PHP Web Developer – Jobs in Huddersfield and Halifax

The Company:
We are looking for an experienced and talented Web Developer / Programmer to work alongside our web designer and project manager to develop a professional database driven e-Commerce website. Your responsibilities will be in developing and maintaining the website with an emphasis on increasing sales conversions and traffic to the site. An understanding of the latest SEO techniques would be an advantage though not essential.
We expect the candidate to have either commercial experience in this role, or a graduate with an excellent portfolio of work. Strong communication and organisation skills are essential for this excellent opportunity to join an expanding team of professionals.
Established for over 25 years Portfolio Display is a leading print company supplying display products predominantly to the automotive industry. Products include a varied range of point of sale products and large format promotional banners, flags, custom graphics, signage and forecourt display products.

Required Skills:
- PHP
- MySQL database skills
- Web Design
- XHTML / CSS
- E-Commerce systems
- Content management systems
- SEO

Other Requirements
- Excellent communicator with colleagues
- An experienced web developer background
- Has the ability to work on their own or in a team
- Self motivated
- Very well presented through dress, speech and body language
- Confident
- Well organised essential
- Reporting to directors and senior managers

Benefits
- Good basic salary, based on experience
- Excellent incentives
- Good pension scheme
- Excellent working facilities
- Great infrastructure in surrounding area
- Working with a superb team of individuals
- Family business environment

Applications should be emailed to: rob@portfolio-display.co.uk
Or posted to: Rob Walker, Portfolio Display Ltd., Elland Lane, Elland, HX5 9DU

Date Posted: 18/05/10
Job Type: Part Time – 22.5 hours – 5 days per week

Description: Due to expansion we have a part-time vacancy for a Sales Administrator to join our friendly internal sales department. This is a responsible position involving customer contact, order processing, invoicing (Sage Line 200) data entry and general office duties. Excellent working conditions.

The successful applicant should have a good telephone manner, be responsible and self motivated. Good maths and english are essential. Non-smoker preferred.

All applications will be kept in strict confidence. Please send your application in writing with current C.V. stating details of qualifications, experience and current salary to:

Rob Walker (Sales Director) Email: rob@portfolio-display.co.uk

Date Posted: 18/05/10
Job Type: Full Time – 38 hours per week

Description: We require a despatch person for the general packing of advertising and display products, with some banner & flag sewing. Quality checking and computerised data entry, using Sage Line 200. A very varied & interesting full-time position with prospects. Training provided.

The successful applicant should be self-motivated, intelligent and energetic.Non-smoker preferred.

All applications will be kept in strict confidence. Please send your application in writing with current C.V. stating details of qualifications, experience and current salary to:

Garth Walker (Production Director) Email: garth@portfolio-display.co.uk

Manufacturers have been offering post scrappage deals, which have helped to boost sales and keep them ahead of 2009. There were many concerns over how the end of the scrappage scheme would effect new car sales. This is great news as the VED tax was also introduced in April, which was also predicted to have a negative effect on sales.

Sales in April were 11.5% up on 2009, which is a good indication that the industry is moving in the right direction. The scrappage scheme during April amounted to only 8% of total sales, with the carmaker incentive schemes really helping to boost overall sales. Kia, Hyundai and Seat are all experiencing significant growth for the year, due to strong sales of small cars.

It will be interesting to see how the industry is supported over the coming months with the formation of the new government. What we need is the economy to experience strong growth to generate an increase in consumer confidence. Ford and Vauxhall have had large drops in sales based on last years performance, with sales being 22% down for Ford and 11% for Vauxhall.

It’s that time of the year again when we start to see many exhibitions and special events taking place each week. Our range of portable roll up banners are the perfect display product for all types of promotional events. I recently visited the NEC Caravan and Boat Show and one of the most popular and effective products was the roll up banner.

I was also surprised to see many different variations in quality. One benefit of Portfolio Display’s range of roller banners is the build quality, which we have received numerous recommendations for. Print is also important and we ensure that we quality check all products before despatch. We’re not happy unless our customer is 100% happy with their purchase. We are very proud that we offer a very stylish range of roll up banners, which are unique in the market place. Please check out our product page to see the various styles on offer.

Business secretary Lord Mandelson announced last night that the government’s scrappage scheme would be extended until March 31st or until the £400 million funding runs out, which ever happens first. The government said that extending the ‘cash for bangers’ scheme by another month will give car dealers and manufacturers “more time to prepare for and operate the exit phase of the scheme”. The scrappage deal is responsible for 17.8% of new car registrations in January totaling 26,332 cars out of the 145,500 new car registered. New car sales were up by 29.8%, which is surprising considering the cold snap stopped people walking round for nearly a month.

