Business grant helps four companies to Improve Resource Efficiency

Date published: 24 February 2010

Four companies within England’s Northwest, including Impregnation Services Ltd, Ashton-Under-Lyne, have become the first recipients of the Northwest Regional Development Agency’s (NWDA) ‘Grant for Improving Your Resource Efficiency’ totalling £165,800.

The Grant for Improving Your Resource Efficiency provides an enhanced level of investment to small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs), to enable particular projects to go ahead that will contribute to reducing Co2 emissions and generate wider environmental benefits in the region.

Four companies have been awarded the Grant, including: 

• C Nelson Sheetmetalworks, Kendal - £22,800 
• AST Signs, Penrith - £47,500 
• Impregnation Services Ltd, Ashton-Under-Lyne - £48,000 
• Cabvert Media, Knowsley - £47,500

Grant for Improving Your Resource Efficiency is part of the Government’s Solutions for Business, the Government's package of publicly funded business support designed to help companies start and grow.

The Grants will allow the companies to operate on a more efficient, usually faster and more competitive basis, making carbon savings and generating jobs.

The Grant for Improving Your Resource Efficiency programme will enable Impregnation to consolidate 2 existing production lines into a single, more efficient production line that processes more products. It will create 2 full time jobs, while carbon savings will amount to 550 tonnes over 20 years at a cost of per tonne of £87.

Justin Benson, Managing Director, Impregnation Services Ltd said: “We are delighted to have been successful in our application for a Grant to improve our resource efficiency. The grant has given us the opportunity to improve our process, capability and in doing so reduce the running costs to our business and the environment. The new process line will increase capacity at Impregnation Services whilst using fewer resources. Consideration was given to each element of the design in order to achieve optimum resource efficiency.

“The teams at Groundwork and NWDA have been really supportive and, we are all hopeful that the planned efficiencies will give us the competitive edge required to grow our business and bring more employment to the area.”

Mark Hughes, Executive Director of Economic Development, NWDA said: “It is becoming increasingly important for businesses to reduce their carbon footprint and become more energy efficient. One of the easiest ways to do this is by streamlining operations and using resources in an economically sound and efficient way. This will lead to cost saving and increased production levels.

“The NWDA is pleased to be able to offer a Grant for Improving Resource Efficiency – it adds to the number of Business Finance options available through the Agency, ensuring sustained future growth for all businesses in the region.”

The NWDA is playing a crucial role in response to the current economic downturn, with a number of actions being taken to meet the needs of businesses during these challenging times.