Itasco Precision Ltd - Winner of "Best Newcomer" in the Green Business Fife Awards 2009
Itasco Precision Ltd may have won the "Best Newcomer" title at this year's Green Business Fife Awards, but this four year old precision weld cladding and machining company shrugged off their "novice" status on environmental management some time ago as the Directors realised that good environmental practice really is good for business.
Russell Davies, Manufacturing Director and Jim Mullen, Operations Director took over Itasco from its previous management just four years ago. Introducing weld cladding to the operation took them into the oil and gas sector as their main market. Despite some perceptions of the oil and gas industry as "dirty", the companies have rigorous and demanding environmental standards that they apply right throughout the supply chain. Initially, good green and health and safety practices made sense in order to satisfy the customer, but Russell can pinpoint a call in June 2006 which took their environmental considerations to a whole new level.
Advice and Help Available
A call from the Business Environment Partnership (BEP) introduced him to the significant savings that the company could make by adopting some new practices. The BEP conducted a free survey of the company buildings and presented the Directors with the business case for making some changes. "Once it was there in black and white, it was a no-brainer," said Russell. "Who wouldn't want to save £12,000 a year on their electricity bill?"
The Glenrothes Itasco building was constructed in the 1970s and the heating and hot water system all originated back to the same time. The BEP acted as a central source of information for Itasco - guiding them towards the Energy Saving Trust and advising them on how to access interest free loans to make the changes.
Tangible Cost Savings
Before the BEP came along, Itasco paid between £5,000 and £6,000 per month in electricity bills. By taking 174 old lights out and replacing them with 102 lights, which operate in zones when required, instead of all 174 lights on 24 hours a day, the company saves £12,000 each year. The initial work cost around £10,000, funded through an interest free loan, but paid for itself in the first year. The machinery also operates on a more efficient zoning basis.
The oil heating system also dated back to the 1970s, using vast quantities of oil, stored in colossal tanks outside the building. Again the BEP made recommendations to the company and Itasco opted to move from oil to propane fuelled heating, creating cleaner, greener and ultimately most cost effective heating. The project cost approximately £10,000 and will pay for itself financially in five years.
A new air compressor to replace the 20-year-old model that came with the company will improve efficiency and environmental performance, with all costs recouped in about 18 months.
In accounting terms the new initiatives make sense, especially when added to the green accounting, which reckons that Itasco are saving 102 tonnes of C02 emissions every year.
Recycling
Recycling is managed throughout the company, from paper and cardboard recycling in the office to metal waste turned into more metal in Kirkcaldy. The company uses a tonne of metal wire a month, which is delivered on plastic spools. Nowadays, supplying them, free of charge, to a company for use as material to make polypropylene quilts for bedding, recycles these plastic spools. They are a steady supply of free material and their use elsewhere saves Itasco the cost of landfill.
Future Projects
Amongst the 34 staff, the message is being embraced as they recognise that a more efficient company brings greater benefits in terms of customer satisfaction, productivity and job security. Itasco now has a member of staff investigating new opportunities to make changes, which include an ambitious project to tackle the heat treatment process. This involves temperatures up to 650o C as part of the manufacturing process and Davies hopes that the heat can be recycled to heat the buildings and the hot water. The next project to consider is the development of a central coolant system, which would bring considerable cost savings and further improve the company's health and safety procedures. Davies anticipates that a central system would reduce the chance of spillage and radically improve efficiency, as workers would not have to spend time filling containers to take to the machinery.
Environmental Champion
Itasco has a corporate environmental policy published on its website for staff and customers to refer to but, with a committed champion to good sustainable business practice, like Russell Davies, it is unlikely that they will ever need to search it out. He is a huge supporter of the Business Environment Partnership and passionate about proving that a green business can be a truly successful business.