Introduction
Tuffa UK Ltd produce plastic and steel tanks in a range of sizes and colours for offering storage solutions for all types of liquids throughout the UK and Europe. Tanks are manufactured bespoke for both individuals and businesses.
The main buildings onsite are owned by the company and consist of 2 main adjoining factory areas that are a steel portal and metal frame construction erected in the 1990’s. In addition, there is an integral office attachment constructed of brick which extends along the southern edge of the site.
Charlie Goring, Marketing Manager at Tuffa Ltd said, “With the support of Sben we have been able to introduce further energy efficiency measures to further reduce our carbon footprint. Our plastic workshop has its own micro-climate taking a considerable amount of time and energy to warm up which is wasted during the laborious process of manually opening and closing our indus
trial doors. Often, it’s simply not practical to close the doors at all due to the number of tanks leaving the workshop and the considerable time it takes to open and close the doors. During colder months this has led to real problems with the heating on full for long periods of time. With the installation of our new roller shutter doors our tanks can be manoeuvred in and out the workshop in a matter of seconds, so the warm air has no chance to escape. This has led to a warmer environment in the workshop, tangible savings on fuel and most importantly is a small step to achieving carbon emission aims.”
LCBEP Recommendation
LCBEP specialist low carbon consultant ProEnviro Ltd visited Tuffa UK Ltd to undertake a free LCBEP energy review to assess the benefits of installing a fast-acting roller shutter door in the plastics manufacturing area and to establish if infra-red heating was a viable option.
Installation of Fast Acting Roller Shutter Door
The installation of fast acting roller shutter doors with controls that are appropriate to the company would reduce the heat loss form the building and reduce the energy consumed by the warm air heater in the plastics manufacturing area of the factory
The Carbon Trust state that “with doors closed more often, companies could save as much as 20% of the energy used for heating or cooling their buildings.” It is believed that the nature of the building, the location of the door in relation to the heater and the amount of time the door is open, associated with the installation of a fast-acting door could reduce energy consumption by 40%.
LCBEP Grant
Tuffa Ltd., successfully applied for a grant for installing Fast Acting Roller Shutter Doors, which totalled £7,500 and received their grant of £4,500 in Jan 2020.
Taking into account Tuffa UK Ltd contribution of £3,000 and their estimated annual savings of £2,904, their project payback period is calculated as 3.4 years!
The Low Carbon Business Evolution Programme (LCBEP) is supporting businesses across Stoke on Trent & Staffordshire LEP reduce their carbon footprint and increase energy efficiency. This project is part funded with support from the European Regional Development Fund Programme 2014 – 2020 and delivered by Staffordshire County Council in partnership with Keele University, along with our specialist consultant ProEnviro Ltd.