Author: Rhys Gregory

Wales is set to make a flavourful mark at Gulfood 2024, one of the world’s largest food and drink exhibitions, taking place in Dubai next month, with a delegation of companies gearing up to exhibit their high quality products on the global stage. Gulfood 2024 is a five-day event that takes place from 19-23 February 2023 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. It is set to host a record 5500+ exhibitors from over 127 countries, unveiling new business opportunities, meet with suppliers, sample new food products, and assist with solutions to new and evolving global challenges. Supported by the Welsh…

General entries for the 2024 Principality Building Society Cardiff Half Marathon have now sold out just four months after going on sale. It now means that the only way runners who have not yet entered are able to secure a spot for 2024 is through one of the event’s official charity partners, tour operators, via a Welsh Distance Double Ticket or a Team Challenge package. Founded in 2003, when just 1,500 runners took part, the Principality Cardiff Half has become one of Europe’s largest half marathons and is a part of the SuperHalfs – an international series of half marathons…

A new immersive exhibit about recycling has opened at Xplore! Science Discovery Centre, the home of science in North Wales. The ‘Infinity Room’ installation, created by recycling not-for-profit Every Can Counts, marks a new experience for visitors to Xplore! Science Discovery Centre and is free to access for members of the public. The installation aims to teach all ages about the importance of recycling drink cans, as well as illustrating the infinite recyclability of aluminium. The focal point is a giant drink can and those who step inside will find themselves in a mirrored room that creates an illusion of…

 Flotek Group, a leading IT and Managed Services provider, has announced the acquisition of a majority share in OES, a North Wales-based Managed IT, Cyber Security, Managed Print, and Web Development firm. Displaying rapid growth and a £3.1 million turnover, OES provides digital technology solutions to businesses. Priding itself on its tailored account management and highly trained experts, the business has developed a reputation in North Wales and the Northwest for its bespoke strategies and service delivery, boasting a strong client roster that includes Boots, Hickory’s, and Gamlins, with a particular focus on the legal market.  This strategic move expands…

AN ACCLAIMED renewable energy business is celebrating another award-winning and record-breaking year. Carbon Zero Renewables – part of the Carbon Zero Group based in Old Colwyn, St Asaph and Mochdre – has announced its highest ever annual accounts. The firm has also taken on new employees, including a personal assistant, videographer, sales, and finance staff, taking the team to 25, and there are plans to recruit more in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Managing Director Gareth Jones has picked up yet another trophy, a Lifetime Achievement accolade from the prestigious Clean Energy Awards. With recent developments also including a fleet of plug-in…

A housing officer has been hailed a “local hero” for going the extra mile to help tenants under his watch. Paul Frackleton is the “one point contact” between tenants of the Parc Peulwys estate in Llysfaen near Old Colwyn and housing association Cartrefi Conwy who manage the properties. His new job is part of a new initiative launched by Cartrefi Conwy to restructure and strengthen its neighbourhoods team by combining various frontline roles of the organisation’s housing management service so they can become “champions of their communities”. As a result, Cartrefi’s 16 housing officers now look after smaller numbers of…

A partnership led by Aberystwyth University has received over £5 million in funding to research and explore solutions to rural challenges. Cymru Wledig LPIP Rural Wales, the Local Policy and Innovation Partnership for Rural Wales, connects researchers, communities, and policy-makers to support inclusive, sustainable development. Researchers and policymakers will work with communities from across rural Wales to explore innovative solutions to a range of major challenges faced by rural communities, such issues as the “rural premium” on poverty. Funded by UKRI, the research partnership aims to fill evidence gaps, explore innovative solutions, and enhance the use of research to support…

Câr-Y- Môr, Wales’ first regenerative seaweed and shellfish farm, is to build a new seaweed processing facility – the first of its kind in Wales – at its site in St Davids, Pembrokeshire. Construction will begin later this year. The facility will produce a plant biostimulant using seaweed harvested from Câr Y Môr’s sustainable ocean farms off the Pembrokeshire coastline. Seaweed biostimulants contain substances which are mostly organic, but with trace levels of inorganic nutrient elements. They stimulate plants’ natural processes, supporting growth, flowering, fruiting and resistance to stresses such as drought, heat and cold. These natural Biostimulants are increasingly…

The Centre for Environmental Biotechnology (CEB) at Bangor University is part of a new research centre, the first of its kind in the UK, being formed to enhance and develop the natural abilities of micro-organisms in cleaning up our planet. Tackling environmental pollutants and waste using microbes, the new centre is being established with £13 million of funding from UK Research and Innovation’s Technology Missions Fund and support from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. The Environmental Biotechnology Innovation Centre (EBIC), led by Cranfield University, brings together scientists from ten leading UK institutions, including Bangor University, in a mission to advance the properties and…

An organisation has been praised for its work to “transform” the lives of young people in Denbighshire. Denbighshire County councillors Delyth Jones and Arwel Roberts, of Plaid Cymru, were impressed with what they saw when they visited The Willow Collective, in Rhyl, and were given a tour of its wood mill. The community interest company, co-founded by Nicky Hodge, 48, was established in 2021 and focuses on innovation and regeneration, building skills, wellbeing, community development and holistic education. The organisation’s mill, where it creates wooden products for sale, generates an income which is ploughed into supporting its community benefit objectives.…