An Angus company, Harecairn Contracts Ltd, is rapidly developing its business with a 25% expansion in its production area and an increase in staffing levels. The company, which trades as JS Woodgroup, is based at Monikie and is supported by The Business Gateway Angus.

JS Woodgroup is the only firm in Tayside producing Corian worktops. These are composite solid surface worktops that are manufactured in the company’s factory to the exact shape and sizes required to fit the job, and are then transported to the site for installation. In this way there are no seams or joints in the worktop, making it suitable for kitchens and other applications where hygiene is of crucial importance, such as dental surgeries and in pharmaceutical laboratories, hospitals etc. The company also manufactures and installs “shower panel” systems, Aquatec shower panels and glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) panels and doors and also manufactures kitchens designed and made to measure. JS Woodgroup can be contacted on 07967 731203.

Harecairn Contracts’ Director Scott Purdom said “We provide a turnkey solution to equipping hygienic spaces and storage from initial concept through to finished installation.

“We have established ourselves as important players within this market and are able to design, supply and install products specifically to the customer’s requirements, with most of the elements being manufactured in our production facility. We have decided to expand our factory by 25% in order to accommodate new equipment, including a computerised beam saw. We are investing almost £100,000 and have taken on new staff in line with this. These improvements will significantly speed up throughput and reduce times from order to completion. We expect this to lead to a 30% increase in our annual turnover.”

JS Woodgroup is involved in a number of developments including Piper Dam, where the firm is working closely with the owner, Phil Mulholland. The firm is also building an extension to the restaurant and function suite at Forbes of Kingennie for owners Mike and Gail Forbes and is working with the Northern Housing Association and other prestigious clients across Scotland.

JS Woodgroup has taken on three new apprentices to cope with this expansion and Mr Purdom expects that these will become permanent positions. He said “We have always taken on apprentices. With one member of staff who served his time with us and is still here seven years later. We are committed to developing a secure, established business that will continue to benefit the community economically.” The company employs nine full-time and one part-time staff.

Harecairn Contracts has also launched a new venture to operate alongside JS Woodgroup. The new business is called Lamin8 Scotland and specialises in the design, manufacture and installation of laminated building materials and panels including toilet and shower cubicles.

JS Woodgroup has been assisted in its development plans by The Business Gateway. Gordon Ogilvie, a Business Development Advisor at The Business Gateway said “We were able to assist JS Woodgroup in a number of ways, including help with their development plans and expansion strategy. We also assisted them to source funding for this development.” The Business Gateway provides a wide range of services to new and existing businesses, most of which are free. More information about the Business Gateway is available by calling 0845 609 6611.

MR Purdom said “The Business Gateway helped us a great deal and its input has allowed us to speed up our development plans in order to respond to a rapidly expanding market.”

JS Woodgroup was started by Mr Purdom and fellow director Jim Dempster in 1998 and moved to its present location four years ago. Mr Purdom (38) is from Carnoustie and was formerly well known as a rugby player and Mr Dempster (42) is from Wormit.

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Released 05/02/2007

A groundbreaking new scheme aimed at cutting death rates from bowel cancer by up to a third is to be piloted in Northern Ireland in February. The scheme, called the National Independent Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (NIBCSP), will be made available through a number of pharmacies in County Antrim and across Northern Ireland via a website.

Mr Ian Cowie, Director of the NIBCSP said “Bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer killer in the United Kingdom and its incidence in Ireland is above average. This disease kills 16,000 people a year in the UK, which is equivalent to a jumbo jet crashing every week. Yet bowel cancer when caught early is 90% curable.”

He explained “The problem with this disease is that in its early stages it shows few if any visible symptoms. In typical cases it is only when the disease has advanced that the patient becomes aware that there is a problem, by which time major surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy may be the required treatment, with no guarantee of success.” Only around 8% of sufferers recovered after a diagnosis of the advanced disease, he explained.

“A significant proportion of these deaths could be prevented by using a simple screening test which can identify bowel cancer at its earliest stages,” said Mr Cowie. “The pilot scheme which we are introducing will make such a test available to everyone in Northern Ireland for the very first time.”

The test, which is called a Faecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT), takes samples of the user’s stool on a special card over three days. The card is then returned in a hygienic pre-paid mailer to the NIBCSP’s laboratory for analysis. The results are communicated by letter signed by the NIBCSP’s Medical Director, who is a Consultant Surgeon, with advice on whatto do next. Mr Cowie said “This is not a self-test in which the user is expected to carry out his or her own analysis, but comes with full laboratory back-up and expertise as part of a health-care service.” Last year the NIBCSP was endorsed by Beating Bowel Cancer, a leading UK charity in the field.

Screening for bowel cancer has been shown to reduce mortality from the disease by up to 33% in scientific studies carried out in the United States, with the best protection being achieved when the screening is done annually.

