World-class facilities for high-level technical education in the Sheffield City Region (SCR) today received a boost of more than £1.2million in a bid to improve productivity across the region.

Five grants have been approved by the Combined Authority for education centres to purchase advanced equipment needed for learning in science, technology, engineering, and maths – known as ‘STEM’. These higher skills are badly needed in the digital, automotive and construction sectors.

Chesterfield College receives £243,000 to develop a Digital Skills Hub which will teach software, games, networking and hardware development, and develop digital content for college programmes. Over 10 years this will support 5,700 learners with 2,300 estimated to find work subsequently, and provide a £38milion boost to the economy.

Nigel Brewster, Vice Chairman of the SCR’s Local Enterprise Partnership, said:-

“This is a massive boost to productivity across the City Region. Our ethos is about creating jobs and economic growth, and these are just the sort of schemes that will continue putting our economy back on its feet.

“They’re practical, and they are in areas where they will produce results. We’ve worked closely with our partners to underpin their drive to make courses dynamic and fit for the future. We’re providing the equipment for hands-on skills learning.

“It’s an intelligent way to put our funding to use. In the Sheffield City Region, we get things done in an honest, no-nonsense way – this is helping us to build a truly competitive centre of business excellence.”

The Combined Authority also agreed to give £500,000 to Sheffield Hallam University to increase space and equipment for 10,800 learners on digital degree apprenticeship courses over a decade, generating £50million for the economy and seeing an estimated 2,300 being employed subsequently. The university plans to be a ‘business ready’ institution and to launch a centre of excellence for degree apprenticeships.

Students at the RNN Group, (which includes North Notts, Dearne Valley and Rotherham colleges), will soon be working ‘hands-on’ on the futuristic technologies of hybrid and electric vehicles thanks to a £185,000 grant. This will help to fill a shortfall in skilled technicians and provide opportunities for adults looking to re-train or upskill.

The National Fluid Power Centre in Worksop won £132,500 for equipment which will help students receive more in-depth technical training on the advanced integrated systems (combining hydraulics, pneumatics, electronic and controls) used in manufacturing, packaging, control technologies, sensor technology and online monitoring.

And The Sheffield College has been awarded £154,700 to purchase specialist equipment to answer the increased demand in the construction industry for higher level skills in estimating, design, quantity surveying, and site supervision, plus digital ‘literacy’. Some funding will go to simulation software such as a virtual reality welder, and pneumatic and hydraulic simulation.

Crooked Beverage Co, the UK’s first alcoholic craft soda has started the new year with a bang as they have been awarded the gold medal for Design & Packaging at the Drinks International Pre-Mixed Drinks Challenge 2018.

The Crooked Beverage Co is distributed by Chesterfield based business Global Brands with the ‘Crooked’ symbolism being a nod towards the towns iconic Crooked Spire.

An internationally acclaimed event, this year drew entries from across the globe, including Europe and the USA. The eighth edition of the competition saw fewer medals awarded from the same number of entrants, only four golds were awarded within the entire competition, with Crooked Beverage Co receiving one of these accolades.

The three Crooked flavours each convey their own story and feature specific, surreal character illustrations on the can to bring the brand to life. The branding encourages consumers to enter the #CrookedReality of these “worlds” and capture imaginations. The aim of brief set to Lisa O’Hara, local illustrator, was to encapsulate these narratives into imagery to print onto the can and packaging.

When describing her favourite illustration Lisa O’Hara details “Mother Moon; Peach and Pomegranate was the most interesting to illustrate. I tried to draw Mother Moon as mystical witchy being, with a range of potential back-stories. I could get lost in details like drawing her worshippers and in the idea of her controlling the sky and the sea. She’d definitely be the boss of the Crooked world”.

Sharing names with lyrics from Sheffield artists, the brand is heavily influenced by music which is explained by designer Lisa as paramount in the initial creation:-

“The musical theme attached to each flavour was an important part of getting to know the character’s personalities. I struggle to draw without listening to music so this method allowed me to immerse myself quite quickly. I have sketchbooks full of little weirdo characters that I can struggle to contextualise, so being responsible for interpreting both a character and their environment was really enjoyable, and the catalyst I needed”.

