THE NEXT LEVEL Pramac-Generac UK acquired Off Grid Energy in 2021. As the company
begins to transform the business in its own image, we travelled to Rugby to find out more…
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HN readers will doubtless recall Off Grid’s unique offer, in reusing ‘second-
life’ automotive batteries to create distinctive energy storage solutions. Similar tech is becoming more commonplace nowadays, particularly for inner city projects and noise/emission-sensitive jobsites. Small wonder that Pramac, alongside developing its own battery storage products, bought the company that was already doing it properly. Pramac has not just introduced ‘Lean’ manufacturing protocols, to improve productivity and minimise waste, but is upgrading existing equipment, launching new ones – as seen on page 8 – and is in the midst of rebranding and redeveloping the former site. While a new General Manager will be announced shortly, Pramac Sales Director (Mobile Products) Andy Martin is on hand to field our questions.
Firstly, it’s now a year since Pramac, part of the Generac Group, has officially acquired Off Grid Energy – what’s to become of the name and how does the company Off Grid fit within the Pramac organisation?
“We are retaining ‘Off Grid’ as a range name. This site will soon be rebranded as Pramac-Generac, and it will become Pramac’s seventh factory outside of North America.”
And how has this first year of Off Grid ownership been?
“It’s been educational, fast paced and very
“Off Grid was already geared up to serve the UK and some overseas markets, but what we’ve been able to do very quickly is open the business up to all of our subsidiaries worldwide, as well as major companies they might not have had access to before. We also have a global network of sales people, and a great many more storage and service facilities within the group. Demand has inevitably grown, as a result.”
A glimpse inside the new Pramac storage facility.
Historically the main fields of application for these solutions are events, utilities and EV charging.
Pramac Sales Director (Mobile Products), Andy Martin.
exciting, we have learnt a lot in a short time but we have also achieved a lot in that short period. From a Pramac perspective, the expectations for Off Grid Battery Storage are very high – but then the demand for these products is also very high. As such, we’ve had to familiarise ourselves with the range and the manufacturing processes, which put the existing team under a lot of pressure to bring us up to speed. I’ve personally probably asked a lot of silly questions along the way!”
Now that it’s part of the Pramac family, has the business grown in the last 12 months?
Do you see your customer base, or the demand for products changing?
“I think it will expand. One of the core drivers for buying this business was the increasing demand for more sustainable power generation and energy storage solutions. However, where we are seeing the quickest acceleration is in the rental and construction sectors, where we are already well established as a supplier.”
seeing the quickest acceleration is in the
‘‘
rental and construction sectors, where we are already well- established
The site was certainly a hive of activity on our visit, with busy production lines, staff attending to their duties diligently and rather less hubbub than you might otherwise expect – ‘Lean’ principles in action, no doubt. Has a more structured way of working resulted in greater productivity?
’’ 26 Executive Hire News - September 2022 …where we are
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