SMALL design companies in Shropshire are coming together to compete for bigger contracts and so bring more business into the county.

Their talents and knowledge are being harnessed in the new ‘Web Orchard’ which uses their design services to compliment its own web designs and hosting services.

Most of the Shropshire businesses are sole traders or have just a few staff.

Now, explained Nathan Bensley-Edwards, one of the founders of The Web Orchard (www.theweborchard.com), these small firms can benefit from getting bigger slices of the business cake that they wouldn’t have been able to compete for previously.

“This is good news for micro and small businesses in Shropshire and, in turn, that’s good for the local economy,” he said.  “As a member of Creative Shropshire we have a network of design and technology expertise in Shropshire that we can call upon, giving the county a business edge.”

The initiative has drawn support from the Federation of Small Businesses, whose Shropshire representative Angela Smith said: “This is a fantastic project, designed to bring in new business that will allow smaller enterprises in the county to grow.”

Like its corporate imagery, The Web Orchard stresses its environmentally friendly credentials.

Mr Bensley-Edwards’s own business – Information Solutions Ltd, which employs three people in Swan Hill, Shrewsbury – is one of the first information technology companies in Britain to become carbon neutral.

Assisted by their business neighbours and clients, the Marches Energy Agency, they have committed to making an annual payment to offset the firm’s carbon footprint.  The MEA then buys low energy light bulbs that are installed in local towns and villages.

Nathan Bensley-Edwards and Simon Atkin founded Information Solutions four years ago.

The Web Orchard can be accessed at www.theweborchard.com.

ENDS   275 words

For further information, please contact:
Nathan Bensley-Edwards, of The Web Orchard, on 01743 367927 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

16 April 2007