Th e future looks bright for

Having spotted the potential of the electric vehicle charging market back in 2013, Airdrie fi rm

BMM Energy Solutions

is now entering a period of rapid growth as the sector takes off

ELECTRIC DREAMS

The announcement that the Scottish government will ban the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2032 – a full eight years ahead of the rest of the UK – is a further boost for the electric vehicle (EV) sector, and those contractors specialising in the installation of charge points in particular.

For Airdrie-based BMM Energy Solutions, it is just the latest in a series of events that has helped the industry to take off over the past two years and catapulted the business into a period of rapid growth. “In 2016, after the Volkswagen scandal, there was lots of talk about car manufacturers making pure electric or hybrid models, and we could see that the market really was going to take off ,” says Terry Mohammed, operations director.

Business started to pick up in the fi nal quarter of 2016 with installations of ABB rapid chargers for Edinburgh Council, and the fi rm is currently working to assess 500 homes for EV charging points on behalf of Inchcape, a large fl eet provider to the public sector. It has also recently won contracts for Transport Scotland, the NHS and ScotRail, where it will fi t points at 52 stations across the country for Chargemaster.

It hasn’t always been this way. Th e company grew out of a family civil engineering fi rm run by Terry and his brother Mark, and stumbled across EV installations almost by accident. “By chance, in 2013 we were contracted to do the civil and electrical works for EV charging points for a main contractor who had quite a lot of work with one of the big six energy suppliers,” recalls Terry. “We started off doing maybe one job a month, and it gathered momentum and we ended up focusing quite heavily on it.”

When the brothers looked into the market they realised there were only two other companies in Scotland that specialised in this area, and decided to shift the focus of this business. “In 2015 we changed the company name from BMM Contracts to BMM Energy Solutions,” he says. “Initially we thought we would do everything:

‘In the last two months our phones have not stopped ringing. It’s a fantastic opportunity’

solar, battery, EV charging points, brokerage for electric, but the reality was that we focused 100 per cent of our eff orts on electric vehicle charging equipment.”

GOING FOR GROWTH

Initially it was a battle to win work, the majority of which was domestic rather than commercial installations. But the recent explosion in the market made the business realise it needed to act to help take advantage of bigger opportunities. A fi rst step was to recruit Dave Mulford, previously technical operations manager at EDF Energy, to help win work in England (an offi ce in the Gatwick area is imminent).

Alongside this, BMM sought to put in place the management structure that is required to win

The BMM Energy Solutions team foresees more growth and is beefi ng up its management structure

high-value contracts, including with the public sector. “You need the organisational chart to show that you have the people in place who can deliver the projects before you win them, even if you’re running at a loss until you win them,” says Terry. “It was a real chicken-and-egg scenario but we knew we had to grow and we couldn’t do it organically, so we sold a 10 per cent stake to a group of private investors at the end of 2016 and joined forces to aggressively grow the business. Th at investment and recruitment really helped us, and allowed us to take on the manufacturers and large corporations which up to then had the market covered.”

Th e business has also sought to stand out in the market by not tying itself to any one provider, after initially working closely with Schneider Electric and Rolec EV. “We wanted to work with as many providers as we could, and that’s frowned on in the industry,” says Terry.

“It didn’t go down well for the fi rst 12 months with other manufacturers who wanted us to be exclusive to them, but they quickly realised that if they wanted to be part of our journey they would have to accept we wouldn’t just be promoting their hardware. Every manufacturer’s hardware has something unique and its own fl aws so it’s good to off er that choice to the clients.” Another unusual element is that BMM undertakes the whole process itself, including in-house surveying and design, electrical installations and civil works, without having to subcontract elements out to third parties.

BMM is still based at Terry and Mark’s family farm, but the company is planning to develop a presence across the UK. In addition to the southern offi ce and a planned 4,000-squarefoot purpose-built facility in Scotland, it’s also looking at a Midlands base, following on from successfully getting on to the Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation’s (ESPO) 636_17 framework for the nationwide supply and installation of EV charging equipment, which is designed to act as a source of contractors for any public sector organisation looking to install charge points anywhere in the UK.

“Th ey put out a framework in March and we spent a month tendering for it and we were delighted to get on,” says Terry. “It has an anticipated spend of £60 million over four years. Th e reason we’re looking at an offi ce in the Midlands is because the ESPO offi ce is in Leicester and it means we can get true nationwide coverage without having to put people in vans.”

FOCUS ON THE FUTURE

Th e growth in the market is already having an impact on BMM’s performance; turnover has increased from £100,000 to £1 million fairly quickly, says Terry, and he believes an annual fi gure of £5 million is realistic. “It’s very hard to gauge but we’re manning ourselves up with a management structure so we can deal with the infl ux of vehicles that is coming,” he says.

Th e company already employs four full-time electricians and is planning to take on both an

52: THE NUMBER OF RAIL STATIONS IN SCOTLAND WHERE BMM IS CURRENTLY FITTING CHARGE POINTS

2032: THE DATE BY WHICH THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT WILL BAN THE SALE OF PETROL AND DIESEL VEHICLES

‘In 2016 there was lots of talk about car manufacturers making pure electric or hybrid models, and we could see that the market really was going to take off’

Company BMM Energy Solutions Established 2015 Major projects NHS, ScotRail, Edinburgh Council and Inchcape

60 hours

admin person and electrical supervisor for the southern offi ce, as well as an apprentice for its Scottish team. “We also have a network of subcontractors in London, the Midlands and Scotland with between four and 12 electricians in each company, so we could call on 30 or 40 men if needed,” he adds.

Th ere are still wider industry issues to overcome, including so-called “range anxiety”, where drivers worry about their ability to get from A to B – something BMM has sought to address by using a BMW i3 to travel from Edinburgh to Monte Carlo and back in 60 hours. “Th e infrastructure is there and it’s getting better every day,” he says. “In the last two months our phones have not stopped ringing. It’s a fantastic opportunity.”