Hinton, Perry & Davenhill

The business started in 1805 manufacturing clay roof tiles and the company has operated continuously on the same site since that time.

Client Summary

The business started in 1805 manufacturing clay roof tiles and the company has operated continuously on the same site since that time. The business specialises in the manufacturer of clay building products including, engineering bricks, clay pavers, roof tiles, quarry tiles and restoration pieces for historic buildings projects in the UK and internationally under the registered trademarks of Ketley Brick and Dreadnought Tiles. The company has supplied products for projects in New Zealand, Australia, USA, South Africa and across Europe, which reflects its capabilities in manufacturing products for prestigious restoration projects. Across the UK, the Company supplies products for the housing and civils markets, in addition it’s a key supplier for restoration projects such as churches, schools, hospital, public realm and civic buildings.

Participating In The Programme

A key plank of the Company’s strategy is to innovate to improve production efficiencies and significantly decarbonise the business. Since the start of its involvement in the Emissions Trading Scheme the Company has reduced its carbon emissions by 27% and seeks to go further through exploiting the waste heat that is currently exhausted to the atmosphere, thermal efficiencies, and careful monitoring of the energy usage of every piece of equipment. We see net carbon zero 2050 as a potentially existential threat to the business and are looking to meet that challenge head on.

How Rising Energy Costs Were Impacting Their Business

The operations of the business are highly capital intensive with investments in operational plant with long paybacks. The company operates clay preparation equipment, kilns and dryers, the kilns firing to peak temperatures of 1130 degrees C. As such it is an energy intensive business and had the challenge of navigating the recent energy crisis and the downturn in the construction industry.

Insights from the Energy Assessment

During the review it was noted that the site has a number of kilns and driers that use a high level of gas, one of these kilns has a poor level of insulation in its roof and should be replaced to improve efficiency. Due to the nature of the processes conducted on site the company generate a high level of heat, at present only a small quantity of this heat is reused in their processes and there is a massive opportunity for the implementation of a heat recovery systems. The site is currently unaware of their level of specific energy consumption and the specific running costs of most plant and their ancillary equipment. The site would benefit from an automated Monitoring and Targeting (aM&T) system to facilitate process optimization through reducing energy consumption. The site has a number of large motors in use that have actively had inverters fitted on them where suitable so there is little scope for improvement in this area. The site has some remaining fluorescent light fittings but already has a system of upgrading in place and the level of consumption of these lights is relatively low in comparison to total consumption.

Impact of Implementing the Recommendations

Recommendation	Estimated Annual energy saving (kWh/yr)	Estimated Annual saving (£exc.VAT/ yr)	Estimated cost to implement (£ excl.VAT)	Payback period	Estimated Annual carbonsaving (tCO2e/yr)
Installation of aM&T	540,767	£34,803	£85,000	2.4	100.52
Replace The Roof of Brick Kiln No.1	574,992	£30,417	£86,000	2.8	105.18
Feasibility Study for Waste Heat Recovery	201,106	£9,619	£30,000	3.1	36.76
Installation of Solar PV Array	109,260	£26,355	£200,000	7.7	24.58
Totals	1,426,125	£101,194	£401,000		267.04

Testimonial

"Reducing our energy costs and decarbonising the business are the twogreatest long-term challenges for our business. We are pleased to be working with Pro Enviro on this journey and for their guidance in securing the grants that have helped us implement a micro metering solution and make the improvements to improve the thermal efficiency of one of our brick kiln roofs. As an SME we need support, both in terms of financial assistance for the big investments we must make and in establishing a viable road map to significantly cut our energy consumption and emissions. Pro Enviro’s experience and connections in this world has been valuable and gives us the confidence that this journey is achievable."

Alex Patrick-Smith Executive Chairman