Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

Melin Consultants, providers of sustainable building and construction solutions, are pleased to announce that they will be the main sponsor of this year’s Melin Sospan Sizzler Middle Distance Triathlon. Held in Burry Port on Sunday June 11, the event is organised by non-profit organisation Healthy Life Activities. This is the only middle distance triathlon to be held in Carmarthenshire and the challenging hilly bike course attracts athletes from across the UK. The Melin Sospan Sizzler Middle Distance Triathlon will start with a 1,900m early morning sea swim, encompassing two loops from Burry Port Harbour. The bike leg will then take competitors on a two-loop 90km course around the Gwendraeth Valley, taking in the legendary Meinciau climb, not once, but twice. The final stage will be a fast and flat 21km run along the stunning scenery of the coastal path. While most competitors will be looking to complete the event in under nine hours, the winning time for the inaug...

Students from two Carmarthenshire schools are through to the finals of the Swansea Bay Young Business Dragons. The teams from S t John Lloyd Catholic Comprehensive and Bryngwyn School in Llanelli will take on teams from Swansea and Neath Port Talbot in the Dragon’s Den style final of the entrepreneurial business challenge on Wednesday November 19 at the Marriott Hotel in Swansea. The semi final of the Young Business Dragon’s competition was held at the Halliwell Centre, Trinity St David’s Carmarthen, when both teams gave presentations on products on the theme of the Smart Home. In teams of up to eight students the challenge was to design ‘a smart innovative product for the home.’ The St John Lloyd team was supported by business mentor Mel Best and Bryngwyn by mentor Jamie Best. Mr and Mrs Best are the directors of Melin Consultants, based at The Beacon business centre in Dafen, Llanelli. The Young Business Dragons event is organised by the Regional Entrepreneurship Partner...

The go-ahead firm of Melin Consultants is looking for an Operational Administrator. Melin Consultants provides sustainable construction solutions to a range of clients from architects, building engineers, local authorities and main contractors. Our general activities are office based and influence the early design of new buildings. Success over recent years has come from a blend of first class service and providing a quick efficient operation. The company understands that to support a first rate technical team a comprehensive level of background support is required. Melin has recognised the need for an additional operational administrator to complement the professional approach the company adopts in the provision of its technical services. Duties will include general administrative duties, customer liaison, quality auditing of work and providing a support mechanism to the technical staff. The successful candidate will possess the following: · good communication skil...

Hats off to the team at Melin Consultants in The Beacon building in Dafen, Llanelli. Is this the best 'office garden' feature you've seen? Constructed on a plinth, with loads of plants and the company name arranged in slate and pebbles, it is a work of art. Well done to Jamie Best and his team at Melin. Can anyone do better? Weblink - http://www.melinconsultants.co.uk/

Melin Consultants is looking for new blood to join its expanding technical team. Just in case you have not heard of the firm, Melin Consultants is one of the leading sustainable construction consultancies in Wales, providing technical support to architects and engineers. Melin provides SAP, SBEM, Code and BREEAM as core services, but there is a whole lot more that goes on behind the scenes from co-heating tests to low carbon feasibility studies to air leakage testing. Melin Consultants is run by Jamie (pictured above) and Mel Best. The firm has a great opportunity for a lead SAP assessor to join the team based at the new office at The Beacon building in Dafen, Llanelli. Ideally, you will already possess a current assessors license, so that you can hit the ground running. Melin is a solutions-led company, so you would be expected to work closely with clients to acheive the most effective design possible. To find out more please send a current CV to -  llanelli...

Jamie Best, of Melin Consultants, of The Beacon, Dafen Llanelli, was featured in the 'Holiday Heaven and Hell' feature in the South Wales Evening Post. Melin Consultants are experts in sustainable building solutions. What was your best holiday? Tough call, but I think my favourite was about 13 years ago in Eastern Australia. I handed in my notice to change jobs and was given a long spell of garden leave. Being free and single at the time, I grabbed a surfboard and was in Australia within 48 hours. I headed up the east coast from Sydney with a mate who was already out there taking in all the surf spots. He had a beaten-up old yellow transit camper and we didn’t meet another Brit in the whole five weeks We only seemed to travel on dirt tracks and missed all the tourist traps. I didn’t even get to see the Opera House! I lived like a tramp sleeping on the van floor, but loved every second of it. Your worst? A long time ago I went on a typical ‘lads’ holiday to Ayia Napa,...

Jamie Best, of Melin Consultants, of The Beacon, Dafen Llanelli, was featured in the 'It's My Business' feature in the Carmarthen Journal today. See below for the text - Who are you? Jamie Best What is your business? Melin Consultants is a small (10 person) building consultancy I run with my wife, Mel. It specialises in sustainable building solutions for new buildings. How long have you run the business? I have been working for Melin since 2008. Mel started it back in 2006. Is this your first business? When converting our home in Drefach from an old watermill, I thought there was an opportunity to sell taps online. How wrong I was. Still I learnt a number of crucial mistakes which I haven't repeated again. What made you want to run you own business rather than work for somebody else? It was a tough choice to give up a good salary working for a large national company but the freedom to make my own choices really sold it for me. I very much believe in live by the swo...

Llanelli firm Melin Consultants has embraced the Groundwork project which aims to help youngsters find work. Melin has recruited 17-year-old Callum McDonald to the team based at The Beacon in Dafen, Llanelli. “Groundwork is an innovative project and we are an innovative firm at Melin,” said Melin director Jamie Best. “Groundwork is a project working on a number of levels, helping people and organisations make changes in order to create better neighbourhoods, to build skills and job prospects, and to live and work in a greener way. “Part of the Groundwork project enables firms to recruits youngsters to give them hands-on experience in the workplace. “It’s an exciting project and one which can be very rewarding for the firms taking part. “It is particularly rewarding to see youngsters respond to the challenges of the workplace, gain experience and, hopefully, create meaningful routes into sustainable careers.” Carwyn Jones, AM, First Minister of Wales, said the Groundwork project had b...

Llanelli-based sustainable building consultant Jamie Best will be one of the key speakers at a Constructing Excellence Wales event being held in Aberystwyth on Thursday night (February 23). Mr Best, director of Melin Consultants, will be speaking on energy reduction in new buildings at the Aberystwyth University event which explains the overall requirements of BREEAM 2011, the benchmark by which all new public-funded buildings are measured. “It sounds very technical,” Mr Best admitted, “but the assessment method BREEAM is now a requirement under planning legislation in Wales and impacts on all new buildings over 1000 square metres.” “It’s a real brain-storming event to help everyone target sustainability standards of excellence in the construction industry in Wales. “For example, it will explain how architects and other designers can get buildings to perform better in terms of their energy use. “We want to make sure that the performance of buildings is fully maximised when they are ...

A growing company which is totally tuned in to the construction industry buzzwords of ‘environment and sustainability’ has moved its offices to Llanelli.  Melin Consultants is fast building a Wales-wide reputation as one of the industry experts on sustainable construction. “We specialise in all the things which people value in the construction industry today – getting environmental issues right and making sure buildings are as sustainable as possible,” said Melin director Jamie Best. “It’s an exciting time for the building and construction industry with everyone appreciating the value of getting it right first time in terms of energy savings and sustainability. “We are right up there in the vanguard when it comes to technical expertise in this area. We’re probably not on the radar as far as members of the public are concerned, but our name and reputation is growing day by day.” The company has relocated its HQ from Tycroes, near Ammanford, to Llys Aur on the Llanelli Gate busin...