HMG Paints receive a Groundwork Resource Efficiency Review

GROUNDWORK CASE STUDY

HMG Paints

Resource efficiency review SUMMARY

 ANNUAL SAVINGS OF £28,000 ON ELECTRICITY  147 TONNES OF C02E  25 TONNES OF WASTE PER ANNUM

HMG Paints, an SME paint manufacturer in Collyhurst, Manchester, has saved £159,400 after receiving support from Groundwork Manchester, Salford, Stockport, Tameside and Trafford (MSSTT) to improve the way it uses resources such as energy and materials.

The company was established in 1930 and today it supplies paints and powder coatings to the transport, automotive, general industrial and marine sectors, as well as to other paint manufacturers, worldwide.

THE PROCESS HMG Paints was originally helped by Groundwork MSSTT back in 2007 to reduce its waste disposal costs by £7,100 a year, by arranging for used paint cans to be recycled.

Previously the company had been paying for up to 130 tonnes to be disposed of each year, but since the initiative was established, at least 640 tonnes of waste has been saved from going to landfill.

Earlier this summer, an advisor from Groundwork MSSTT, returned to carry out a fresh review of how key resources were being used and to identify further opportunities for reducing operational costs.

ENVIRONMENTAL BUSINESS SERVICES

Groundwork MSSTT Timber Wharf 42 - 50 Worsley Street Castlefield Manchester M15 4LD Telephone 0161 220 1000 www.groundwork.org.uk/msstt

GROUNDWORK CASE STUDY THE RESULTS  Groundwork MSSTT identified 60 different leaks Through carrying out a survey of the factory’s compressed air leak system, fixing these leaks has achieved annual savings of £28,000 on electricity and 147 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (C02e)  72 tonnes of waste saved per annum solvents are another key expense, so the review also looked for ways to reduce the amount that goes to waste. By introducing a new system for treating and recycling used chemicals, so that they can be returned to the production line, rather than being disposed of  Investment of a recycling equipment will save £27,100 per annum An initial investment of £30,000 was required to buy the recycling equipment, but the project will pay back in just over a year and the savings on new solvent purchases will be £27,100 a year  Annual collection and disposal savings of over £25,000 Through the investment of the new recycling equipment there will also be savings of 25 tonnes of waste a year.

“The EBP has given us at WFEL the opportunity to identify areas of environmental aspects for further improvement as well as helping us to fine tune those already working well to a high standard we strive to attain.

Without the help, advice and drive to achieve the awards of the EBP, WFEL wouldn’t have made the progress it has in such a short period of time.”

FUTURE PROSPECTS As a result of the interventions in the last couple of months alone, HMG Paints has saved £87,300 a year, and there is still scope to make further savings in the months ahead.

For example, replacing inefficient old compressors with more energy-efficient alternatives would require an investment of £25,000 but would pay back within two and a half years and generate annual savings of over £10,400.

Work is now ongoing to identify further improvements, with the support of a Groundwork Advisor.

For more information contact: Jonathan Crabtree Business Services Manager Environmental Business Services

PARTNERS

0161 220 1020 jonathan.crabtree@groundwork.org.uk