Although the risk of bowel cancer increases with age, 20% of deaths from the disease are in people under the age of sixty, according to the Government’s figures. This amounts to over 3,000 people a year in the UK annually, comparable to the number killed on the roads. Mr Cowie said “Cancer is always devastating but the effects are much more drastic if it occurs in younger people who perhaps have young families, careers and mortgages. The best advice based on the evidence we have is that everyone should screen annually from the age of forty.”

Pre-cancerous polyps and cancers bleed and this blood can be detected in the stool. Bleeding can occur intermittently or be found in only one part of the stool and can be so small in quantity as to be hidden (occult). The purpose of the FOBT is to detect this blood. The FOBT technology is routinely used in the detection of bowel cancers and is well proven and accurate. The NIBCSP test uses a similar method to the one used in the NHS bowel cancer screening programmes announced in other parts of the UK.

Mr Cowie said “I must stress very firmly that screening is not about going to the doctor if you think you have a problem. The point of screening is that you undergo it when you have no reason to think you have a problem, because screening can detect the disease long before symptoms develop.”

Symptoms of bowel cancer include chronic stomach pain, bleeding, change of bowel habits, fatigue and anaemia. “Anyone who thinks they have these symptoms should see a doctor immediately. The rest of us should get into the habit of annual screening,” said Mr Cowie.

People can reduce their risk of bowel cancer by not smoking, eating a healthy balanced diet, exercising regularly and keeping their weight in check. However Mr Cowie stressed that none of these precautions were guaranteed to prevent the disease. “Screening is the single most effective means we have of preventing deaths from this disease,” he said.

The NIBCSP test will initially be available from the following pharmacies: Osborne Pharmacy, Lisburn Road, Belfast, Drumahoe Pharmacy, Glenshane Road

Drumahoe L’Derry, Deenys Pharmacy, St Patrick’s Avenue Downpatrick, Medicare Forestside, Forestside Shopping Centre, Saintfield Road Belfast, A&F.A. Dundee Ltd in Glengormley, Newton Abbey, Broughshane Pharmacy in Broughshane and the High Street Pharmacy in Carrickfergus, all in County Antrim from 5^th February and can also be purchased on-line. The test kit costs £17.98 with £1 being donated to charity. More information about bowel cancer and its symptoms is available from www.pocl.co.uk, www.beatingbowelcancer.org or by telephoning 0845 603 5709.

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An Angus woman has proved that there is life after cancer. Painter Madeleine Fleming, 43, who lives in Friockheim, has realised her life’s ambition and has set up as a professional artist trading as Mimsieart with the help of a £1000 grant from The Business Gateway.

Madeleine Fleming said “I trained as an artist and I always wanted to do this, but I took time to have a family. No sooner were they all at school than I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to undergo a tough course of treatment. When it was over I knew that if I wanted to do this I had to just get on with it.”

“It took over a year to prepare for the business launch as I knew nothing about being in business for myself,” said Madeleine Fleming. “I had to do a lot of planning and research.” She approached The Business Gateway Angus for advice, where she met Jim Stewart, a Business Start-up Advisor. He said “Madeleine’s project was obviously very important to her. She shared the concerns of many women who go into business after having had a family. I was able to help with advice on how to start up a business, and she attended our web-design course. When she was ready to launch we were able to provide a £1000 grant from the Angus and Mearns Economic Development Fund to assist with the purchase of equipment.” The Business Gateway is a one-stop shop providing advice, support and business information to new and existing businesses. It assists over six hundred new businesses to launch in the Tayside area every year and can be contacted on 0845 609 6611.

Madeleine Fleming explained that she had two distinct ways of working. She explained “I work to commission, producing individual portraits in a range of media. I also produce limited editions of Fine Art prints from my work, which are produced to archival standards on watercolour paper and individually signed. The grant from the Business Gateway has allowed me to invest in high-quality printing equipment to produce these prints. I am taking orders for prints now, and anyone interested should look at my website, where they will find all necessary contact and pricing details together with images of the artwork.” Madeleine Fleming’s site is at www.mimsieart.com

She explained “Mimsie is my nickname in the family, and when I wanted something memorable and unusual, ‘Mimsieart’ seemed an obvious choice.”

Madeleine Fleming explained that prices for commissions started at £195 plus expenses for a small painting in acrylic on paper. Larger paintings and paintings in oils were also available, she said. Limited-edition print prices start at £35. She added “I already have a large stock of work which I can produce prints from. The prints are made using the giclee method on very high-quality watercolour paper using inks which are archivally stable.”

Madeleine Fleming, who is originally from Surrey, trained at Edinburgh College of Art and has lived in Scotland for over twenty years. She lives with her husband and four children in Friockheim, Angus. She can be contacted by telephone on 01241 826108.

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A new business based in Auchterarder has launched a service that will revolutionise the way companies produce photographs of their products. The business, Jigsaw Design Solutions Limited, is supported by The Business Gateway. The company is one of the first in Scotland to be dedicated to the production of rendered computer-generated photography, a cutting-edge technique that makes high quality photographic images without using a camera.

