Bath advanced engineering firm Rotork has ended its six month search for a new CEO by making an internal appointment. Kiet Huynh, pictured, currently managing director of the group’s water & power and chemical, process & industrial (CPI) divisions, has taken on the role with immediate effect. He also joins the Rotork board. Kiet, 42,...
More than three-quarters of manufacturing firms across the West of England have been affected by delays or other disruption when importing supplies or goods, according to the latest economic survey by the regions largest business group. Two-thirds of all importers have also been affected, triggering a fear among many firms that their prospects will...
Bath-based glasses designer and manufacturer Inspecs Group has hit the acquisition trail for the second time in a month with the takeover of a Swedish eyewear firm. The £6.2m deal to buy Stockholm-based Ego Eyewear comes four weeks after Inspecs snapped up German spectacle frame distributor BoDe Design Vertriebs for €1.76m (£1.51m). The...
With the ongoing impact of the pandemic, climate change and Brexit, 2022 will be another tough year for many Bath businesses. Phil Smith, managing director of Business West – the organisation behind Bath Chamber of Commerce and the Bath and North East Somerset Initiative – looks at the needs and challenges for this year? ...
Avon Protection, the defence manufacturing group, is to wind down its body armour business after it failed tests for the US military. The Melksham-headquartered group, which earlier this year rebranded from its historic name of Avon Rubber, said closing the armour division in two years would allow it to refocus as a global...
A BSc Management student at the University of Bath has become the 1,000th to receive business innovation skills training in a pioneering scheme run by SETsquared, the world-leading tech incubator. The Intrapreneurial Knowledge Exchange Enterprise Pathway (IKEEP) was set up nearly a year ago by SETsquared, which is backed by a group of six...
A Bath firm developing biodegradable alternatives to harmful microplastics has won a £425,000 grant which could lead to its pioneering technology being produced on an industrial scale. Naturbeads has received the money from Innovate UK, the government’s innovation body, to explore commercialising the product, which is made from cellulose, a naturally occurring substance...
Bath-based glasses designer and manufacturer Inspecs Group has made its third acquisition in 18 months, snapping up a German spectacle frame distributor for €1.76m (£1.51m). Inspecs said buying BoDe Design Vertriebs, which also distributes Inspecs products in Holland, Austria and Switzerland, further reinforced its strategy of developing strategic distribution of its products to...
A scheme set up to bridge the digital divide by getting laptops to schools, charities and individuals who do not have access to technology has celebrated sending out 1,000 devices. Wiltshire Digital Drive was born from the success of a laptop recycling project started by Westbury-based Priority IT during lockdown. The scheme recycled...
Business people with strong networking experience and the credibility to champion the region are being sought by the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to join its business board. The LEP is looking to appoint new board members to help shape a brighter, greener future for the West of England’s residents. The LEP...
