DATE: Saturday 8th June 2013

TIME: 11am to 5pm

ADMISSION: Adults £4, Children under 12 FREE

The YESSS Electrical Ballymena Carfest and Truck Show is a great day out for all the family. This year we have motorcycle stunt team Broke FMX, the qualifying round for Europe’s Strongest Man and a free shuttle bus service to Ballymena Town Centre for those of you who just aren’t into cars. We are also giving away a car – Raffle Tickets for the MG TF are just £5 each! There will also be kids’ entertainments, trade stands and much more. All proceeds of the day will go to the MacMillan Cancer Support Palliative Care Unit at Antrim Area Hospital.

Galgorm Castle Estates Developments, Ballymena, which, currently consists of Galgorm Castle, a courtyard housing twenty businesses and a championship golf course; today announced its investment which will see the estate expand even further.

Pictured at the investment launch, Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster, Anne Donaghy, Chief Executive, Ballymena Borough Council, Christopher Brooke, Galgorm Castle Estates and Ballymena Mayor PJ McAvoy.

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said: “This significant investment is just the latest in a series of investments in Ballymena and demonstrates the faith that indigenous businesses like Galgorm Castle Estates have in Northern Ireland. The business centre on the estate has already attracted international firms including, an American engineering company and a South Korean software company.

“Galgorm Castle has the potential to become an even bigger economic asset to the Ballymena borough, and the planned developments to the Castle, Courtyard and new Garden Centre will help drive visitors to this historic site and create welcome job opportunities in the area.

 “Just last month I announced that Galgorm Castle Golf Club was hosting the Northern Ireland Open Challenge, an event which will bring around 30,000 spectators to the course. The combination of a superb golfing product, together with the new garden centre and restoration work to the Castle, will make it an even more attractive proposition for tourists.”

The Estate’s expansion will consist of three phases which will include the development of a garden centre, a courtyard business centre and essential restoration of the Castle itself. The first phase is now underway.

Delegates at the event, which included local elected representatives and private business owners, were addressed by Christopher Brooke, Galgorm Castle. He said, “Our investment is entirely privately funded and clearly displays our faith in the future growth and prosperity of Ballymena. We believe that through these developments, we can raise international awareness of Galgorm, Ballymena borough and Northern Ireland and attract further foreign direct investment into the area. We hope this provides a welcome boost for business in Ballymena.”

It is anticipated that the garden centre will attract in the region of 80,000 visitors a year, with the restored castle, which has been central to Ballymena’s history for 400 years, predicted to be a major asset and tourist attraction for Ballymena and its surrounding areas.  In addition to attracting local companies, the courtyard will continue to market to international companies who are interested in establishing offices in Northern Ireland.

Mr Brooke continued, “Alongside this major investment, we are also currently working on a number of exciting projects, particularly, as we look forward to the Northern Ireland Open Challenge presented by Clannah & XJet. Ahead of this premier international golf event which will be held at the Galgorm Castle Championship Golf Course late summer and attract approximately 30,000 visitors to the region, the clubhouse is receiving a £250,000 facelift. This refurbishment will include plush changing facilities, relaxation areas and a contemporary balcony area for bar and restaurant guests. The course has not been forgotten with substantial works planned including two new bunkers, three new tee boxes, paths, tree thinning and drainage.”

Also speaking at the the event was Ballymena Mayor PJ McAvoy.  Welcoming the investment he said: “This is a strong vote of confidence in Ballymena and its surrounding areas. Ballymena is a thriving place to do business, and recently we have seen many success stories coming out of the borough. For that reason, this investment is important for both Ballymena and Northern Ireland.”

“Galgorm Estates has been built up over generations and over this period of time, I am glad to say has sustained an excellent relationship with both local businesses and Ballymena Borough Council. The Council is proud to work with such as prestigious business that is not only stimulating both the local jobs market but also the wider economy.”

Mayor of Ballymena, Alderman PJ McAvoy, welcomed local businesses along to the Braid Arts Centre, to acknowledge their support for people living with domestic abuse in the town, and helping Ballymena become a Safe Town for anyone living with abuse.

Ballymena Mayor Alderman PJ McAvoy and guests at the launch of Ballymena Safe Town

A total of 66 businesses and organisations in the borough, including Ballymena Borough Council, PSNI, Northern Health and Social Care Trust, Ballymena Library, Northern Regional College, Adair Arms Hotel, Churches, constituency offices, shops and a wide range of other organisations supported the Onus Safe Place and Safe Employer initiatives, which are the first ‘pathways’ to becoming a Safe Town.

