A manufacturing company has been fined after a worker’s hand was damaged whilst carrying out machinery repairs.

Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard how, on 27 July 2018, an employee of Preston Board and Packaging Limited was trying to repair a cardboard slitting machine. Whilst in the process of lifting a chain back onto a sprocket, a roller attached to the chain dropped to the base of the machine trapping his fingers under the chain, resulting in his left-hand ring finger and the tip of his middle finger being severed.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found there was no risk assessment or safe system of work in place for replacing/repairing safety wires and chains on the slitter machine.

Preston Board and Packaging Limited, Green Bank Street, Preston pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £33,500 and ordered to pay costs of £5,527.16.

HSE inspector Mike Lisle said after the hearing “This injury was easily preventable. The task had been carried out a number of times previously and the risks should have been identified. Employers should properly risk assess machinery operations then apply effective control measures and robust safe systems of work to minimise the risk to employees from dangerous parts of machinery”.

Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise. www.hse.gov.uk
2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/
3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk

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An engineering firm was sentenced for safety breaches after a worker severed two fingers.

Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard that on 5 June 2018 an employee of Essex Governor Services Limited was polishing a work piece with an emery cloth whilst it was rotating in a manual metal working lathe at the company site in Colchester. His index and middle finger were severed as they were dragged in between the tool and the chuck. He later had his index finger sewn back in the place of his middle finger, but the other one could not be saved.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the unsafe practice of using emery cloths in this way was custom and practice at the site. Essex Governor Services Limited had failed to identify the risks associated with the activity and as a result these practices had continued over a significant period. In addition, employees and their supervisor had not been provided with adequate information, instruction and training to work safely on the lathes.

Essex Governor Services Limited of Wormingford Road, Fordham, Colchester, pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company has been fined £24,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4414.48 and victim surcharge of £170.

After the hearing HSE inspector Carla Baron said; “This incident could have easily been avoided had appropriate training and supervision been in place.

“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the current standards. In this particular case, there is well-known industry guidance published on the HSE website that prohibits the application of a cloth directly by hand on a rotating manual metal working lathe.”

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. gov.uk^[1]
2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: legislation.gov.uk^[2]
3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk
4. http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/eis2.pdf

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Five up and an all out winner the 5th London Fabric
Show to be held at Chelsea’s FC’s Stamford Bridge Ground ended with accolades a
plenty.  A feast of fabrics was on
display and both exhibitors and visitors left the show in sprightly mood after
a positive and successful show.

James Lowe from Aqua Clean, who launched a number of
new inherently fire resistant and wipe cleanable fabrics at the event said as
the show ended, “This has been the best
London Fabric we have ever exhibited at, we had only real, positive customers,
and there was a steady flow of customers on both days which made the show extremely
manageable for us and pleasurable for the visitors.  Can’t wait for 2020!”

Organised by the BFM (British Furniture Manufacturers
Association), the 2-day event ended on 5^th March and featured 38
high-end fabric producers and suppliers from Europe, including 10 from Belgium,
9 from Turkey and 9 from the UK.

Attended by fabric buyers from the biggest names in UK
upholstery, along with buyers from many group retail stores, the show featured
the latest designs in everything from heavy duty jacquards to light cottons and
also new fire and stain resistant fabric treatments.

New exhibitors, Bill Beaumont from Lancashire, Ragolle
Textiles from Belgium and Teksium Tekstil from Turkey all reported their
satisfaction at the event and vowed to return next year.

The renowned Belgian exhibitors including Annabel,
Boyteks and Ter Molst were also keen to express their praise of the 2019 show with
Koen Mortier from Ter Molst saying “It has been an excellent show, we are very
pleased and saw everyone we wanted to see.”

Turkish companies who are also a central part of the
show, had a vast array of different fabric types and designs to show to the
willing buyers.  Adoksan, Aydin, Marsteks
and Yakar are among the regular exhibitors who find the show invaluable in
reaching the full breadth of UK buyers in one hit.

