2019 Made in the Midlands Awards
Our partnership with the Insider Group, a major UK publisher and organiser of business events, resulted in the filming of the latest video for the 2019 Made in the Midlands Awards.
Click Here to see the overview video that we made.
The Midlands’ manufacturing prowess was in the spotlight at the 2019 Awards held at the Macdonald Burlington in Birmingham. A diverse range of companies took home accolades, including brewers, engineering firms and pet food makers. On the night, business editor Ian Griffin reflected on the region’s history as a major player in the Industrial Revolution saying: “No part of the world, in human history, has had a greater impact in making people’s lives better.” He also called 
on the sector to “spearhead a new wave of innovation which will again improve all our lives”. Insider received a record number of entries for the awards for the second consecutive year. Sponsors for the evening were Barclays, Bevan Brittan LLP, Coventry University, Haines Watts, Hunter Selection and Waterman Group.
Here is the full list of winners and shortlisted companies:
Automotive Award
Winner:Liberty Vehicle Technologies
Liberty has taken home this award for the second year running after impressing the judges once again.
Shortlisted:
MarchantCain Design
Cameron-Price
MAHLE
Export Award
Sponsored byBarclays
Winner:Brandauer
The high-tolerance metal pressings maker was recognised for its overseas presence. Its electrical connectors are fitted in 90 per cent of the world’s kettles.
Highly commended:The First Class Pet Company
Shortlisted:
Microlise
Metrasens
HydraForce Hydraulics
AE Aerospace
Indestructible Paint
Digital Engineering/Technology Award
Sponsored byWaterman Group
Winner: Dennis Eagle
The refuse vehicle maker has developed DennisConnect, a telematics system aimed at reducing vehicle downtime.
Shortlisted:
Waldeck Consulting
Alcuris
Formation Media
Network Telecom (UK)
Stickee Technology
HSG UK
Guidance Marine
Food and Drink Award
Winner:Purity Brewing Company
Purity has released five new beers in the past year, including a gluten-free ale.
Shortlisted:
Clifton Packaging Group
Green Cow Kitchens
Manufacturing Apprenticeship/Training Scheme Award
Sponsored byCoventry University
Winner: Marches Centre of Manufacturing and Technology CIC
The facility is an example of the vital collaboration between manufacturers to tackle the skills shortage.
Shortlisted:
Tesco Maintenance
Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre
Elite Centre for Manufacturing Skills
Sustainable/Ethical Manufacturer Award
Winner:Ibstock Brick
The brick maker was recognised for its “active and engaging sustainability programme”.
Shortlisted:
Green Cow Kitchens
Lightweight Containers
Mayborn Group
Rock Fall (UK)
Aston Manor Cider
Clifton Packaging Group
Target Catering Equipment
Apprentice of the Year Award
Winner: Joshua Lambden, HydraForce Hydraulics
Joshua designed a component which reduced downtime in the business and imopressed the judges with his “practical knowledge, passion and ambition”.
Highly Commended: Laine Young, Liberty Pressing Solutions (Coventry)
Shortlisted:
Brad Taylor, Accles & Pollock
Jamie Garbett, Liberty Pressing Solutions (Willenhall)
Debbie Willetts, Howells Patent Glazing
Abbiegail Hill, voestalpine Metsec
Adam Egan, Lander Automotive
Ritik Sharma, HydraForce Hydraulics
Brad Anslow, Liberty Aluminium Technologies (Wednesbury)
Manufacturing Innovation Award
Sponsored byHaines Watts
Winner:Clifton Packaging Group
Clifton has supplied its stand-up pouch to two major food producers using specialist machinery.
Shortlisted:
Metrasens
Microlise
HSG UK
Jack Aluminium
Dennis Eagle
Rock Fall (UK)
Manufacturer of the Year (turnover under £25m)
Sponsored byHunter Selection
Winner:MNB Precision Engineering
A customer-led strategy led to the company trebling turnover over the past few years.
Highly commended:PP Control & Automation
Shortlisted:
Metrol Springs
Somers Forge
AE Aerospace
Cullum Detuners
FFP Packaging Solutions
Kybotech
Manufacturer of the Year (turnover above £25m)
Winner:Grainger & Worrall
The company has embraced the move away from fossil fuels and now customers that produce alternatively-powered vehicles make up two thirds of its business.
Highly commended:Tamlite Lighting
Shortlisted:
Ibstock Brick
Dennis Eagle
HL Plastics
Appeal Video For Variety Charity
Our latest video, highlighting an amazing appeal organised by the Yorkshire region of Variety the Children’s Charity, has gone live.
You can see the video below and also find out more details on Variety’s Just Giving page:
Springwater is a special school based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. Pupils range from 2-19 years old and have a wide range of complex life limiting and life threatening conditions. Variety visited the school in January last year and met with the Head Teacher, Sarah Edwards. From meeting both Sarah and her fantastic staff, it was clear how passionate they are about the school and its pupils and the level of care that is given to each and every child. The school is a small building, based on a restrictive site so outside space is very limited and it was immediately apparent the effect that the school’s limited funds and space has on the environment and equipment they are able to offer their pupils.
