurant my father rannear where we lived in South London. Watching him I learntearly about the drive I would need to succeed, and theimportance of excellent customer service. I knew these werethings I’d need to bring with me to Rush Hair, and it forms acore part of our ethos now. Our initial goal was to open 12 salons. Since then thecompany has gone from strength to strength and we have justopened our eighty-fifth. We’re also regulars at big events likeLondon Fashion week.It’s been a crazy journey. I don’t think we could ever havedreamed we would be this big when we first started. What made you choose Nottingham?Nottingham has a great reputation for fashion and we knewour brand would fit right in. While each city brings its own unique challenges, evenbetween those in the same region, we were confident ofenjoying the same success achieved at every Rush salon todate.With Nottingham, we needed to get a real feel for the areain order to tier things like pricing structure and treatmentsaccordingly.It’s such a thriving city, and the combination of high streetshops, designer names and independent retailers provides areal draw for the fashion conscious. Adding Rush Hair into themix seemed like the natural thing to do.Our aim is to create a real community feel in Nottingham. InLondon there can be lot of chop and change with our clientsexperiencing a range of Rush salons. We want to makeNottingham the go-to venue for hair and beauty, where yourstylist really gets to know you and your needs.Many of our team also come from Nottingham, so we’vealready got a strong local vibe mixed with regionalexperience from across the country.Any plans to open elsewhere in the region?Nottingham is actually the second salon we’ve opened inthe East Midlands, as we opened one in Leicester in thesummer. I guess you need to watch this space to find outwhat’s going to happen next year though! So you must have created quite a few local jobs?Between the Nottingham and Leicester salons, we havecreated 14 jobs. Each salon needs a selection of stylists,assistants and front of house staff to be able to provide ourhigh level of customer service and the full range oftreatments. What’s next for Rush?Right now, we’re exceptionally busy covering the Christmascuts and makeovers! It has been a crazy year, but anabsolutely fantastic one. We can never sit still for long though, and we are alreadymaking plans for the future. We’d love to open more Rushvenues here in the East Midlands given the opportunity,affording more people the chance to experience a first-classhair service.We’re looking forward to driving Rush Hair forward for thenext 20 years, and carrying the brand on in the same spirit westarted with all those years ago.HAIRDRESSINGHAIRDRESSINGDIGITAL37What’s the story behind Dijitul?Back in 2005 after not being able to findaftermarket car parts suppliers, myself and businesspartner Olly Mooney decided to launch our ownsupplier directory which was aimed at the modifiedand performance car market. Needless to say, thiswent very well and led us into the line of work weare in today. From a simple advertising listing wesoon became the go-to company for everythingdigital and still work with market-leading companiessuch as TrakM8, Milner Off Road and ScorpionExhausts, among others in a wide client base.How important is it to developyoung people’s digital skills?Digital is everywhere you go, it’s on our phones,in our cars, in our town centres, you cannot seem toavoid it these days. The demand for digitally skilledindividuals has never been so high. Around 30 yearsago and before, we the nation needed to dig coal.Today, we need to build the next Facebook, the nextGoogle, and we need to keep innovating andharnessing the power that our young peoplepossess. The best way to deliver digital skills is inthe workplace, working alongside experiencedpeople, not in the classroom. We’re so passionateabout it, we’re working with councils and colleges todevelop apprenticeships programmes that willbenefit young people and businesses.The digital scene in the East Midlands is thriving.What makes Dijitul unique?We believe we stand out for a number of reasons,such as dedication, and ability to deliver. Often,agencies sell what they do and that’s it but we knowhow the internet works and so when a client has aquestion about digital marketing, websites, emails,servers and the like we can answer it. That’s whywe’re often seen as consultants. Similarly, whatreally makes us different is that we want to shareour knowledge. We try to educate our clients. Wehave run eCommerce businesses and we knowwhat’s right and wrong, what works and whatdoesn’t. We can share that with businesses and insuch a way that doesn’t involve all the jargon. Wedon’t just want our business to succeed, we wanteverybody to share in a digital future. We go intocolleges, we mentor, we share our passion fordigital.What are your plans for the future?The plans are to keep growing the business andbecome the No. 1 Digital Company in the EastMidlands. We have a successful agency, a greatteam and have since released several unique web-based services which we shall continue to improveand expand. Training is a big thing for us during2017 as well as our mission statement to “build thenext Google”.Is traditional marketing “dead”?Traditional marketing has certainly fallen by thewayside but is in no means “dead”. What was oncea newspaper is now a digital tablet and the billboardyou drive by now hovers over the content you readfrom your smartphone every morning. There is andprobably always will be a need for the likes ofprinted media, however as generations go on Ibelieve it will diminish. The marketing skills areneeded, but it’s how these are used that aredifferent. I am 32 years old and read most thingsonline now, when I have children I cannot imaginethem picking up a newspaper. The world is way toointeractive now and will continue to push the moretraditional methods out.What advice would you give tosomeone looking to start a businesstomorrow?Get on Facebook, setup a page and share it withyour friends. Do the same with Twitter, LinkedIn andInstagram and just start talking to people. Sharewhat you do, show interest in what they do, engage!Do contra deals, get out and network, make a videoand share it with the world.DIGITALQ&ADave Hartshome, DijitulDijitul is a Mansfield-based web design agency specialising in eCommercedevelopment and digital marketing. We spoke to director and digitalconsultant Dave Hartshorne to get the