Lord Mandelson said, “If you’re considering buying a new car, you should place your order as soon as possible to avoid disappointment, because the budget is strictly limited.” With only 50,000 new car registrations left within the budget these will soon go, so if you are after a new car part of the scheme we advise buyers to be quick.

Car dealerships should consider advertising the scheme using large impactful banners, informing the public how long they have left to get the £2000 saving. At Portfolio we would recommend Windscreen and car-top display as excellent eye-catching methods of advertising. The scheme extension allows car dealers to make the most of the scheme and should offer some relief for new car sales in the first quarter of the year.

Toyota is having to recall 1,000′s of cars which the company has estimated could cost £1.25bn in lost output and sales. There is an issue with the acceleration of cars and Toyota can’t take any risks so they are recalling around 8 models. Toyota is the worlds largest car maker and this looks like it may cause the company to cut it’s 2010 sales forecasts. This does not come as good news to an industry which has been in turmoil over the last 2 years.

Peugeot is also recalling some of their cars made with Toyota in Europe. They will be carrying out an identical campaign to Toyota to ensure that there is no uncontrolled acceleration. Honda is also recalling over 600,000 cars to fix a faulty switch that could set on fire. You could ask yourself what is going on here. Experienced manufacturers using the latest technology ought to have got it right first time. Just goes to show that the best companies in the world have to own up to their mistakes.

At Portfolio Display we want to hear some good news going on in the Automotive industry. Nissan are creating jobs at their Sunderland plant due to the success from their Qashqai model. This makes a change from the headlines usually shouting about job cuts.

Today bunting is a known as a number of pre-spaced brightly coloured triangular shaped small flags sewn on a string, used for street parties, special events and decorating car forecourts. The term Bunting derives from the material it was originally manufactured out of called buntine, which was a worsted lightweight wool fabric, used onboard Royal Navy boats. Originally not connected together by a string or rope bunting were small flags used as a form of communication between boats. The most famous message ever sent using this method was by Admiral Nelson on HMS Victory at the battle of Trafalgar and read “England expects that every man will do his duty”. The word itself comes from the Middle English term for the fabric, which was bonting, which then later changed to buntine and the eventually bunting. Historians aren’t sure how far back bunting goes but its been depicted in many painting dating back to the crusades and maybe even earlier in China.

Bunting is also a lowland farmland bird native to Europe or North America that’s usually seen in hedgerows, sat on fence posts or foraging for seeds and inserts. The Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra) part of the Passerine bird family has just been classified as a red list species by the RSPB with only an estimated 8,000 to 12,000 remaining in the wild. The server winter of this year hasn’t helped the species with snow laying on the ground for nearly a month many bird groups have struggled to get the food they need. For more information on how to help save the Corn Bunting please visit the RSPB website. – click here

Portfolio Display has over 25 years experience in the manufacture and distribution of bunting, understanding it rich history we pride ourselves on providing the largest range in the country and specialising in personalised printed bunting.

Hyundai has reported an increase in profits from October to December, which was helped by the Government incentives to boost car sales. Net profits for the period were £505m, which is a very healthy profit considering the market conditions. Analysts had not predicted that profits would be so high. Hyundai was one of the winners of the car scrappage scheme, which is a contrast with many other car makers who have struggled with falling sales.

Ford has also just posted an annual profit for the first time in over four years. The manufacturer posted profits of £1.7bn in 2009 compared to a loss of almost $15bn in 2008. They also forecast to make a profit this year, which is very good news considering where they were the year before. Ford had to make many cuts across their whole company which included 9,000 job losses. But the profits will come as good news to the 80,000 employees who managed to keep their jobs.

Most manufacturers still face challenging times ahead, but it is looking as though the worst has passed. Dealerships across the UK will have already set their forecasts for 2010 and also considered what branding their forecourts will need. Keeping dealerships up to date is key to promoting a healthy looking company. Our range of point of sale products, which includes car top panels, pricing units, banners and many other forecourt display products will help to promote dealers during 2010.

With the UK recently hit by severe arctic weather, UK car dealers have noticed a large increase in online bidding with up to £4.5 million spent on used cars. With hits and bidding on the increase in January the UK’s online auction sites have reported the biggest jump in traffic since they started, boosting January’s used car figures making up for the lack of customers forecourts. This sudden increase in online bidding may have been brought by the server weather but if customers trusted and enjoyed the service then online bidding will be a growing market in the future. Used car dealers are going to have to start thinking about advertising their website using marketing techniques. We recommend PVC banners on their forecourt to drive passing customers to their website to increase hits.

