The CEO of leading presswork specialist, Brandauer, is urging his fellow manufacturers to examine their utility costs after his firm saved £10,000 in just two months.
Rowan Crozier, CEO of Birmingham-based Brandauer, believes hidden utility costs can quite easily be eradicated if the right expertise is sought and if companies aren’t afraid to ask questions.
Classed as an intensive energy user, Brandauer tapped into the expertise of utility management specialist, Control Energy Costs (CEC) to explore the process and was surprised at how quickly it was able to identify pricing issues, incorrect billing and opportunities for smarter energy management.
This led to more than £10,000 of savings within a few months of the relationship starting, with the option to generate further savings when the supply contracts are up for renewal.
Crozier explained: “We manufacture millions of components for the automotive, domestic goods, electronics, plumbing and renewable sectors every week so you can see how energy is a massive overhead for us…the fact costs are rising all the time can really impact on our ability to compete globally.
“There are some things we can’t do anything about, but there is a massive opportunity for us to look at our combined utility costs of electricity, gas and water to see if there are ways where savings can be made or supply issues that can be addressed.”
CEC’s initial audit of Brandauer’s utility costs immediately uncovered a £5,000 refund due to a wrong agreement, as well as a £4,200 mid-contract saving.
Mark Stephenson, CEC analyst and lead on the Brandauer contract, added: There was also a couple of billing issues we’ve put right and I’m going to be continually monitoring the relationships and charges…all of this will be done with very little input from Brandauer, ensuring staff stay focused on their day jobs.”
According to Crozier, the money saved will be invested in growing Brandauer’s motor lamination business and the launch of Elopin®, a new technology developed to allow the solderless connection of terminal pins to a PCB.
