A pillar of support
May 1st 2008

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's advanced energy data management tool, Energy DataVision (EDV), 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

Steve Brown, managing director of IMServ, the energy data management specialist, explains how the service works. "EDV is an online energy data presentation tool which allows facilities and energy managers to monitor their energy data, within 24 hours of consumption. So, for instance, Medway's facilities manager can see if there has been an unexpected surge in energy used in any one of the three buildings on site and take remedial action immediately. In the past, the only indicator of energy wastage would be a larger than normal monthly bill. Medway could be charged for weeks of excessively high consumption, without any indication of where that extra energy was used.

"With energy prices rising inexorably upwards, managing energy has never been more important. With EDV this is easy to do. Energy consumers can use the data to verify their bills, improve their bargaining position with suppliers and encourage energy awareness amongst employees." Thanks to the cost-cutting energy management systems it has introduced, Medway has achieved substantial financial savings. For example, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) offers a Climate Change Levy discount of up to 80% to companies who are actively taking steps to reduce their environmental footprint. In Medway's case this meant a discount on its Levy of around £13,600 a year.

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, Medway's Engineering Manager, says "It is something we should have looked at years ago. We have installed energy-saving devices, such as a heat recovery plant to heat our pretreatment tanks – which saves around 48kW per year – but we still need to tighten up throughout the plant.

"With the EDV system, each of our three units is 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. Working together, we've saved 10% of our energy costs in a year.

"Talking to IMServ about our concerns was really helpful. Being independent and not affiliated to any specific energy supplier, IMServ did genuinely have our best interests at heart and the EDV solution they came up with 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."

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