Business monthly: news in brief


A rising star


Andor Technology, a Belfast-based producer of high-quality digital cameras used in medical diagnosis, drug discovery and other specialist fields, has been named Rising Star of the year in the Cathay Pacific Business Awards, which are designed to acknowledge and celebrate UK businesses succeeding in China and Hong Kong.



The company, which was set up in 1989 and spun out of the city's Queen's University, develops, designs and manufactures the cameras in Northern Ireland and employs 190 people in 15 offices around the world. The company, which enjoyed a turnover of £24.7m last year, has a portfolio of 70 products and sells to 10,000 customers in 55 countries.

However, sales director Aislinn Rice says that the Chinese side of the business has expanded especially fast as a result of the Beijing government's decision to fund extensive medical research. Since establishing a local partnership in China, sales have more than trebled, she says.

Tough talk

Everybody knows we are in a tough economic environment and that things are unlikely to get better soon. But what does the harassed small business owner do to survive? According to authors Patrick Forsyth and Frances Kay, "the worst possible reaction" is to behave as if shell shocked and wait until things improve. In their book Tough Tactics For Tough Times (Kogan Page, £9.99), they urge business owners to "take stock – and then take action". They deal with such areas as marketing, customer service and organisation, and offer advice that is succinct, but always worth considering. Though they urge swift action, the authors are also keen to stress that they are not preaching doom and gloom: "We take the view that you can make a difference. Some of the ideas here have negative connotations and need a certain amount of decisiveness... but the overall outcome... is a positive one."

Informed decisions

Any successful business depends on information. Managers need to know which parts of the business are performing and which are not – and why. They install computer systems to help them, but often this only compounds the problem because managers are drowned in data rather than information.

Turning the data into useful information is the speciality of Kalido, a company that began life seeking to harmonise data from 1,000 separate locations within the oil company Shell. Kalido claims that the combination of automation of data collection with its business modelling abilities enables closer collaboration between IT departments and managers and so aids the linking of business information and decisions.

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Career Services

Day In a Page

The 50 Best beachwear

The 50 Best beachwear

The hottest summer gear for men and women
Still standing: George Galloway reveals why his staunchly Leftist outlook is still invariably right

Still standing: George Galloway

Written off, ridiculed, wrongly accused of taking bribes the honourable member for Bradford West, has never bowed to the critics.
How will Daniel Radcliffe's fans react to his latest turn - as a damaged, drug-taking Beatnik poet?

Daniel Radcliffe as drug-taking Beatnik poet

His decade as the boy wizard may be over, but that hasn't hexed Daniel Radcliffe's enchanted life.
For whom the bell tolls: £20m 'Memo' project takes shape on Dorset's Jurassic coast

'Memo' project takes shape on Dorset coast

It started as a stonemason's visionary idea – to commemorate all the species that have ever existed and are now extinct.
Just add sunshine: Bill Granger's Turkish delights

Just add sunshine: Bill Granger's Turkish delights

Turkish cuisine is perfect for those long, sociable weekend meals with friends. It's just a shame that money can't buy the key ingredient.
Objets czar: David Usborne’s collection of myriad objects is quite the mystery

Objets czar: David Usborne’s collection of myriad objects

To others, they're junk. To David Usborne, they are his life: useful gizmos, mysterious thingamajigs and anonymous articles that dominate his home.
The iron ore lady: Why the world's richest woman is mired in controversy

World's richest woman: Gina Rinehart

Family feuds, attempts to control the Australian media and bitter public disputes are keeping the mining magnate in the headlines.
We just click: How Lego keeps building on its success

How Lego keeps building on its success

This year, Lego announced record profits. Gerard Gilbert visits its Denmark HQ.
The other bits: Mark Hix creates delicious and economical meals with cheaper cuts of meat

Mark Hix cooks with cheaper cuts of meat

Our chef creates delicious and economical meals on a budget
Strokes of genius: How to create summer's bold make-up look

Strokes of genius: Summer's bold make-up

From coral lips to fly-away fringes, make-up artist Kim Brown and hair stylist Richard Scorer reveal how to create the look
Marking his territory: Kilian Hennessy creates fragrances designed to provoke the senses

Marking his territory: Kilian Hennessy

The perfumer creates fragrances designed to provoke the senses
Photo essay: Britain's 1948 Olympians today

Britain's 1948 Olympians today

Photo essay
The top five E3 2012 triumphs: From Ubisoft's suite of titles to Dishonored and The Last of Us

The top five E3 2012 triumphs

The games and moments that left us grinning like the Cheshire Cat
The green movement at 50: Can the world be saved?

Can the world be saved?

Population growth and climate change are the big problems facing the earth in the next 50 years. But are there any solutions?
France: Will xenophobia go mainstream?

France: Will xenophobia go mainstream?

In the beautiful Rhone delta, John Lichfield visits a village where a dangerous new political landscape is taking shape