Jigsaw Design’s managing director Ross Richardson said “Companies require an enormous number of photographs of their products for use in publications such as information leaflets, brochures, websites and other marketing materials. These pictures are essential yet actually taking them can be very expensive.” Mr Richardson explained that manufacturers would often have to produce items especially to be photographed, which could not then be sold. Furthermore the costs of photography itself are very high.

Jigsaw Design’s innovative solution utilises the engineering drawings used in product design and manufacture to produce realistic high quality photographs digitally by a process called rendering. “This is a real cutting-edge technology and there are numerous advantages for businesses in using it,” explained Mr Richardson. “For example, marketing and promotional materials can be developed before the product has even been manufactured. Brochures and catalogues may be produced earlier, reducing the lead-time between product development and launch. Instead of a company having to photograph its products in all the different colours or configurations they are available in, we can do that using the rendering process. Manufacturers don’t have to pay to send products to photographic studios, and our process allows complete consistency in lighting and all the other factors necessary in a good photograph, something which is not usually available on site.” Jigsaw Design Solutions has already provided photographs for a large manufacturer of office furniture based in Tayside and a major supplier of household electrical products. Jigsaw Design Solutions can be contacted on 01764 660476.

Jigsaw Design Solutions has been supported since its launch in August last year. Andrew Webster, a Business Start-up Advisor at The Business Gateway in Perth said “We were able to help Mr Richardson to launch his business with an 18-30 Start-Up award of £1000 as well as detailed assistance in developing his business and marketing plans.

“Mr Richardson is utilising the pipelined support system provided by The Business Gateway which brings different advisors into contact with the business depending on its requirements. Brian Blackburn, a Business Advisor here at The Business Gateway in Perth is now assisting Ross with the next stage of his plans.” The Business Gateway Perth and Kinross is located at the Atrium in Glover St, Perth and can be contacted on 0845 609 6611.

Brian Blackburn added “Now that Mr Richardson has successfully launched his new business it is vital that he utilises outside advice and help to refocus and develop his marketing plan. The Business Gateway has the resources to do much of this and also to help with the very detailed research that is necessary.” The Business Gateway provides a wide range of services for new and existing businesses, most of which are free.

Mr Richardson is originally from Dunfermline and studied at The Glasgow School of Art. After a successful career in industry he decided he wished to run his own company and launched Jigsaw Design Solutions. He is married and lives in Auchterarder.

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Well-known Angus based writer and photographer Rod Fleming has published his first full-length novel. Called Poaching the River, it is set in a fishing village “somewhere on the east coast of Scotland.”

Mr Fleming said “I was brought up near Arbroath and have lived and worked in various places on the east coast for most of my life. I wanted to write something that reflected the dry humour that is so characteristic of the people here. The material for the book was gleaned from many interviews and casual conversations I’ve had over the years from as far south as Dunbar to Banff and further north.”

The book describes a fictional series of events that span a week in the life of the village, culminating in a spectacular finish. “The book is tongue-in-cheek and irreverent, but that’s the nature of east-coasters and something we should be proud of. I’ve also tried to be true to how people speak in these parts, but not in a self-conscious way. I just used the language I grew up with.”

Mr Fleming explained “This is a very funny book. As well as drawing on research it reflects a lot of the things that I remember while growing up on the east coast. It is nostalgic but not in a kailyard romance way. While I have poked a lot of fun at life and people it has been done with real fondness and I hope those who read the book will appreciate this.”

Mr Fleming has published the book under his own imprint, PlashMill Press. “I am delighted to have this opportunity to launch a new Scottish publishing imprint. I intend to publish more of my own books through it but PlashMill Press will also consider publishing works by other authors.” The new firm has a website at www.plashmillpress.com with full details about submissions procedures and other information about its publications.

Poaching the River costs £11.99 in paperback and can be ordered online or by phone through PlashMill Press, or through local bookshops. There is also a website dedicated to the book, www.poachingtheriver.com/ where chapters of the book can be read and downloaded. PlashMill Press can be also contacted by telephone on 01241 826108.

Mr Fleming said “People can order copies directly through the website, where there are a number of payment options. Postage is free anywhere in the world so we can send copies directly to relatives or friends abroad, with a dedication if required. Alternatively readers may order through their local bookshop. We encourage booksellers to get in touch as we offer generous terms to retailers with rapid stock fulfilment and are always seeking trade outlets. We are currently negotiating with a national distributor so that the book will be available through bookshops anywhere in the UK.”

As an added incentive, the first one hundred copies sold through the website will be signed by Mr Fleming with the dedication of the reader’s choice. “Just tell me what you want me to say, and within reason, I’ll write it on the dedications page and sign it.”

Mr Fleming, 50, is originally from Arbroath and went to school at Arbroath High School. He has a Degree in Sculpture from Edinburgh College of Art and has for the last twenty years been working in journalism as a writer and photographer, working for major Scottish and UK titles and latterly as a freelance. Mr Fleming is married and has four children. He is currently at work on a children’s book.

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