food & beverage


helicopter engine manufacturers; water turbine engineers; biofuel suppliers and mechanical engineering companies to master wheelwrights; organic cheesemakers; purveyors of champagne, as well as household brands like Marmite and Weetabix. At the death of HM Elizabeth II and accession of HM Charles III, the 620 Warrants issued by the Queen became void, with a two- year grace period for businesses to phase out use of the royal mark on branding, packaging, websites, and signage, unless granted a new Warrant by the King. While the Warrant is, arguably, arcane - William Caxton, the King’s Printer, was granted one of the first in 1476 - there is still significant prestige attached, offering holders a point of difference from competitors and a perceived quality and trustworthiness, not to mention the export advantages that businesses, themselves, declare. In their review of the value of the Monarchy, Brand Finance estimated that, in 2017, Royal Warrants added £193.3million to UK brands’ value, with companies earning around five per cent of their revenue through this seal of royal approval. To qualify to apply, the Royal Warrant Holders


C


Association specifies that companies must supply products or services on a regular basis for not less than five out of the past seven years, making it a part of a longer-term marketing strategy rather than a quick win. Notably, they state, “Among other things, applicants are also


required to demonstrate that they have an appropriate environmental and sustainability policy and action plan.”


ompanies across a whole host of sectors held Royal Warrants under the late Queen, the former Prince of Wales, and the late Duke of Edinburgh - from


Given King Charles’ longstanding commitment


to the environment and advocacy for sustainability, it seems highly probable that this will become increasingly important for application success. Hosting an evening in advance of COP27 is a clear signalling of this use of the King’s soft power. And the launch of the Sustainable Markets Initiative shows his determination to work towards putting “sustainability at the heart of the private sector”. In this context, and in the current economic and geopolitical climate, there are multiple potential benefits to be gained by reviewing energy management strategies and looking towards Net Zero targets. Key technologies helping manufacturers


become more sustainable include Voltage Optimisation (VO), modern transformer technology, and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), all of which can help reduce energy bills - and the cheapest and greenest unit of energy is the one you don’t use. Considering the Energy Trilemma - affordability, sustainability, and security of power supply - there are compelling reasons to focus on green energy technologies. As a transformer-based technology, Voltage


Optimisation (VO) helps ensure that the supply from the Grid best serves equipment demands. The UK and EU regulate for mains supply voltage at 230V +10%/-6%, yet the permitted voltage range is anywhere between 216 and 253V. To meet legislative requirements, the Grid typically supplies energy at higher than 230V, but most UK electrical equipment is rated to operate at 220V. This higher than necessary operating voltage can damage expensive equipment, shortening its lifespan and leading to unnecessary maintenance bills, while wasting significant amounts of increasingly expensive energy. Combining new transformer technology with a VO solution can make a tremendous difference. And this is becoming increasingly important as the UK’s fleet of transformers ages, with 75 per cent still in use after more than 25 years, long past their intended design-lifespan. As the leading meat-free food brand in the UK,


Voltage optimisation installation UKManufacturing Winter 2022


Quorn has ambitious targets to become a Net Positive organisation. For Quorn, Powerstar harnessed the benefits of voltage optimisation and modern low-loss transformers to reduce energy consumption, save on energy bills, and reduce the company’s carbon footprint. Moving operations to renewable energy and reducing water and energy usage were deemed key to achieving their ambitions, and so Quorn approached Powerstar for advice on energy reduction at their Billingham manufacturing site. Following a review of the infrastructure, Powerstar engineers identified two incoming supplies which would benefit from replacement of the existing on-site distribution transformers. These inefficient transformers were replaced with Powerstar’s amorphous core distribution transformers, with integrated VO, to increase the efficiency of their high-voltage infrastructure while reducing energy consumption through voltage reduction. For Quorn, this solution has meant a reduction in energy consumption of over 10 per cent per annum, leading to more than


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