The aim of the Variety Big Build programme is to address the urgent needs of the school. We have recently completed Phase 1, the opening of a state of the art Sensory room, and Phase 2, the provision of a purpose built sunken trampoline to support rebound therapy is well under way. Variety is currently raising money for playground equipment which will help complete Phase 3 of the project, an all inclusive purpose built playground area.
We are proud to be associated with this magnificent project.
‘How To’ Videos A Hit
‘How To’ videos can be really useful when you have a database or you just want people to know how to use something you are involved with.
Let’s be honest, whether you are making roast chicken and looking for a recipe or carrying out a building project, where do most people look these days – YouTube of course!
So we were pleased when an existing client, Brussels-based Discontools, DISease CONtrol TOOLS, decided to ask us to step in
to make a series of four videos explaining how their site is best used for research and knowledge on things such as health and zoonoses (diseases that can occur in animals and humans).
We had already made them a colourful and dynamic overview video (see below or click here) complete with innovative graphics so it was great to be instructed on further work for this organisation that connects with many leading research groups. Watch out for the release of the ‘How To’ videos very soon and if you need something like this, well we don’t need to tell you “How To’ get in touch, it’s all in our Contact section on this website.
Here’s the overview video:
Strawberry Fields Forever!
Our second video from the successful event, staged by the Hall Hunter Partnership, one of the UK’s leading berry growers, has gone live and is proving popular on You Tube.
Harry Hall being interviewed at the Open Farm Sunday event
The video (click here or see below) features an interview with Harry Hall himself highlighting his company’s policy of working with local community groups and schools. This year he encouraged those groups to use the open day at his company’s Tuesley Farm near Godalming, Surrey, to raise badly needed funds
for their own activities. The event was part of the UK-wide LEAF Open Farm Sunday 2019 programme, and attracted thousands of visitors to Tuesley where there were tractor rides, stalls, strawberry picking and music from the local Music Works organisation.
“We wanted to show our continuing support for the local communities where we live and work and hopefully this event will help those groups to increase their activities,” said Harry.
LEAF Open Farm Sunday, managed by LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming), is one of the farming industry’s biggest success stories. Since the first Open Farm Sunday in 2006, over 1600 farmers across the UK have opened their gates and welcomed 2.2million people onto their farm for one Sunday each year.
It is a fantastic opportunity for everyone, young and old, to discover at first hand what it means to be a farmer and the fabulous work they do producing our food, enhancing the countryside and all the goods and services farmers provide.
Each event is unique based around the farm’s individual story. Activities during the day may include a farm walk, nature trail, tractor and trailer rides, demonstrations, pond dipping, activities for children, a mini farmers market or farm shop.
See the video here:
Video Roundup of Brussels Convention
Our highlights video from the annual meeting of AnimalhealthEurope (AHE), held in Brussels has gone live.
The video(see below) features prominently on the page created on the AHE website and will also be included in the organisation’s online newsletter sent out to all members.
The event, entitled Food & Farming: well-fed or fed up?, gathered representatives of the livestock food chain along with consumer, animal welfare and environmental interest groups, and policy-makers. The debates invited a lively exchange of views on food, nutrition and farming, as well as on divided public perception, consumer demands and how to identify the facts when it comes to livestock production in Europe.
A strong social media commentator on the role of livestock in healthy diets, Professor Frédéric Leroy from the Brussels Free University (VUB) addressed current conversations on diets: “While the incidence of cardiometabolic illnesses is on the rise, attempts at dietary guidance towards healthier diets are becoming more controversial and autocratic, thus contributing to further polarization.”
Speaking about the future of livestock and its contribution to sustainable development, Dr. Henning Steinfeld from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation said: “Improvements can be made, in particular through integrated policies and practices that target multiple objectives. Solutions for animal health and animal welfare and lowering livestock’s environmental footprint, need to be based on a broad consensus among stakeholders, including consumers.”
Concluding the debates, AnimalhealthEurope President Wijnand de Bruijn promoted an improved animal health management approach for the future of livestock production in Europe, and he raised a challenge to food chain stakeholders concerned about current trends influencing policy: “Less than 1% of conversations on food and farming online are driven by agricultural stakeholders which can fuel misperceptions and drive unrealistic expectations of food producers. We would encourage the livestock sector to be open to exchanges and to share their stories to encourage greater understanding and to show that consumer concerns are not being ignored.”
The video was presented by Good Call Media’s Nik Wood who also filmed the Brussels meeting. It’s the latest assignment in a series of projects that we have carried out for the organisation. Throughout 2018 we were commissioned to shots and edit videos in every area of Europe in a dynamic campaign that saw politicians, farmers, vets and consumers talk about ‘Why Animal Health Matters To Me”.
Our New Junior Presenter Enjoys The Strawberries
Our junior presenter, Jasmine (aged 10) has been in action again and was very happy with the subject of her video…juicy British berries!
