FOCUS FEATURE


Lindhurst Engineering has created a ‘smart factory’


SUSTAINABILITY IN ACTION


WHILE THE UNIVERSITY of Derby and Chamber research was conducted just before the global outbreak of Covid-19 and its resulting lockdowns that have bulldozed our economies, the future appears no less green. An avalanche of regulations are on the horizon – particularly in energy-intensive industries such as transport, construction and manufacturing, which will impact how businesses operate, while the ability to win contracts for major infrastructure projects such as HS2 will depend on whether firms can demonstrate their green credentials. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted a


‘IF YOU CAN MEASURE SOMETHING, YOU CAN


MANAGE IT’ Sustainability is just another method of managing resources in a business, says Martin Rigley MBE (pictured) – whose engineering business is using open-source internet of things technology to reduce running costs at its Nottinghamshire “smart factory”. Lindhurst Engineering


has installed smart sensors – connected to each other and a server using Wi-Fi – at its 20,000 sq ft Sutton-in- Ashfield plant, which manufactures products including metal components. Working alongside the


University of Derby and Derby-based bespoke electronics developer Devtank, the company is now able to monitor gas, electricity and water usage, air temperature, humidity, light levels, dust particle levels and noise. Martin, a Chamber board member, says: “It’s told us


some interesting things already – there’s a coffee machine switching on at 1am every day and heating water without needing to, and it’s also showed us we can make some savings by looking at our working patterns. “People expect us to be a traditional black fingernail


business. It’s a noisy environment with fumes and people welding things, but we’re trying to make all the information that exists visible because I’m a big believer in that if you can measure something, you can manage it. “We’re still only at the data optimisation stage but


initial findings already suggest we could save £25,000 a year.” Lindhurst, a family business founded in 1985 to


provide fabrication for coal mines, has evolved into a modern engineering innovator providing a range of mechanical and electrical services for projects as diverse as the Millennium Dome, Cardiff Millennium Stadium and the Jubilee line extension on the London Underground. The company, which employs 38 people and has a


£4m turnover, has also worked alongside the University of Nottingham to develop a unique technique for converting waste products from farms into clean energy, and has made 50% savings in travel- related emissions and fuel costs by replacing its lorry fleet with more efficient vehicles. This led to it being awarded the top green award by


Investors in the Environment, the environmental accreditation scheme. Martin adds: “Sustainability is about managing your


resources. We don’t think there’s such a thing as waste – it’s just a resource that no-one has thought of a use for yet.”


56 business network November 2020


5% contraction in global GDP in 2020 but a similar bounceback of 5.4% in 2021, spearheaded by pro- environmental strategies like the UK’s own “Build Back Greener” plan that seeks to make the nation a world leader in wind energy and support 60,000 jobs. It reflects how, regardless of polarising political views,


the macro trends are moving away from fossil fuels and towards renewables. “We need to be pivoting towards growth markets, and


pro-environmental and sustainability is a growth market,” adds Dr Paterson. “There’s massive opportunities to step into those


markets and supply chains to sell sustainable goods and services. “They can actually build reputations and their own


market share at the leading edge of the new economic world, whatever that turns out to be. “It’s more exciting to be part of the future than part of


the past.”


‘DECARBONISATION MAKES TRANSPORT AN EXCITING PLACE TO BE’


One of the biggest drives towards sustainability is happening in transport – prompting Roadgas to pivot its business. Since forming in 2007, the Nottingham-based


business has supplied gaseous fuels to logistics firms and fleet managers. But a leadership change two years led to the firm zoning in on green fuels such as biogas, a gas naturally produced from the decomposition of organic waste. One of its headline projects was installing the


biomethane refuelling stations for Nottingham City Transport, which has built the world’s largest biogas-powered, double-deck fleet. In its first two years, the 120 new buses reduced


carbon emissions by 84% and saved 70 tonnes of nitrogen oxide from entering the atmosphere. Marketing director Becky Rix (pictured), one of


nine people in the company, says: “There’s a lot going on in this industry in terms of decarbonisation and it’s an exciting place to be. “The business is very different from how it


looked three years ago and the new focus on green fuels has helped us to survive and thrive because there’s been huge growth for these fuels in the transport industry.” There are numerous drivers for change, including the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation – which requires transport fuel suppliers to replace fossil fuels with renewables – and the UK’s drive to Net Zero 2050, which lays down the carbon budget targets for sectors like heat, electricity and transport in order to meet emissions reduction goals.


About 700 lorries on UK roads are powered fully by biogas, with companies including John Lewis, Ocado, Royal Mail, B&M, Kuehne + Nagel and Asda among those using green gas in a portion of their fleets. Becky, whose firm is also developing a range of hydrogen products in anticipation


of the future market direction, adds: “We’re not talking about technology that’s being tested, but something that’s already in the marketplace. A lot of companies have gas in their fleets now because their businesses are being driven by a sustainability programme, helping to deliver a green recovery.”


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