How ENER G is powering the future

ENER-G is the Salford-based engineering company which pioneered the development of ‘combined heat and power’ (CHP) boilers more than 25 years ago.

This technology is now celebrated as one of the most environmentally-friendly ways of generating power while simultaneously cutting carbon emissions.

And back in the early 1990s, the company installed the Royal family's first CHP boilers in their two main London residences - Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.

Today, ENER-G specialises in manufacturing and installing a wide variety of cutting-edge renewable and energy-efficient power generation products.

In addition to being one of the world’s leading CHP boiler manufacturers, it also specialises in ground and air source heat pumps, energy from digester gas, landfill gas generation, building energy management systems - and much more besides.

And this privately-owned company - which was spun out of the former University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) - just keeps on growing both in the UK and abroad.

In the summer of 2010, it announced a £2m investment programme. This will double the size of its office accommodation and boost its manufacturing space by 25% with a new 12,500 sq ft building at its global headquarters in Salford.

Moreover, the investment is intended to enable ENER-G to keep pace with worldwide demand for its renewable and energy-efficient technologies.

Derek Duffill, group managing director, said: "Our innovative products and services are in demand across the globe - fuelling powerful growth which is reflected in a rapid rise in turnover and the need to expand our main site in Salford.

"Over the last financial year, we had sales of £127m - which was up from £97m the year before.

"During that period, we also established joint ventures in Italy and Romania - taking the total number of countries we operate in to 17.

"One of the reasons why we’ve achieved such strong growth over the past year is because 47% of our sales now come from overseas - that figure was 10% three years ago."

In addition to the UK, Italy and Romania, ENER-G also has operating companies or joint ventures in Hungary, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, South Africa, Mexico and Spain, with partners in Canada, Ireland, Portugal, Iran and Slovenia.

In total, it employs more than 760 people worldwide - a figure which Mr Duffill expects to increase to 840 over the next year as its new office and manufacturing facility opens.

He adds: "The new facility will greatly increase our manufacturing space while also giving us substantially more office space.

"And as the company keeps growing, this expansion of our facilities could not be happening at a better time.

"One of the main reasons why we’ve kept growing despite the challenging economic climate is because we’ve increased exporting.

"What’s more, we are about to take our first steps into the North American marketplace and we’ve also signed another joint venture in Mexico.

"In America, there are companies which do parts of what we do but no one there who offers the total package.

"For example, there are companies which do combined heat and power - but do not offer the full range of solutions we have.

Mr Duffill said that 'thorough research' is of fundamental importance when it comes to achieving exporting success.

He adds that before ENER-G decided to move into North America and Mexico it investigated existing opportunities in those markets 'for more than 18 months.'

He adds: "To be successful in exporting, it’s absolutely imperative that you fully understand the target marketplace before you move into it."

And Mr Duffill is also in no doubt about the future success of ENER-G.

"There seems to be a realisation at the moment in many parts of the world, that it makes a great deal of sense to focus on low carbon power generation rather than zero carbon generation.

"Our CHP units are 90 percent more efficient, conventional generation is only 40 percent efficient.

"I also think that one of the reasons why ENER-G continues to be so successful is because we invest in the research and development division to ensure that it remains ahead of the competition.

"In January 2011, we intend to take a new energy control system to market which will enable us to manage our clients’ needs even better.

"We intend to keep on giving our customers access to unrivalled technology that helps reduce their environmental impact while simultaneously cutting their energy costs."