Firm with a burning desire for success
As demand for renewable forms of heat and power continues to grow, one Hampshire-based company is leading the way in offering sustainable solutions for businesses and homes alike
Verdo Renewables UK produces 55,000 tonnes of wood pellets and 15,000 tonnes of briquettes a year at its Andover manufacturing facility, a figure which is mirrored by an identical plant at Grangemouth in Scotland.
The figures make it the largest producer of briquettes in the UK and, to meet customer requirements, it is also the largest manufacturer/ importer of wood pellets.
The company supplies a wide range of businesses, including manufacturers, hospitals, schools, leisure centres and hotels, as well as the domestic market, and managing director Nick Broughton says demand is increasing as people look for alternatives to fossil fuels.
“The market is growing enormously, fuelled in part by the Government’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), which provides an income to organisations changing to renewable forms of heating, making the capital investment attractive,” he said.
“Particularly for large customers, it is a huge plus because the cashback scheme guarantees income for 20 years, so the initial investment will be more than repaid, making this very attractive financially.
“At the same time, moving to renewables helps many large retailers and corporates to meet their environmental standards and policies, something they are keen to do, providing it is commercially viable.”
As an example, Broughton cites one customer – a major Hampshire-based retail chain – which installed a pellet boiler at its headquarters and, as part of the contract, insists that all the timber used in making the wood pellets it burns, is sourced from forests within a 50-mile radius in order to boost its environmental credentials.
The emphasis on sustainable supplies is essential to Verdo Renewables – one of its key USPs is that all its UK manufactured products come from locally sourced home-grown virgin timber. In addition, they contain no additives and conform to all necessary European certification.
Nick Broughton
Another major growth area in the commercial sector is the Combined Heat and Power (CHP) market and Broughton says a number of companies are now installing CHP boilers, fuelled by wood pellets, which enable them to produce both heat and electricity, making them entirely independent of external power suppliers.
Taking a leaf out of its own book, Verdo Renewables is currently looking at upgrading its own operation to a CHP boiler.
The business is a subsidiary of Danish company Verdo Holdings A/S, which operates its own biomass-fired Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant and electricity distribution grid, supplying (among other utilities) district heating to its home city of Randers.
Verdo set up the UK operation in 2010, originally with a view to manufacturing pellets and briquettes to ship back to Denmark but, on reviewing the project, decided to develop the UK market instead, at which point Broughton joined the team.
Supporting the business throughout has been Barclays, as Broughton explains: “Barclays have been our bankers since day one and we have a good working relationship with them.
"Most recently, they have been assisting us to secure a long-term leasehold on one of our two properties in Andover.
“Originally, the investment came from our parent company, so the business strategy was focused on procuring manufacturing solutions and equipment from all over the world. Barclays helped us in areas such as currency transactions and letters of credit, and now they provide services including day-to-day banking facilities and merchant services.”
Today, the Andover and Grangemouth facilities, which both opened in 2010, employ 30 people each, with a further dozen office staff in Hampshire.
As the boom in wood burning and multi-fuel stoves in the domestic market shows no sign of
Barclays is a trading name of Barclays Bank PLC and its subsidiaries. Barclays Bank PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (Financial Services Register No 122702). Registered in England. Registered number is 1026167 with registered office at 1 Churchill Place, London E14 5HP. April 2016.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH COAST – APRIL 2016
slowing down, Broughton says the challenge now is to convert many more UK householders to the benefits of briquettes over traditional firewood and coal.
“Our briquettes are unique to the UK and we’ve done all the hard work, so when they burn, they provide a fantastic consistent heat quality and produce less ash,” he said. “In Europe, briquettes are much more widely used, every supermarket stocks them, yet here, it tends to be seen as a more seasonal product and that’s something we want to change.
“With so much less moisture than wood in its natural state, just one briquette can burn for up to two hours, making them more economical and longer lasting than traditional seasoned logs, as well as being much easier and cleaner to use.”
The company provides a home delivery service through a nationwide network of distributors and has stockist details online.
Details:
David Abbott 07775-540386
david.abbott@barclays.com www.barclays.com
Nick Broughton 01264-342009
sales@verdorenewables.co.uk www.verdorenewables.co.uk
business success
The views expressed in this article are the views of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Barclays Bank PLC Group nor should they be taken as statements of policy or intent of the Barclays Bank PLC Group. The Barclays Bank PLC Group takes no responsibility for the veracity of information contained in the third part guides or articles and no warranties or undertakings of any kind, whether express or implied, regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information given. The Barclays Bank PLC Group takes no liability for the impact of any decisions made based on information contained and views expressed.
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