Colette Stewart, Onus Business Manager, explained how the Onus ‘pathways for participation’ work:

‘One in four women and one in nine men will experience domestic abuse at some stage during their lifetime. Organisations such as Women’s Aid, Victim Support and PSNI are doing everything they can to support those living with abuse, but we believe that everyone can do something. The Safe Place initiative for example simply signposts to local support services, but to us it is more than just the Safe Place logo. It is a statement, that there is an alternative to living with domestic abuse and support will be available when that person needs it’.

Mayor Alderman PJ McAvoy said during his speech that he was delighted with how much progress had been made in Ballymena in the past year, and thanked all those who contributed to making Ballymena becoming a Safe Town.

For further information on how to tackle this issue in the workplace, please visit www.onustraining.co.uk for further information on our wide range of services on offer or contact 028 2563 2136.

Anyone dealing with domestic violence can access support by calling the 24hr Domestic Violence Helpline on 0800 917 1414. Safe Place resources also give contact information for PSNI, Victim Support and Childline.

Mayor PJ McAvoy, Anne Donaghy (Town Clerk and Chief Executive), Chris Wales (Chamber Business Development Manager) and Thomas McKillen (Chamber President)

Announcing the sponsorship deal, Thomas McKillen, Chamber President said

“I am delighted to announce that Ballymena Borough Council will be the principal sponsor for the 2013 Business Awards. The Council was also principal sponsor in 2012 and I thank them for their continued support of the awards.

We’ve seen growth in interest, attendance and applications for the awards every year since we started, with last year 440 people attending the Gala evening. It’s always great to see the mix of businesses at the awards, representing sectors from retail to manufacturing to services. And it allows Ballymena to showcase the best businesses and practices to outside bodies perhaps looking to locate new businesses.

I’m glad to say that Chamber has had an excellent working relationship with Ballymena Borough Council over many years and I thank them for their continued support, not only of the awards but Chamber in general. I look forward to this business focused approach continuing into the future”.

Mayor of Ballymena, Alderman PJ McAvoy said “As principal sponsor of the awards, Ballymena Borough Council is fully committed to creating the environment that commerce can operate in. These awards demonstrate the commitment to excellence shown by many businesses within the Borough. Ballymena can be a place for business excellence and we are proud to be home for some globally recognised organisations.

Ballymena Borough Council is delighted to be the principal sponsor at the awards for 2013, and will continue to work in partnership with the local business community to support growth and prosperity for our people and our place – Ballymena.

Minister Arlene Foster MLA visited Ballymena recently and I took the opportunity to invite her to attend the Gala evening in October, and we are now in communication with her office”.

Alison Moore, who heads up the organizing committee for the awards, added

“Planning is already well under way for this year’s awards. Once again Chamber will be employing Insight Mystery Shopping to carry out the judging and the Tullyglass House Hotel, an excellent facility we are fortunate to have in Ballymena, will again be hosting the gala evening. The date for this year’s award ceremony is Thursday 10th October – which may seem a long way off but it will soon come round so put this date in your diary now. I am confident that this will be another brilliant evening”.

If you require any further information about the Business awards please contact Chris Wales at office@ballymenachamber.co.uk or 07876 758 797

Professor Marie McHugh, Dean of the Ulster Business School, explains, “During any academic year the Ulster Business School has over 300 under graduate students in both local, national and international placements. As a School, we are actively engaged with the business community and student placements and internships are an integral part of our business. We place a very high value on the excellent relationships that we have with employers and through placement, we have an excellent opportunity to develop employability skills, and for Ulster Business School graduates to secure employment and ‘hit the ground running.’ Peter is to be congratulated for maximising his time and experience with InterTrade Ireland where he undertook to improve attendance at events which are provided free of charge to local companies. The system he designed is now in common use across the organisation.”

Congratulating Ballymena student Peter Ruck (right) on winning the Ulster Business School’s Placement Innovation Award 2012 in the Department of Management and Leadership are Professor Marie McHugh, (centre) Dean of the Ulster Business School and Connor Sweeney, (left) Project Manager, InterTrade Ireland.