lowdown. www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk38CHRISTMASNigel Baxter, managing director at RHCommercial VehiclesOn a serious note, I would like to see the country’sdemocratic decision to leave the EU accepted byeverybody. The majority of people voted to leave but it istypical EU style to try and keep voting until you get theanswer you want. It is not going to happen so it needs tobe forgotten. It’s going to be great guys - let’s get onwith it!On a personal note, I would like Santa to leave me apair of 20 bore Holland and Holland shotguns in mystocking but we can all dream I guess.I am very optimistic about 2017. Following on from2016 as a commercial vehicle truck dealer, I see strongsales and rental opportunities next year. The Chancellorhas announced spending plans to enhance infrastructureand productivity and these will inevitably have a positiveeconomic impact as road and house building is alsogood for the sector. My daughter told me as a smallchild, “Daddy, we will always need trucks” and she isright of course.I believe we have the right product, the right pricingand the right solutions for operators, so bring on 2017because it’s going to be a great success.Andrew Hayward, managing director atRussell Roof Tiles Please, please Father Christmas please bring merecruits who are looking for a career outside of theservice sector and are keen to train to help thegrowing skills gap within the manufacturing andconstruction sector. Ones who do theirhomework before them come for a job interview,who know something about the company andwho don’t dress like they are going to afootball match! Evenbetter would be an education system refined to createthe workforce of tomorrow, not focused on churning outpeople whose only focus is going to university. A reviewof this country’s education with a greater emphasis andchoice of craft skills, engineering and real-life job skills inmy stocking would indeed be very well received. We’re expecting demand will continue to rise in ourmarket due to the fact that approximately 70 percent ofall concrete roof tiles go into the private and socialhousing market and the government’s aspiration is topush ahead with the home building programme. The challenge is the lack of skills and a desire forpeople to work in the manufacturing sector whichostensibly means manufacturers such as Russell RoofTiles trying to train from scratch a large number of newemployees. This is primarily due to lack of awarenessand education in schools and secondly a skill set lostwithin industry during the recession, so a huge numberof manufacturers like us continue to struggle with adearth of talent to choose from.But the challenge is that without more building landreleased and easing of planning restrictions the landrequired for new homes is in very short-supply. We’relooking forward in 2017 to seeing the outcome of theChancellor’s announcement in the recent AutumnStatement of a new £2.3bn Housing Infrastructure Fundfor infrastructure to create up to 100,000 new homes inhigh demand areas.Tina Clough, founder and owner ofPoppy-PRA shopping trip with my best girl friends to pick up mywedding shoes! I have a big year in store next year on apersonal level!Professionally though, we are looking to team up withother localWhat’s on your Christmas List?www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 39CHRISTMASmarketing agencies who outsource their client PRwork. We are also looking into the possibility of hiring adesign and social media apprentice to help our team inhouse. Poppy-PR has recently undergone a rebrand to ensurethat our logo promotes our other services such asmarketing and events. Prospective clients often see us as JUST a PR agency,and we actually offer email marketing, a pressphotography service, event organisation, web copywriting, social media management and a variety of otheradd-on services. This year saw Poppy-PR emerge as anagency which also undertook a range of communityprojects, such as a large DIY SOS project at Derby CountyCricket Club. It is our intention to continue this initiativeway into 2017. Paul Staley, private rental sector directorat SDL GroupFrom a business perspective, financial & legislativestability is undoubtedly top of the list. I know it soundssomewhat clichéd, but with Brexit and impendingchanges to letting legislation around the corner, thesooner these are resolved and finalised the better. As the continued growth and success of the Build toRent sector requires sustained institutional investment,we have to do everything we can to help remove thenervousness around those investors looking into a newsector.On a personal note, I’d really like my home to befinished and put back together on time and within budget.I’m currently half way through a complete rebuilding andrefurbishment of the old family home, which has kept mereally busy over the past few months. It can be reasonably argued thatcompleting this on time is amuch lesslikely outcome than financial and legislative stability, butChristmas is the time for asking for your biggest wishes! In 2016, we saw a slight slowdown in the approval offunding for Build to Rent schemes immediately after theBrexit decision but thankfully this was short lived. Afterthe initial shock, the big institutional lenders now appearto have an even greater appetite for the sector. I am actually anticipating an increased interest in Buildto Rent due to the recent decline of the Bond markets asthis offers institutions a relative safe and secure home forinvestors’ capital, whilst providing a regular and constantreturn – ideal for pension funds looking for annuityincome. During the next year, I can only see the sector growingand I am predicting that within the next five years thePrivate Rental Sector will be contributing over 60,000 unitsper year across the UK. Our business will look to continueto expand our client base and exposure in the sector andincrease our run rate of over 2,000 Build to Rentproperties per annum.Jef Todd, business development directorat BSP ConsultingI’m hoping for the latest Lego Millennium Falcon. Itlooks absolutely fantastic and everything about it is rightup my street – great design, full of interesting features,and a real challenge. Building it should give me somethingto do over the Christmas break. The Autumn Statement signalled big investment ininfrastructure with a £2.3bn Housing InfrastructureFund to deliver infrastructure for up to 100,000new homes in areas of high demand, plus£1.4bn to deliver 40,000 additional affordableWhat’s on your Christmas List?39ÁNext >