Daily Post

Test Kit Puts Health Firm in Better Shape ; Huge Demand for Equipment to Monitor Diabetics' Progress

DEESIDE-based diversified health care group Provalis boosted its sales during the first half of the current financial year and is predicting that moves to increase production capacity will push it towards profitability. Sales at the medical diagnostics and pharmaceuticals group for the six months ended December 31, 2004, were pounds 6.7m, up pounds 300,000 compared to the first half of last year. Group loss for the period was pounds 1.7m, compared to pounds 2m last time.

Special Occasion for Card Designer As New Studio Opens

IT'S on the cards that Ria Thomas will make a success of a new venture. She has been running her hand made card company from her home in Bala for the past year and has now decided to take the plunge and make it a full-time business run from a High Street studio she moved into this week.

Chinese Expansion

NEARLY half of all Chinese firms questioned in a new survey say they plan to set up overseas operations within the next two years. Research confirming Chinese companies' emergence on the world stage will be revealed by the Welsh Development Agency and the Chinese Academy of International Trade & Economic Cooperation at a seminar in Beijing today.

Steel Firm's Pounds 6m Furnace Upgrade

STEEL group Corus is to upgrade a UK plant at a cost of pounds 6m to meet growing demand from aerospace companies including Airbus. Corus said it will improve furnace capacity at its site in Stocksbridge, near Sheffield, to strengthen its ability to supply the rapidly growing market for engineering steels for the aerospace industry.

Trade Hots Up for Bottled Gas Supplier

ARCTIC temperatures have left North Wales shivering - but that's good news for one business. Over the past five years fuel supplier Calor Gas has established a network of four depots across the region - at Pwllheli, Pentraeth on Anglesey, Bodelwyddan and Aberaeron in mid Wales - boosting employment from six to almost 20.

Business Profile: On a Mission to Make Our Economy Flourish ; David Jones Talks to the Man Charged with Incubating New Businesses in North Wales' Growing Optronics Sector

T sounds like a herculean task - to grow the economy of North Wales. A job that you might ask comic book hero Superman, for example, to take on. But Dave Rimmer is undaunted by the mission facing him. And he's confident it's achievable.

In Extreme Cases Such As Anglesey, Overtime Accounts for 10% of the Gross Weekly Wage

S I always tell my researchers, the holy grail of statistics is to ensure the data itself is correct and can be verified as being reliable and valid. On the other hand, the interpretation of that data is something you can look at in a range of different ways. After all, one person's sausage can, in the great words of Jim Hacker from Yes Prime Minister, be another's Emulsified High Fat Offal Tube. Given this, I was interested to see the latest analysis of annual earnings which showed Wales in ...

Great Expectations ; Glyn Mon Hughes Looks at What Might Be in the Chancellor's Dispatch Box for This Year's Budget

T'S no easy job being the chancellor. Granted, there's a nice house which goes with the job, but living next door to 10 Downing Street can have its disadvantages. For a start it's just a bit too close to the one who is in charge. And, this time round, the boss man might be running rather a keen eye over the Budget proposals.

Showcase of It Developments

DRAIG Technology Ltd and North East Wales Institute will be among the North Wales exhibitors at the largest IT event in Wales. Technology Wales 2005 takes place on May 13 at Cardiff International Arena and showcases the latest innovations and developments in the Welsh IT industry and its technology. Bangor-based Draig is a software development and IT management provider which made headlines last year with its free software programme for Welsh-speakers.

Successful Pitch

Tickets On Target

Traders' Awards

Bank's Big Heart

Exports Down

Profits Warning

New Centre Boosts Dragon Economy

THE new opto-electronics centre opened last week in Denbighshire will spearhead efforts to neutralise the threats posed to Wales by the fast growing Asian economies, say local politicians. Vale of Clwyd MP Chris Ruane said the pounds 15.7m OpTIC on St Asaph Business Park will enable Wales to maintain its employment base by creating jobs in firms using leading edge technologies and help counter the threat posed to manufacturing by the rapidly expanding Chinese and Indian economies.

Cashing in On Cabin Fever

NORTH Wales based Log Cabin Living Ltd is seeking new business deals with companies in Latvia and Estonia. The company, based in Ruthin, imports log cabins made in the Baltic states for sale in the UK and Europe.

Walled Drive

AN international marketing drive backed by the Tourism Partnership North Wales is being launched to attract more visitors to the ancient walled towns of Caernarfon, Beaumaris, Denbigh and Conwy and the city of Chester. A new brochure has been produced featuring the history and attractions in each of the communities and a walled towns web site is to be launched in April so that accommodation can be booked on- line.

Bridal Awards

ANGLESEY bridal wear retailer Wedding Belles is in the running for the third of what could be a hat trick of awards. The business is a finalist in the best retailing marketing category at the Bridal Buyer Awards and the winners are due to be announced in Harrogate on March 14.

Pay Worries

YEAR-ON-YEAR inflation-busting increases in the National Minimum Wage must not become a rubber-stamping exercise, says the Federation of Small Businesses. FSB North Wales spokesman Neil Taylor said: "Continuous year-on- year above inflation increases in the NMW is dangerous for the economy and sends the wrong message to employers.