Costs are slashed by hi-tech system

6:48am Thursday 30th August 2007

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An expanding manufacturing firm expects to save more than £2,000 a year on its electricity bills after investing in new technology.

WR Pressings, of Brighouse, provides tool making and pressings services to a range of industrial clients in the UK and in Europe.

The manufacturer, based at Springvale Works in Elland Road, supplies goods to the automotive, engineering and electronic markets and includes Sharp among its customers.

Set up just 18 months ago, the firm has more than doubled its workforce to 13 and hopes to take on more staff in the coming months. The new technology, an air compressor, is used a great deal in WR Pressings' work and was supplied by Bradford company Thorite.

WR Pressings called Thorite to give its system a health check and was advised to replace the compressor with a new, energy efficient HPC variable speed compressor.

The new component automatically speeds up and slows down to match its compressed air output, rather than continuously running at full output. The variable speed facility of the new compressor has enabled WR Pressings to save more than £2,000 per year on electricity consumption alone, while the higher quality of compressed air feeding the machinery also leads to reduced downtime.

Jason Hodgson, project manager and director at the company, said: "A lot of industrial work is actually dealt with by using air compressors and we often call up Thorite to help with this.

"The new compressor is very energy efficient and the investment was the best for that application. We supply all over the country and to firms in the area. We have also got customers in Europe, in Germany and Hungary."

Mr Hodgson was part of a team of five from the old West Riding Pressings business, which set up the company last year.

The new company took on many of West Riding Pressings clients when it closed and has come on leaps and bounds since its formation, he said.

The initial team of five has now swollen to 13 and Mr Hodgson said that the firm hopes to take on an apprentice in the near future.