The Veka Group has been awarded the International Standard ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems.
The company claims to have saved enough energy in 2018 to power 750 average-sized houses for a full year.
MD, Dave Jones, said: “One of Veka Group’s biggest energy-related investments in recent years was a new substation that enabled the introduction of 81 sub-meters across the business. These give instant measurable feedback on our usage and any improvement actions taken.
“We replaced an existing transformer with a newer, more energy-efficient version which achieved a saving of 30,000kWh / year, and our operations managers have set energy consumption parameters for the extrusion lines which are checked every day. Significant parts of the extrusion equipment have also been upgraded saving 255,000kWh per year.
“An ongoing switch to LED lighting across the site has so far saved 350,000 kWh per year (or enough energy to power 75 average-sized homes a year).
“Refurbishment of one of the office blocks allowed the latest energy-efficient air conditioning units to be introduced, saving 30% against the originals, and background heat is provided via heat recovery units fitted on our compressors. Compressed air plays an important part in our manufacturing process and our compressors have been optimised via a new computer programme, reducing their running by 1500 hours per year without affecting production.
“Our energy-saving efforts also extend to our vehicles; a replacement programme means the whole HGV fleet is now ‘Euro 6’ and, along with effective load and route planning, this has reduced fuel consumption by an amazing 20% over the past 12 months.”