Jasmine presented one of our videos from the hugely successful event staged by berry producers, the Hall Hunter Partnership, as part of the LEAF Open Farm Sunday programme which was staged throughout the UK and is designed to improve the understanding of people about British farming.
See her video by clicking here or at the end of this news story.
Jasmine in action with strawberries at Hall Hunter
Thousands attended the event at Tuesley Farm, Surrey
The Harry Hall business has a strong tradition of connecting with its local communities and this year they encouraged various schools and community groups to use the event to raise money for their own funds and activities.
Hall hunter opened up their Tuesley Farm complex near Godalming, Surrey and thousands of people crowded in to enjoy the day and, of course, some of the free berries they were able to pick on the farm.
Hall Hunter Partnership was started by Mark and Mary Hall, in 1966 and continues to grow, in every sense of the word.
These days the business is run by their son Harry who has continued the tradition of driving the business to be ever better. He and his family live at Tuesley Farm, the largest farm in their network of sites from Berkshire to Sussex.
Good Call Media was commissioned to produce videos throughout the day but, as usual, we went the ‘extra mile’ by filming in advance with some of the local groups who were fund raising.
Watch out for our other videos highlighting the activities on the day.
Thailand Vet Highlighted In Our Latest Award Video
In the latest of the video reports that we made highlighting the work of the the winners of the World Veterinary Association 2019 Global Welfare Awards, we feature:
Dr. Parntep Ratankorn
To see the video Click Here
Dr. Ratanakorn began his interest in animal welfare at a young age, caring for animals that he acquired from local animal markets in Bangkok, where he lived. During his training as a vet, he led the way on animal welfare issues at his college at a time when the subject was not generally discussed in the faculty.
The Thailand content of our video was shot by our colleague, cameraman Colin Dames, who has his company Digineering based in South Africa.
Later he provided health care and welfare services to confiscated wildlife belonging to Royal Forest Department (RFD) which is now part of the Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP). He trained rangers and foresters on how to provide wildlife welfare in their wildlife breeding and rescue facilities and has particular experience working with elephants in captivity.
He went on to become Associate Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Science, Mahidol University, Thailand. He is also active in numerous animal health organisations in his country and is a writer and speaker on animal welfare in publications and at international conferences.
Speaking about his award, he said: “The award will help me serve many species that are under threat inThailand and create a young generation who will be responsible for animal welfare in the future.” Watch out for our videos highlighting the work of other winners from the event, held in Costa Rica, in future weeks. The event meant us filming in five different continents.
Gamechanger – South Bank
Our continuing expertise in the property market is highlighted by a series of videos we’ve developed known as The Gamechangers
Good Call Media Co-owner, Fiona Molloy – increasing property expertise
“The videos are based on projects in the Yorkshire region, which is seen as a consistent hot spot for property development and investment despite Brexit. Investment from overseas has been coming into the region, fuelling the property market as London continues to remain overheated,” said Good Call Media Co-
owner, Fiona Molloy who has masterminded the series on behalf of Variety the Children’s Charity, which stages the annual Yorkshire Property Awards.
“We are increasingly seeing major property developers and even smaller builders working with companies like ours to produce high quality videos that don’t just look good but tell the story behind the project,” said Fiona. “What makes us attractive to these clients is our background as BBC journalists.”
In the first of our series of three videos featuring projects from The Gamechangers, we highlight the award winning South Bank project in Leeds, which won an award at the Yorkshire Property Awards in front of 1000 people at a glittering ceremony at Rudding Park near Harrogate, Yorkshire. The video also features footage from Good Call Media’s own camera drone which is capable of recording high definition 4K images which are particularly effective when dealing with property projects.
Consider Customer Case Studies
Customer case studies are a fantastic way to use online video and you can also use the content in your PowerPoint or Keynote presentations.
We began our relationship with JEOL by visiting their manufacturing facilities in Japan to film their state of the art factories that produce high end scientific and metrology instruments, semiconductor , industrial and medical equipment. It was a steep learning curve for us but we soon realised that 
there was a real story to be told about their push into the European markets against tough competition from competitors in countries such as Germany.
We advised JEOL that the greatest advocate for their products are the people who buy it and use it – in Europe that includes some of the region’s most highly respected universities but also industrial customers too.
So we were commissioned to go on the road with JEOL teams and speak to some of their biggest customers about their decision to buy JEOL
equipment and, very important, their experience of using that equipment – in this case, highly technical spectrometers in a field known as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance.
The results were amazing, and even JEOL’s biggest customers were happy to talk on camera about their positive experiences and highlighted the quality of equipment, the ease of using its software and the excellent on-site training and follow up maintenance that was included as part of the package.
As we always say at Good Call Media – a short video testimony is worth a thousand written words but don’t take out word for it, take a look at the first customer in the Czech Republic to opt for JEOL’s NMR equipment.
Interview – First JEOL NMR in Czech Republic from JEOL EUROPE on Vimeo.