Peter successfully utilised InterTrade Ireland’s new customer relationship management system to manage attendance at events and over 6 months there was a reduction in non- attendance of 28%.

Congratulating Peter on his award Connor Sweeney, Project Manager InterTrade Ireland said: “Peter identified his project on his own initiative and the system he implemented is now in common use at InterTrade Ireland and we note that our events are well attended, with the added benefit that a full event is generally seen to be a successful one. Previously, much-needed resources were being wasted on hiring venues that were too large or sometimes not large enough and overspending on catering arrangements with the associated food-wastage and environmental implications.”

A large number of members were present to hear outgoing President Thomas McKillen give an upbeat speech on the past year, highlighting the number of successful events which the Chamber had run. Members of the Management Committee also gave reports on the projects and working groups in which they had been involved.

The Rev. Robert Coulter chaired the meeting for the election of officers, congratulating the Chamber on a very successful year. He said that when he was actively involved in the Chamber in the 1980s quite often there were only about 6 people at the meetings and he was delighted that Chamber had progressed so far.

The following officers were elected for 2013/14:

President: Thomas McKillen

Vice President: Alan Stewart

Hon. Secretary: Ronan McCann

Hon. Treasurer: Paul Muir

Management Committee: Robin Cherry MBE, Bridgene McKeever, Rodney Kernohan, Martin North, Alison Moore, Raymond Ruck, Jackie Logan and Terry Robb.

Chamber President Thomas McKillen with members and guests at the Chamber AGM

Front Row L-R Audrey Wales MBE, Thomas McKillen, Minister Arlene Foster, Mayor PJ McAvoy and Anne Donaghy.

Back Row Eugene McKeever, Chris Wales, Mark Nodder, Alan Stewart and Catherine McKeever.

Thomas McKillen, Chamber President welcomed the Minister to Ballymena.

He said “In Ballymena we don’t sit back waiting for people to help us. We are quite prepared to roll up our sleeves and do what we can to help ourselves. An excellent example of that is the revitalisation work which has been going on in the Church Street and Bridge Street areas. As a result of this work we are starting to see some green shoots of recovery. That does not mean that we will not accept help when it is offered. Thank you for coming to Ballymena today and I look forward to hearing what you have to say”. 

After an excellent lunch Alderman PJ McAvoy said “The number one priority for Council and indeed for all in the Borough is the economy. For us, it is about creating jobs, increasing skills and education, growing our local economy as a regional hub and delivering on NI plc. Minister, you and your team have been more than supportive to Ballymena and we seek your continued support”. 

Minister Foster then addressed the guests. She said “I am spending the full day in the Borough. I was at Michelin this morning and then in Broughshane. Broughshane is an example to everyone of what can be achieved”. 

She continued “I am very disappointed that the Prime Minister has deferred any decision on Corporation Tax powers until after the Scottish referendum. I do not understand the decision – it is a mystery and we need all the tools in our armoury to develop the NI economy”.

After her speech the Minister answered a series of questions from the audience. She agreed that NI businesses, especially smaller businesses needed to be encouraged to export, not only to ROI but further afield. She said that better air links from Belfast were vital to tourism and industry and she was trying to get direct air links with Canada and Germany. She also pledged her full support for the forthcoming WPFG.

To conclude Thomas McKillen and Audrey Wales made a presentation to the Minister thanking her for speaking at the lunch.

Chamber President Thomas McKillen presents to Minister Foster.

Audrey Wales MBE with Minister Arlene Foster.

Antrim-based Marcon Fit-Out has been named as McDonald’s UK Contractor of the Year at an awards ceremony in Birmingham.

The local company, which employs 30 people at its Kilbegs headquarters in Antrim, was awarded the top prize for its work in reimaging McDonald’s restaurants across the UK.

Working with McDonald’s since 2008, the fit-out firm has successfully reimaged over 30 restaurants in the last 12 months across Northern Ireland, Scotland and the North of England. The consistently high quality delivery and level of service in each project saw the firm scoop the top prize. Since 2008, Marcon Fit-Out has delivered over 100 individual schemes for McDonald’s.

The Antrim firm’s environmental credentials also helped secure the award. The company’s specialist joinery manufacturing facility uses sustainably sourced materials in all of its joinery work.

l – r Mark O’Connor, Director, Marcon Fit-Out; Joanne Jones, Northern Ireland Director of Franchising, McDonald’s and Mark McElroy, Director, Marcon Fit-Out.

