Derby still rubbing shoulders with the giants of Europe

Here, in his latest monthly column reflecting on the news over the past month, our Press and PR Executive Robin Johnson looks at the headlines.

When I talk to fellow Derby County fans of a particular vintage about their most memorable matches, they always talk about those European nights under the lights at the Baseball Ground.

Yes, it seems hard for certain generations to believe, but at one time, the Rams were big in Europe.

That was back in the 1970s, well before I started going to Derby games in the 1980s.

And while right now the chances of Derby County once again being a footballing force in Europe seem a long way off, I’d ask you to take comfort in the fact that in terms of international inward investment, the city is very much continuing to hold its own.

But please, don’t just take my word for it – ask the Financial Times.

After all, it was their latest fDi Intelligence rankings that placed Derby fourth in Europe for inward investment strategy.

And it is a strategy that continues to bear fruit.

It’s true that inward investments, particularly of an international flavour, can sometimes be like buses – you wait ages to land one, then they all come at once.

Take St. Modwen Park Derby, the brand-new multi-million-pound commercial park currently being built by St. Modwen Logistics on what was the old Chaddesden Sidings site, next to Pride Park.

During the month of February, not one but two major international names announced they would be taking space there.

First, German-owned heating technology giant Vaillant revealed it had agreed a deal for a unit there to help it ramp up production of heat pumps.

Then, just a couple of weeks later Swedish medical technology manufacturer Getinge announced it was also taking space at St. Modwen Park Derby.

Both are high quality investments, which will bring hundreds of skilled jobs to Derby.

It is a brilliant beginning for this burgeoning business park. Too many b’s in that sentence? Possibly so.

Marketing Derby and Derby City Council both played a key role in helping to bring both the Vaillant and Getinge investments to the city.

The news about Getinge’s investment was revealed by Paul Simpson, the chief executive of Derby City Council, at our Annual Business Event, which took place a week ago at Derby Theatre.

Major investment revealed at Annual Business Event – Marketing Derby

It was fantastic to see a packed house enjoy the event, although I think I may have twinged my back when Nadia Jane, of Nadia Jane Performing Arts, had us all on our feet learning how to dance!

Anyway, the event not only showcased our achievements over the past 12 months, but also featured a stimulating panel discussion and films.

Among those films was a new series of ‘talking heads’, featuring companies from all four corners of Derbyshire explaining why they decided to invest in the county.

Nadia Jane was there to round the event off in style with her Dare to Dream speech – and an amazing dance performance by her highly talented pupils, which was met with a rousing and prolonged standing ovation.

Nadia Jane Performing Arts is a dance school that encourages its students to dream big – and their dream is set to come true with an invitation to perform on Broadway, in New York.

It really is amazing what young people of any background can do when given the opportunity and the encouragement.

But for any young person to achieve their dream, they need a break.

Apprenticeships are one way of helping them to do so.

Of course, National Apprenticeship Week fell in February – and during that week we produced a special e-shot celebrating apprenticeships.

Among the stories featured was the launch of the Rolls-Royce Nuclear Skills Academy in Parliament.

The aim of the academy is to produce the nuclear engineers of the future, some of whom will support the work of the engineering’s defence division in Raynesway.

Meanwhile, the firm’s civil aerospace division, at Sinfin, continues to flourish.

In February, I was delighted to report on a huge order placed by Air India for Rolls-Royce’s Trent XWB engines.

It was the largest order for Trent XWBs ever received by Rolls-Royce – an engine designed, developed and currently manufactured at Derby.

Rolls-Royce is, of course, one of Derby’s top global players. Another Derby firm in that league is train-maker Alstom, a company which is also committed to apprenticeships.

During National Apprenticeship Week, it announced the opening of its own apprentice academy, based at its Litchurch Lane site.

Of course, our major companies always tend to grab the headlines simply because of their scale.

But there were some really positive stories in February coming out of our formidable army of SMEs.

It was a particularly good month for our tech firms, with the announcement that IT services firm Bam Boom Cloud had been sold to US-based cloud commerce giant Pax8.

Bam Boom has been a real Derby success story since it relocated to the city centre, with the help of Marketing Derby and the city council.

It was also great to see Bloc Digital land a £3 million deal for its expertise.

I remember Bloc’s Keith Cox delivering a fascinating presentation at last year’s Marketing Derby Bondholder Spotlight about the rise of the ‘metaverse’.

Bloc does some really clever stuff – far too clever for a predominantly analogue scribe such as me.

And while the hospitality industry has endured a rocky ride over these last few years, Covid pandemic and cost-of-living crisis notwithstanding, coffee and lifestyle brand BEAR is pushing ahead with its bold plans to expand across the UK.

Its owners have always had a vision to take their brand nationwide – and I’m heartened to see that their determination to do so remains undiminished.

I’ll raise a cappuccino to that – just let me check with my bank manager first before I switch on the kettle.

Finally, there was really positive news regarding one of BEAR’s neighbouring properties in Iron Gate.

The Bennetts department store had already been around for almost 250 years when Charlie George was banging in hat-tricks for Derby County against Real Madrid.

But following the store’s closure a couple of years back, with Bennetts subsequently moving online, the building has stood empty.

However, plans have recently been submitted by Manston Investments to finally breathe new life into the property.

It would be great to see this grand old building brought back into use – just as it would to see a grand old football club like Derby County back in Europe.

In terms of the Bennetts building, I’m quietly confident – as far as the Rams are concerned, well, I remain an eternal optimist!

Have a safe and productive March and I look forward to catching up again soon.