Author: Rhys Gregory

An ambition to be the best in its sector encouraged a West Wales catering butchery and meat processing company to establish an in-house training academy to grow its own skilled workers. [aoa id=”1″] Celtica Foods, a division of Welsh independent food service wholesaler Castell Howell Foods based in Cross Hands, near Llanelli, has trained 45 apprentices over the past four years and currently has 17 on its books. The company, which has a workforce of 75, supplies meat to independent pubs and restaurants, hospitality groups, contract caterers, hospitals and schools. [/aoa] Now Celtica Foods has been shortlisted for this year’s…

AB InBev has opened a new automated warehouse with space to store 23 million pints of beer at its largest UK brewery in Magor, South Wales. The world’s largest brewer plans a global roll-out of the warehouse technology, making Wales the starting point for the technology expected to cut its carbon impact. The new facility was opened by local MP for Newport East, Jessica Morden. [aoa id=”1″][/aoa] The 80,000 cubic metre warehouse will enable AB InBev to meet growing UK demand for beer brands, including Stella Artois, Budweiser, Bud Light and alcohol-free Budweiser Prohibition. Robotic cranes operating across six stories…

Cardiff-based St David’s Catholic Sixth Form College is helping to drive forward awareness around the key mental health issues young people in education face this World Mental Health Day (10 October). This comes alongside the World Federation for Mental Health 2018 campaign focus on ‘Young People and Mental Health in a Changing World’, emphasising the needs of young people, a cause which St David’s is keen to get behind. Following on from its ‘Worry Less’ campaign earlier this year, St David’s is continuing to champion mental health awareness with staff members assembling to create an impactful social media video campaign, highlighting what mental health…

Welsh life sciences company Bond Digital Health has created two new job roles after receiving more than a quarter of a million pounds in funding. [aoa id=”1″] The company, based at the Life Sciences Hub in Cardiff, has hired Edryd Sharp as head of product design and Phil Cooley as quality assurance manager. Earlier this year Bond received a private equity investment of £200,000 to help grow the business and take on new employees. It was also awarded funding of more than £75,000 for various projects. [/aoa] Dave Taylor, founder and chief operating officer of Bond Digital Health, said: “This…

Swansea University is to showcase its inspiring research to the people of Swansea next month as the Swansea Science Festival returns for a second year. [aoa id=”1″] Sponsored by Tata Steel, the free Swansea Science Festival will be held on 3-8 November and is a partnership between Swansea University and the National Waterfront Museum. Last year’s festival attracted more than 9,000 visitors, with the National Waterfront Museum attracting a record number of visitors during the Family Weekend. [/aoa] This year’s festival will kick off with the Family Weekend at the Waterfront Museum on 3-4 November, followed by events aimed at…

A group of keen knitters from Barry has helped a Penarth hospice mark the start of Hospice Care Week – by Yarn Bombing its gardens! [aoa id=”1″]The Barry Hookers joined community fundraiser Hannah Leckie at the Marie Curie Cardiff and the Vale Hospice on Sunday night, to secretly decorate the gardens with yellow wool to mark the charity’s colours as a surprise to the staff and patients.[/aoa] The aim was to Go Yellow for Hospice Care week, which takes place from October 8 to 14, and sees organisations talk about the extraordinary work that hospices do at the heart of…

Rhug Farm Shop was delighted to have won Wales Retailer of the Year at the 2018 Farm Shop & Deli Awards earlier this year but next year it wants to go one better and win the National Retailer of the Year Award – but it needs customers’ help to win! [aoa id=”1″]The Awards are highly respected in the farm shop industry for playing an important role in supporting and celebrating the UK’s independent, specialist retail market. Each entrant will be judged on the many factors covering speciality retail including highest levels of service, product knowledge, initiative, innovation and community involvement.[/aoa]…

ONE of Wales’s leading cancer charities is teaming up with local businesses to raise vital funds during Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October. [aoa id=”1″] Breast cancer is now the most common cancer across Wales and the UK, and accounts for around 30% of all cancer cases in women. To fight these statistics and support women with breast cancer, Cancer Research Wales invests substantial funds in research to help prevent, diagnose and treat breast cancer. [/aoa] The charity currently funds £300,000 on two research projects in Wales. The first research project aims to determine whether a new drug could delay…

Pupils from seven Denbighshire schools dressed-up as Tommies and made colourful forget-me-nots as part of a project commemorating the First World War. [aoa id=”1″] The project was organised by the North Wales International Music Festival who chose Reflections as the theme for this year’s event to mark the 100th anniversary of the Armistice. The festival is held every year in St Asaph Cathedral where the youngsters congregated with Corwen artists Ben Davis and his partner Jude Wood to make 1,200 forget-me-nots which were used to decorate the cathedral. [/aoa] Ben explained: “Forget-me-not flowers were drawn on letters sent home by…

A care home manager whose family heartbreak helped “put her in the shoes” of her clients is in line for a top industry gong. [aoa id=”1″]Karen Rogers, who is manager of Llys y Seren Residential Care Home in Port Talbot, has barely had a day off sick in 30 years’ despite suffering a series of family tragedies and coping with the ongoing needs of her 16-year-old daughter who has learning difficulties.[/aoa] The 52-year-old lost her younger sister, Gayle Clement, 42, to a heart attack four years ago and became the main carer to her two children. Two years later, she…