Speaking after collecting the award, Mark O’Connor, Director, Marcon Fit-Out, said: “It’s a huge honour to be named as McDonald’s UK Contractor of the Year and we’re incredibly proud to have won the award. Everyone at Marcon Fit-Out has played a key role in winning the award and I’d like to thank our staff and suppliers for helping us achieve this success.”

“We’ve carried out some fantastic projects for McDonald’s since commencing work with them in 2008 and we’re delighted that our work in the last 12 months has been recognised by the company.”

Joanne Jones, McDonald’s Northern Ireland Director of Franchising, said: “It’s fantastic to see a local company win the UK Contractor of the Year award and I’d like to extend my congratulations to Mark O’Connor, Mark McElroy and everyone at Marcon Fit-Out.”

The McDonald’s UK Contractor of the Year awards aims to recognise and reward outstanding service from suppliers across the restaurant’s business.

Retailers who have received their registration letters from the Department should complete their registration online at http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/baglevy using the log in details supplied in their letter.

Any retailer who has not received a registration letter should firstly confirm with their head office or accounts section whether their store has been included as part of a single company wide return. If not they should call 0300 200 7879.

There is less than three weeks to go before the introduction of the new Carrier Bag Levy on 8 April when retailers and businesses in Northern Ireland must charge at least five pence for each new single use carrier bag they supply to customers.

Registering online from today will make it easy for businesses and retailers to pay the proceeds of the five pence levy to the Department of the Environment later in the year.

He said: “My Department is keen to work with retailers in keeping administration of the levy as simple as possible. I believe this can be achieved and I urge all to embrace it. Once they have registered their business online, retailers will only be asked to provide information to the Department every three months and completing the required online return should only take a few minutes.

“We will continue to work closely with and build relationships across the retail sector to ensure that the Carrier Bag Levy becomes an integral part of Northern Ireland’s waste management strategy.”

Referring to the important environmental message behind the Carrier Bag Levy, Alex Attwood said: “In Northern Ireland around 250 million carrier bags are used every year – that is five million a week, 700,000 a day and 30,000 an hour. This levy is intended to reduce their environmental damage by cutting the number of bags used.

“Charges elsewhere have been a very successful way of substantially cutting bag use. Working with the retail industry we should aim for a reduction of at least 80%.”

The levy will apply to the majority of new single use carrier bags, regardless of the material from which the bag is made (the levy applies to all new single use bags made from plastic, paper and other natural materials). There will be practical exemptions – on the grounds of patient confidentiality, hygiene and food safety, and when a bag is essential to protect goods or consumers.

Exemptions include bags manufactured for reuse, some small paper and small plastic bags (e.g. for pick & mix, greeting cards, cough mixture, etc.), bags used to carry hot food and hot drinks to be consumed away from the retail premises, bags used to carry prescription medicines and bags used solely to contain packaged uncooked meat, poultry or fish (provided they don’t exceed the maximum dimensions in the legislation).

Shoppers won’t have to pay the levy when they reuse carrier bags.

Under the new legislation retailers and businesses will be required to pass the proceeds of the levy to the Department of the Environment on a quarterly basis. The levy will be administered by the Department’s Carrier Bag Levy Team and money raised will help fund environmental programmes and activities.

John McDowell, Parliamentary Spokesperson for the National Federation of Retail Newsagents Northern Ireland said: “The introduction of a Carrier Bag Levy is something we proposed to the Department of the Environment some nine years ago and we are very supportive of its introduction at this time.”

“The introduction of the Levy will lead to significant cost savings for our members which will greatly outweigh any administrative costs incurred as well as contributing to waste management and environmental strategies.”

To avoid paying the levy altogether, consumers should always bring their own bags when shopping. Whether it’s a ‘bag for life’, a canvas bag, or just an ordinary plastic carrier bag, it all helps the environment by using less raw materials, reducing carbon emissions and reducing air and water pollution.

The Department has produced two short innovative animated videos to provide both the public and retailers with key information about the Carrier Bag Levy. The video for the public explains the environmental reasons behind the introduction of the levy as well as giving details about bag exemptions, and tips on getting a good bag habit.

In an edit especially for retailers, details about the online registration and payment processes are explained. The animated videos can be viewed at: http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/baglevy