BURY St Edmunds based builders Moore & Stone Limited, is celebrating the end of the first year of their new joinery workshop being in operation, with record sales, a new appointment and an expansion of their offering.

The dedicated joinery facility on Northern Way in Bury St Edmunds was opened a year ago to support the existing building business and to meet additional demand for high quality, bespoke fixtures and furnishings.

Until now the workshop has been run by joinery specialist, Phil Flame, but following the success of the venture he has now been joined by Reed Bailey, an experienced carpenter and joiner who will work with Phil to ensure the highest quality products as they move the company forward.

The Moore & Stone joinery workshop combines the most up to date modern joinery machinery with traditional craftsmanship and skills to ensure the highest quality for customers, and the company is now extending its scope to supply trade customers.

Matt Stone, director of Moore & Stone said: “Over the past year we have seen demand grow and grow for bespoke joinery products such as sash and casement windows, complete staircases, bannisters and handmade kitchens. It’s great testimony to Phil and the quality of his work that now we are not only supplying joinery products for projects we are working on and directly to end users, but word has spread and we are receiving enquiries from others in the building trade, both builders and builders merchants, who don’t have the capacity to manufacture themselves. This partnership way of working is something we are very keen to build on in the future.”

: : A NEW Director of Enterprise at The Consultancy Home Counties (TCHC) has pledged to help would-be entrepreneurs in Suffolk and Essex on the road to business success.

Graham Coultas has joined the workforce development specialist after a long career in the industry. Most recently, he was responsible for helping to deliver the Business Link service across the East of England, substantially increasing the number of new businesses in the region. He is TCHC’s first Director of Enterprise.

The father-of-three explained that his new role will include delivering the organisation’s Practical Skills for Business and Introduction to Enterprise programmes, which support people on the road to self employment. He said: “I’m very much looking forward to my new role at TCHC. I am very impressed by what they have achieved in the past and I am keen to widen this reach even further in the future.”

Graham added that having external support from an organisation like TCHC can determine the success or failure of a new business. He said: “It has been shown that around 66 per cent of people who start a business without extra support will be successful in the first three years, but that increases to 84 per cent with outside help.

“You may be a brilliant hairdresser or mechanic, but that’s not always enough to be successful in business - having external support is the vital ingredient to success. It gives people confidence and helps them identify resources which may help them. I would urge anyone looking to set up in business to seek help from an organisation like TCHC, which provides its services for free to jobseekers and those affected by redundancy”

TCHC chief executive Dale Morgan welcomed Graham to the organisation. He said: “We are thrilled to have someone of Graham’s calibre join us in such an important new role. We have little doubt that his experience will benefit hundreds of people every year, with many new businesses created as a result.”

: : COLCHESTER-based Fiducia Wealth Management has appointed Simon Bonnett as Head of Wealth Management.

Simon said: “I am delighted to join a long-standing, pioneering and award-winning practice. I am looking

forward to working with the excellent team here to further enhance our client and professional partner proposition.” Simon has over 25 years’ experience in the wealth management profession.

Managing director John Millican said: “Simon’s extensive experience and comprehensive understanding of wealth management is a tremendous addition to Fiducia and will be a valuable resource as we continue to grow the business in 2013 and beyond”.

Simon held senior positions in the City with a leading Accountancy practice, two private banks and was appointed Head of Client Services with international firm, developing relationships with leading professional advisers. He has experience of both Private Client advice and Employee Benefits, both onshore and offshore. He believes simplicity and clarity are the key to providing the very best advice for clients.

Simon holds the Advanced Financial Planning Certificates in Pensions, Taxation & Trust and Long Term Care,

Life and Health Protection continuing his extensive in-depth technical knowledge. A holder of the Diploma in Financial Planning, Simon is a member of the Personal Finance Society.

: : EXPERIENCED fitness trainer, Chris Lawson, has joined Ipswich Sports Club to launch and run its new CrossFit Programme

Chris, who qualified as a personal trainer six years ago, has worked in gyms and fitness centres in Ipswich, Colchester and London.

He said he was delighted to be joining the club at such a pivotal moment in its history. He said: “The club recently celebrated its 65th anniversary on this site, and it really is going from strength to strength.

“It’s a very friendly, community based club with great facilities and membership numbers are at an all time high. The introduction of CrossFit will really add substantially to its offering.

“CrossFit is a very varied programme of activity based on functional movements. It includes everything from gym exercises to lifting, push-ups to handstands! As such it’s exciting, varied and the ideal programme for anyone who finds regular gym sessions a bit tedious!” he added.

Manager of Ipswich Sports Club, Andy Yorke, said: “Chris is an experienced trainer with bags of energy and enthusiasm. He’s going to be a very valuable addition to our team. We’ve very recently been given CrossFit accreditation – something we’ve been working towards for several months now.”

: : EIGHT employees at chartered accountants Lovewell Blake are celebrating their success in recent exams — seven qualifying as accountancy technicians.

The seven who work at the firm’s offices across Norfolk and Suffolk are Joanna Keane, Jason Ramsbottom and Ellis Weavers (moving on to study to become chartered accountants), Luke Jinkerson and Nicola Kay (studying to be chartered certified accountants), Christopher Cooper and Anna McKay.

In addition, James Mee, who is based at Great Yarmouth, has qualified as a chartered tax adviser and works in one of the region’s largest teams of tax specialists.

Congratulating them on their achievements — many passing their Association of Accounting Technicians exams first time — Lovewell Blake training partner Keith Shorten said the firm believed strongly in training its own professionals to maintain its high standard of client service.

: : TOOLING solutions specialist Snap-on Industrial has further strengthened its sales team with the appointment of Matthew Elliston as regional account manager for East Anglia. In his new role, Matthew will serve industries across the region, including the ports at Felixstowe and Ipswich, businesses in the rail and energy sectors and education providers, as well as food production centres throughout the area and aviation businesses in the region.

Matthew joins Snap-on Industrial from sister company Snap-on Diagnostics, where he spent four years as a technical sales consultant and prior to that, as a business development manager for Jewelultra. This combination of his technical and sales management expertise will now be put to good use in providing Snap-on Industrial’s bespoke tooling solutions across every industry, market sector and type of application.

“The diverse range of products and the range of industries served by Snap-on Industrial is fascinating,” said Matthew. “I recognise the huge opportunity in East Anglia and am looking forward to forging relationships with businesses across the region in my new role, putting my experience and knowledge to good use, establishing a fresh presence for Snap-on Industrial and providing businesses with strategic advantages in controlling costs, reducing downtime and increasing productivity.”

Snap-on Industrial’s National Sales Manager Bill Glover said: “I’m delighted to welcome Matthew to the Snap-on Industrial team. Matthew’s wide ranging and in-depth expertise will make a valuable contribution towards meeting our goal of firmly establishing the value of Snap-on Industrial to the complex variety of industries and applications for our tools and programmes across East Anglia.”