British companies are another firm fixture at the
London Fabric Show and included many prominent returning exhibitors – Abraham
Moon, Art of the Loom, British Velvets, Mobus and Warwick Fabrics among
them.  Showing their newly launched
National Trust Collection, Abraham Moon which left the show in spirited mood
with their sales manager Julian Smith saying “It would take 2 months of solid
driving around to see all of the companies that we can see here in 2 days. This
show is a winner and we’ll definitely be back next year.”

The relaxed and sociable atmosphere at the show  also makes it a special event in the UK
furniture calendar.  Outgoing BFM MD Jackie
Bazeley, said, “I am gratified to go out on a high.  This show has become an essential date in the
diary for many of our members.  It is
always a pleasure to see so many well-known and friendly faces at Chelsea and
I’m sure that the show will continue to develop and thrive. We have had great
feedback already from this year’s event and I’m thrilled at its success.”

The show will return to Chelsea FC’s West Stand in
2020 and the dates will be announced shortly.

www.londonfabricshow.uk

For more
information contact:

Mary
Merrills, Marketing Consultant – marymerrills@me.com

07770 916926

or

Jackie
Bazeley, Managing Director, BFM Ltd
– jackie.bazeley@bfm.org.uk

Two new companies are exhibiting at the London Fabric Show in March 2019.

The UK’s Bill Beaumont Textiles and Ragolle N.V from Belgium are both renowned fabric producers with long histories and extensive collections of upholstery and soft furnishing fabrics.

Bill Beaumont Textiles is based in Lancashire and as well as supplying upholstery fabrics they are a leading brand in the supply of curtain fabrics, made to measure soft furnishings and wall-coverings. The company is currently run by the sixth generation of the Beaumont family to take the reigns. Daniel Beaumont is the eldest son of ex England Rugby star Bill Beaumont.

Ragolle N.V is one of Belgium’s leading manufacturers of jacquard woven rugs and upholstery fabrics. They also produce broadloom carpets and fabrics for cushions and curtains. Their in-house design department continually updated their designs and colours and they use a combination of computerised techniques and traditional methods to produce their fabrics.

The London Fabric Show features over 35 high-end fabric producers from the UK and Europe and is organised by the BFM (British Furniture Manufacturers Association). The 2019 event takes place on Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th March at Chelsea F.C. in Fulham. For more information and to register go to www.londonfabricshow.uk

Winning fabrics will be on display at the 2019 London Fabric Show, which returns in March. Organised and hosted by the BFM (British Furniture Manufacturers Association), the two day show takes place on Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th March at the Chelsea F.C. stadium at Stamford Bridge in Fulham.

New exhibitors for 2019 include Bill Beaumont Textiles who can trace their history back to the Lancashire fabric mills of the 19th Century. They are now a leading brand in the soft furnishings industry, supplying curtain fabrics, made to measure soft furnishings & wall-coverings. The company is now run by ex England Rugby star Bill Beaumont’s eldest son Daniel, who is the sixth generation of the family to run the company.

Highly regarded Flemish fabric and textile manufacturers from Belgium are among the many regular exhibitors. Beaulieu, Greenstreet and Muvantex are just some of the famous names from Belgium renowned for the quality of their textiles returning to the London Fabric Show in 2019. Their fabrics include jacquards, linens, velvets and chenilles in traditional and modern designs.

Other returning European exhibitors displaying new designs include Arruma Trapos from Portugal, Eurotex from Germany, Imatex from Italy and Boyteks and Turman from Turkey. Between them they will show a variety of natural fibre and mixed texture fabrics in plains, stripes, florals and abstracts in soft and vibrant colours.

Returning exhibitors from the UK include Lancashire based British Velvets. Producing velvets for over 80 years, they are the leading weaver of velvets in the UK and produce over 750 luxury velvets for upholstery and soft furnishings. Art of the Loom are another Lancashire based company who always make a colourful splash with their bright wools, linens and cottons.
Fabric treatments will be on display too, Spanish Inter Fabrics have every kind of fabric treatment covered with their internationally known Aqua Clean brand, as well as producing their own extensive collections of fabrics for a variety of industries including furniture.

Entrance to the London Fabric Show is free and registration for the 2019 event is open at: www.londonfabricshow.uk