The design and packaging round is judged by a panel of experts and industry specialists. Comments from the judges included:-

“The alcoholic soda brand impressed the judging panel with the artistic and unusual designs which cover its 33cl can”. Despite the fewer medals the quality within the category is certainly there”.

Lisa O’ Hara comments:-

“Crooked struck gold! I’m so made up. It’s a testament to how well the brief and the ideas were put together. I am beyond proud and grateful that; a little-known Sheffield based illustrator, has been instrumental to a product that is so highly regarded.”

Charlie Leaver, Innovation Manager at Crooked Beverage Co, added:-

“A lot of creativity and deep thinking has gone into the entire Crooked brand. We wanted to create a product that was different, that the consumer can resonate with and get lost in. For us to be receiving this kind of recognition internationally is a celebration of just how much top quality work has gone into the brand from the entire team”.

LoneWolf Spirits, the distilling arm of Scottish craft beer company BrewDog, has selected Chesterifeld based Global Brands as its distribution partner following a competitive three-way tender process.

Global Brands will support LoneWolf in achieving its ambitions of increasing availability of its range of spirits in the UK’s most desirable and popular bars. This will see LoneWolf retail sales grow by £40m over the next two years as Global Brands boosts unit sales of its London Dry Gin, Single Malt Vodka and canned Gin & Tonic by 100,000 cases.

Doug Bairner, Managing Director of LoneWolf Spirits, comments:-

“We created LoneWolf because the world of spirits is in danger of becoming complacent, and consumers deserve better.

“We distil – actually distil – from scratch on our premises and are creating spirits all the way from grain to glass. Global Brands instantly understood this and our passion for people to be able to enjoy a truly crafted spirit when they go to a bar, restaurant or hotel. We had shortlisted three distributors who each had their own unique strengths. We chose Global Brands for the quality of their Franklin & Sons business, the innovative ideas they came forward with in the pitch process and the knowledge and enthusiasm of their people.”

Steve Perez, Global Brands founder and Chairman, comments:-

“Our range of premium tonics, mixers and soft drinks, Franklin & Sons, is sold in some of the UK’s most desirable and popular on trade venues, whether that’s independent bars or boutique hotels. They’re the types of places where people want more from their drink and won’t accept compromise. They’re venues that attract discerning drinkers that will appreciate the quality of LoneWolf spirits.

“As well as being able to put LoneWolf into the right on trade venues, Doug and his team appreciated our own unrelenting pursuit of perfection on Franklin & Sons. We share the same unwavering commitment to only using natural ingredients across the range and won’t ever make any move that sacrifices taste. We know that for our customers, quality and taste is everything. This really resonated with LoneWolf.”

Global Brands distributes and manufactures a range of alcoholic drinks, premium tonics, mixers and soft drinks, and has recently opened a sales and marketing office in Shoreditch, London – the home of UK mixology – as part of its ongoing commitment to developing premium spirits and mixers.

Steve Perez continued:-

“The UK’s demand for premium quality spirits and serves continues to rise, and we want to ensure we remain at the forefront of industry trends so that we always deliver against the highest expectations. We’re continually investing in consumer research and customer relationships to do this and drawing on this knowledge, we know LoneWolf will be a massive success in the premium-end of the on trade.”

LoneWolf Spirits, created in April 2017 and based in Ellon, Scotland, utilise the finest craftsmanship and ingredients to produce truly craft spirits. Its vodka is distilled four times and filtered only once to allow its sweet grain character to shine, while its distillery is home to the world’s only triple bubble still and the tallest rectification column of any craft distillery in Europe. This allows for maximum copper contact during distilling, delivering spirits unparalleled in purity and quality.

Doug Bairner, concluded:-

“Our team has an unwavering obsession with creating only the very best. The partnership with Global Brands means we can sustain this obsession with perfection. It means we can continue to pour our heart and soul into creating more great products, and giving consumers an alternative to the ‘vanity-first, flavour-second’ spirits already out there.”

LoneWolf is already available in Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsburys.

Global brands will also be distributing BrewDog’s smooth supersonic whiskey Uncle Duke’s across the UK On Trade, Off Trade and International markets.