A chemical company turned to our team for advice when it planned a move to new premises.
The Scotmas Group, which specialises in chlorine dioxide solutions for businesses, has offices around the world, but it was the one it planned to move into in Kelso where they needed guidance.
Bosses had identified a large workshop on the Pinnaclehill Industrial Estate to be their new home, but were keen to modify the building by increasing the size of the offices to include an open plan area, as well as improving the existing heating system and assessing the opportunity for renewable energy.
CEO Alistair Cameron said:
“We needed to ensure that best practices were integrated into our major factory expansion in the early stages of the planning process.”
They approached our advisors who arranged for an independent consultant to carry out a detailed energy efficiency assessment of the new premises. The results were summarised in a report outlining the key opportunities to save energy, money and carbon.
Based on our recommendations, Scotmas has now installed fast closing doors and destratification fans, upgraded windows and lowered ceilings, and repositioned the heating system to optimise heat distribution. Air source heat pumps have also been located in the offices, and the company is about to install solar PV.
The changes have helped to cut CO2 emissions by an estimated 31 tonnes, a big saving of 31%, based on baseline energy consumption figures.
Alistair said:
“As an ISO14001 accredited company, we were very keen to ensure that any investments we made into improving our building are backed by the best possible technology to support a transition to a zero-carbon economy.
“We now enjoy a workplace with a significantly improved working environment and have been able to roll out free workplace EV charging to staff as a result of the solar panels.
“The specialist support received was invaluable, particularly being able to have a professional, dispassionate evaluation of the various technologies and their potential return on investment. We were then able to properly decide on the technologies that could suit us now, and over the next five to ten years.
“If we hadn’t sought advice, there was the strong potential we would have invested in very expensive technologies that would not have paid back, either in terms of cost or CO2 reduction.”
Scotmas funded the initial improvements to the new premises with the budget set aside for the move, but the company is accessing the Scottish Government’s interest-free SME Loan Scheme to fund the solar PV.
Alistair added:
“The service was fantastic and, combined with the SME Loan Scheme, really reduces the barriers for businesses considering adopting these technologies.”
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