An Oldbury-based construction firm has won a prestigious conservation contract worth more than £400k as part of the preparatory work for the UK’s HS2 railway network.

This week’s #madeinsandwell Monday star is Hawthorn Trading Company, the UK’s leading manufacturer of temporary site hoarding, temporary fencing and crowd control barriers, which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary.

The Black Country Business Festival is a two-week celebration of innovation, culture and commerce throughout Sandwell, Wolverhampton, Dudley and Walsall.

A dedicated telephone line and email address have been set up by the Black Country Chamber of Commerce to support local businesses that may be affected by Wolverhampton-based company Carillion going into liquidation.

Our #madeinsandwell Monday star this week is one of Think Sandwell’s Top 50 Fastest Growing Companies of 2017: commercial vehicle bodybuilder Bevan Group.

The Think Sandwell team is delighted to hear that a specialist food protein manufacturer – Essentia Proteins – has expanded its presence in Sandwell, choosing to grow its business operations in Tipton.

According to EY’s latest Regional Economic Forecast, it is expected that the West Midlands will be the fastest growing UK region outside of London and the South East over the next three years.

Welcome back from the Think Sandwell team – and happy new year. We hope you had a good break and that you’re feeling rested and ready to start achieving your business aspirations for 2018. Read on for ideas to get you started . . .

Merry Christmas from everyone on Sandwell Council’s Business Growth Team. Our news and events pages will be quiet for the next week while we’re all away celebrating Christmas and the new year with our loved ones. But if you’re using this downtime to hone your business development plans for 2018, there’s plenty for you to look at . . .