When :    Tuesday 2nd March, 2010 from 5:30 until 7:00.

Where :   Tredomen Business and Technology Centre.

Superfast Broadband will speed up your business communications and open up new opportunities as many IT applications will evolve to make use of the new fibrespeed networks. 

Fibre optic cables allow broadband speeds to be boosted to up to 20Mb download and 2Mb upload compared to the current 8Mbps maximum. 

This event follows on from the previous Bisnet / BT breakfast event on 11 February which provided an overview of Superfast Broadband and its benefits. 

This free eBusiness club event shows you to make use of Superfast Broadband in your business.

Example applications include:

• How to set up flexible / home working
• Using video conferencing or video applications
• Improving data backup
• Enhancing reliability and speed of data transfer

The event will include -

• 5:30pm - Tea/Coffee
• 5:40pm - Welcome - Caerphilly Council
• 5:50pm - UES presentation ‘Staying in the fast lane on the information superhighway'
• 6:45pm - Questions and close

Find out how to get ahead of the competition - book your place now by e-mailing Ceri Bower, Bisnet Project Assistant at bowerc@caerphilly.gov.uk or telephone 01443 866210.

NEW YEAR NEW PRODUCT
NEW PRODUCT INTRODUCTION

Presented by the Business Innovation Manufacturing Team

Product  rework ? Spiralling costs ? Missed deadlines ? Poor customer feedback or worse, none at all ? These are common problems for New Product Development. Did you know that Lego can help the process become more streamlined or that paper planes can help plan how to do it better?

Aimed at small and medium sized business and functional leaders, this workshop will provide you with practical templates and tools  and enthuse you and your team into ‘getting it right first time'. We will demonstrate how to engage the Voice of the Customer, plan your resources and spend, and understand how your teams can work together to form a streamlined manufacturing process.....and how all this can save costs and increase profits !

This workshop is presented by the Business Innovation - Manufacturing service, your gateway to free advice on manufacturing.   John Clement has over 20 years experience in working for Sony Pencoed introducing new product lines, processes and systems to the organisation and Stephen Bibby is the project Director and has worked as a business consultant for over 15 years.

After the workshop why not  book a one to one meeting with a Welsh Assembly Government Business-Innovation Manufacturing Manager and find out how you can benefit from 50% contribution to the support you need.

Venues: 2nd March 2010 at Tredomen Innovation & Technology Centre, Tredomen Park, Hengoed. CF82 7FN

Programme:
08.00 - 08.30     Registration & Breakfast
08.30 - 08.40     Introduction to Business Innovation
08.40 - 11.00     New Product Introduction - Workshop
11.00 - 11.30     One to one meetings with BI-M Managers

Attendance is free but it is essential you reserve a place. To register for the event and book a meeting please book On-line at http://www.innovationevent.co.uk or call: Bernadette Beynon : 029 2044 4722

Business Innovation is part of the Welsh Assembly Government's Flexible Support for Business service. Business Innovation-Manufacturing is managed by Enterprise Consulting on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government.

Join Caerphilly County Borough Council's Bisnet Team and BT on Thursday 11th February at The Cedar Tree, Caerphilly to celebrate the launch of Superfast Broadband in Caerphilly.

Superfast Broadband is the next evolution in internet speed.  Fibre optic cables allow broadband speeds to be boosted to up to 20Mb download and 2Mb upload.  Your business could experience benefits such as -

• Realistic video conferencing speeds for meetings online
• Faster file transfer (e.g. for the print industry) and high speed data back-up online
• Quick access to computing applications on demand on a pay-per-use basis
• Fast access to video applications for training and marketing needs

• 8:30am - Tea/Coffee/Bacon Sandwiches
• 8:40am - Welcome and introductions - Caerphilly Council
• 8:50am - BT Retail Presentation on SFBB and benefits to business - Dave Thomas, BT Local Business
• 9:05am - Experiences of an end user - A local business which has been using SFBB
• 9:20am - Question and answer session
• 9:30am - Close

• Is home or mobile working a practical and economical solution for your business?
• Does the technology exist to be able to allow some of my staff to work at home without loss of productivity?
• Is this technology going to break the bank?
• Can the existing resources we have be made to work remotely?
• What are the pros and cons of home working?

Teamwork Technology Services will be presenting at February's eBusiness Club to answer all these questions and more to show how remote working can provide a flexible working solution for your company, as well as highlighting times when home working might not be so beneficial

The event is free of charge and will take place on Tuesday 2nd February from 5.30 until 7.00pm at the Tredomen Business and Technology Centre.  The presentation will be followed by a buffet and an opportunity to network.
 
For more information or to book a place please call Ceri Bower, Bisnet Project Assistant on 01443 866210 or email: bowerc@caerphilly.gov.uk

Caerphilly County Borough Council in conjunction with Flexible Support for Business will be holding a Free Breakfast 'drop-in' event on Wednesday 27th January between 8.00am and 11.00am at Tredomen Business & Technology Centre in Ystrad Mynach.

Staff will be on hand to discuss:

• Grant funding for your business
• General business advice
• ICT Advice and Support
• Environmental Business Support
• Equalities and Diversity Advice

Refreshments will be available throughout the morning

Please register your interest in attending by calling Liz Bryant on 01685 352726 or emailing merthyr@fs4bsewales.co.uk

All those who attended the Caerphilly Business Forum Awards on Friday 13th November this year had an enjoyable evening (despite the weather), especially the winners.  Two of the awards were sponsored by Caerphilly County Borough Council and the winners are pictured below recieving their trophy.

Business of the Year with Less then 25 employees sponsored by South East Wales Local Investment Fund - Award Winner - UES. 

Andrew Diplock of UES pictured recieving his award from Sandra Lewis of Caerphilly County Borough Council representing the South East Wales Local Investment Fund

Business of the Year with 25 Employees or Over sponsored by Caerphilly County Borough Council - Award Winner - Klockner Pentaplast Ltd

Pentaplast pictured recieving their award from Cllr Ron Davies (second right)

Three businesses in the Caerphilly county borough have been given a cash boost thanks to the support on offer through a new grant fund.

The Local Investment Fund (LIF) is a new scheme that has been made available to 15 local authorities across the West Wales and the Valleys or Convergence region, including 6 local authorities in South East Wales. They have been awarded EU Funding through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), delivered through the Welsh Assembly Government, to provide grant funding to assist businesses within their areas.

The three latest firms to benefit from the grant are Fabcraft Ltd in Llanbradach, Hobbs Valve Ltd in Caerphilly and Caer Health Services who are also based in Caerphilly.

For further information click here

Community Business Support Fund

• Definition of social media and why it’s becoming so important to Google
• Why use it in your business?
• Who’s who of social media (which sites, and why?)
• How to start your own social network
• Some lesser-known tricks!

Silicon Edge and EarthMonkey together formed seotrainingwales.co.uk providing SEO training to businesses across South Wales.  December's eBusiness Club is an excellent opportunity to get a taste of how a bit of SEO knowledge can go a long way to improving your businesses' results online.

The event is free of charge and will take place on Tuesday 1st December from 5.30 – 7.00pm at the Tredomen Business and Technology Centre.

The presentation will be followed by a buffet and an opportunity to network.

For more information or to book a place please call Ceri Bower, Bisnet Project Assistant on 01443 866210 or email: bowerc@caerphilly.gov.uk