Manufacturing is an expensive business, and it clearly makes sense to have a grip on energy usage and associated costs. With the help of IMServ, Kent-based Medway Galvanising Group knows how much energy it’s using – which means it can avoid unnecessary and excessive bills, while also benefiting under the Climate Change Levy.
Medway Galvanising provides galvanising and powder-coating services together with the self-closing gates found in parks and playgrounds. High-profile projects include balconies for the Battersea Reach residential and office complex and restoring the roof of London’s Waterloo station. With turnover hitting £8m, energy management became a critical issue for the company.
Steve Lovelock, Engineering Manager, says: “It’s something we should have looked at years ago. We’ve installed energy-saving devices, like a heat recovery plant for our pre-treatment tanks, which saves around 48kWh per year, but we still need to tighten up throughout the plant. With IMServ’s Energy DataVision, each of our three units are linked to a separate electricity meter and the office runs on a sub-meter. This allows for complete transparency across the site and has led to all departments engaging directly with their own energy management.”
With the help of Energy DataVision, the company can see, for example, if there has been an unexpected surge in energy usage in any one of Medway’s three main buildings and so take remedial action.
In the past, the only indicator of wastage would be a larger than normal monthly bill; Medway could be charged for weeks of excessively high consumption, without any indication of where or how the extra energy was used.
Major Savings
Thanks to the cost-cutting energy management systems now implemented, Medway anticipates substantial savings. For instance, the government offers a Climate Change Levy discount of up to 80% to companies that are actively taking steps to reduce their environmental footprint. With Medway, this could mean a Levy discount of around £13,600 a year. “Talking to IMServ about our concerns was really helpful,” adds Steve Lovelock. “Being independent and not affiliated to any specific energy supplier, IMServ genuinely has our best interests at heart.”
“Our Energy DataVision solution means we can now control where our energy is being used and how our money is being spent. I’d give IMServ ten out of ten for service.”
Steve Lovelock, Engineering Manager