Here at Portfolio we are positive that 2010 will be a good year for the new and used car dealers, with increasing online bidding car dealers will need to focus on their forecourt display. We recommend branding your cars with car-top panels and pricing units with a large clear price. We can print everything to match, any colour any logo giving your forecourt a professional branded imagine.

The motor industry needs as much help as it can get right now so it can recover from the recession. Banks are being blamed for not providing enough loans to the motor industry. RBS are the only bank to have launched a £1 billion manufacturing fund. The rest of the banks are only willing to finance global vehicle manufacturers.

At Portfolio Display we agree with motor industry leaders that the banks should be providing more loans to help with the recovery of the industry from recession. Small to large businesses across the UK also need more support from their banks to aid with cash flow during difficult trading periods.

Cutting back on promotional display is a quick and easy way of reducing a companies outgoings. This should be a companies last resort as marketing during a recession helps to boost companies presence when the market recovers. Products such as banners can help to promote areas of a business that may have taken a dip in sales. They could also be used to promote the sale of old stock, which can then be replaced by fresh new stock that will generate higher profit margins.

European sales of eco cars are set to increase to 8-10 million by the year 2015 according to new research by Frost and Sullivan.
Approximately 80% of new cars sold in Europe will have average CO2 emissions below 150 g/km. Cars with CO2 emissions under 120 g/km could account for around 10 million sales per year.

By 2015 it is said that the average car will be 5% lighter and have 30% less CO2 emissions than the average car sold today. There are a number of new technologies being developed that will enable manufacturers to reduce their CO2 emissions. This includes the start-stop technology that has already seen the new Freelander 2 adopt this to help reduce its CO2 emissions.

Manufacturers will have emission targets to meet by 2015 due to the European Union legislation, which requires manufacturers to have average fleet emissions of less than 130g/km. Manufacturers are likely to use a combination of electric and hybridisation to achieve their targets.

Portfolio Display has introduced a range of Eco slogan products to its forecourt display range, which includes the Monarch car-top display and the new slogan windscreen display boards. We believe it is important to introduce a range of products that manufacturers and car dealerships will aim to promote as more and more consumers look to purchase low CO2 vehicles in the next few years.

During a meeting at Portfolio Display someone asked the question ‘what was the most cost effective form of outdoor temporary display?’ After a lengthy discussion we all came to the same conclusion we couldn’t think of any better way to advertise outdoors than PVC banners. They are the most cost effective impactful solution for long and short-term events. With both a bright vivid print finish and durable weather-fast material banners offer more. If you know of a more cost effective method we would be very interested in hearing your comments.

One of the benefits of using this method of display is that banners don’t require any planning permission even when they are teamed together with a portable banner frame, as they are classed as a temporary display. They are also easily changed, so you can rotate your advertising or display different offers this form of advertising is ideal for sales and events.

With over 20 years experience in the design and manufacture of display banners Portfolio Display can quote you for any size or quantity of banners.

Portfolio Display has recognised the need to supply roll-up banners without having to laminate them so that they can be produced in bulk at minimal cost. Currently we laminate every banner to give it a superior finish that is also scuff resistant, which is quite important on a roller banner.

A new banner material has been launched that the manufacturer has claimed will slash the cost of a roll-up banner. If a customer is looking to purchase banner stands in volume and they are not concerned about the laminate, then this is a cost effective option. The material is also non curl, which can be a problem with some materials as the material doesn’t appear flat when the banner stand is erected.

The cost of this material is similar in cost but without the need for the laminate, finishing costs are reduced. If you are looking for a volume option then please ask for details on this product. They also produce a double sided version which has a white block out on both sides.

The manufacturer of the new material produces a wide range of materials for manufacturing banners, which includes a range of laminates for finishing so we expect the quality to be high as they are not new to this market.

With new car sales on the decline car dealers need to focus on selling more used cars and increase their after sales business during 2010. There is also set to be a shortage of the supply of used cars, which should push values up. We have already seen this happen during 2009 on certain models of vehicles. This can be achieved through a strong focus on stock profiling. Keeping your promotional display up to date can also help in adding sales.

Banners are a excellent way of promoting your business at a very affordable cost. Banners can be regularly changed and also erected very easily. Car dealerships all around the world use banners to promote finance deals, warranty packages and also sales promotions to passing traffic.

We can manufacture banners that fit onto walls, lamp posts, scaffolding and also our range of banner frames. If you are looking to increase sales this year then we recommend regularly updating your point of sale display.

2009 has seen nearly 2 million new cars registered in the UK with Decembers figure up 38.9% on last years. Experts and car dealers put this down to the success of the scrappage scheme coupled with the last minute rush to beat the 2010 January VAT increase.

Used car prices have also increased this year by 3.1% due to an increase in higher value nearly new cars being sold and the increasing strength of the economy leading up to Christmas. Why not brand your new and used cars with printed tax disc holders and rear window stickers from Portfolio Display. We offer a full design service with many different designs to choose from.

More interesting statistics that came out in the report are that average CO2 emissions for a new cars bought have fallen by 5.4% to a new level of 149.5g/KM. This reduction shows that customers are starting to think more closely about vehicle emissions and the environment.  For car dealers to take advantage of this we have a fantastic range of green eco slogans for our new and used car top display systems.

Over three quarters of the £400 million budget that was allocated for the car scrappage scheme has been used. So the Government is now set to impose a quota system to motor manufacturers for the remainder of the scheme.

There is now funding for less than 82,000 new vehicles so we expect the scheme to finish shortly as the remaining orders are placed. The allocation of order quotas is to try and ensure a smooth closing of the system.

The scheme has been a success which has helped to boost new car sales and also maintain jobs in the car manufacturing sector. The scheme has also had a good impact on the sale of new commercial vehicles, which have taken quite a hit when you look at sales figures year on year.

Portfolio Display can supply motor dealer display products for the scrappage scheme if dealerships want to promote the scheme during the last remaining months. View our forecourt display product range for ideas on how we can help to achieve those last few scrappage scheme sales.

Tata motors has reported that its sales of vehicles in December around the world was 74,707. This was an increase of 84% from a year earlier. Sales of commercial vehicles were also well up on last year with figures 137% higher that December 2008.

Tata motors is India’s largest vehicle maker and the producer of the world’s cheapest car the Tata nano. It also owns Jaguar and Land Rover and sales on these vehicles are also reported to be up 33% on the previous year.

This is excellent news for an industry which has shown signs of very poor growth on new car sales over the previous 2 years. Portfolio Display has been tracking the sales of new cars quite closely over the last 2 years and we are now starting to see more and more positive reports, after what has been an extremely tough couple of years for motor dealers.

Lets hope that we can see this sort of increase in new car sales with other manufacturers across the globe over the next 12 months.

Toyota are due to launch a ‘swappage scheme’ where customers can trade in their old car for a new one with up to £2000 saving on certain models. This is to replace the scrappage scheme, which is due to finish in February. Dealers will need to be thinking of ways they can encourage customers to part with their money for a new car when the scrappage scheme comes to an end. With VAT increasing and the new showroom tax due to come into place very soon manufacturers have not got it easy when it comes to increasing new car sales year on year.

We expect 2010 to be another tough year for manufacturers, but the dealerships who think out of the box may be able to spot an opportunity other dealers have missed. Recessions open up opportunities to businesses that think differently and don’t cut back on their advertising. Point of sale display should be kept up-to-date to advertise to customers current deals that are available. Many dealerships cut back on their display when sales slow down, which could have a negative effect as less customers will be attracted to the site.

We encourage dealerships to keep their forecourt display looking fresh and up-to-date as first impressions are very important.

1. Everyone gets stuck in traffic and the first thing they see is the car in front, rear window stickers are a perfect way to both advertise and brand all your cars leaving your forecourt. Our tip is keep the design simple, only display your company name / logo brief address, telephone and website as people will only read a small amount of text. Why not take advantage of our full in-house design service to come up with the perfect solution for you.

2. Every car by law has to display a road tax license so our second product is one of our extensive range of tax disc holders. With both advertising on the inside and outside of the vehicle this is a must for every car dealership and probably the first place people turn to for company contact details. We offer both self-adhesive and self-cling types in a great range of colours that can be printed with your details and logo.

3. There’s nothing better than receiving the keys to your shiny new car attached to a stylish quality keyring. This both gives a good impression of the dealership but also adds to the buying experience keeping your customers happy. Keyfob’s are an excellent way for you customers to easy get in touch and they don’t just stay in the car. The first place people turn to if the need to a service is there Keys for a quick telephone number or website. Portfolio Display offers a fantastic range can be personalised with all your company details and logo in a variety of marking techniques from laser engraving to metallic foil blocking,

4. Service reminder stickers are another great way to push your brand and give a professional look to your customers. People love to know when things need doing so telling them when they need a service or MOT is ideal. A simple logo and telephone number can be placed on the outside with the mileage or date of the service on the infacing which can all be designed to suit your needs.