Rowan Crozier (pictured left), CEO of Birmingham-based Brandauer — one of the UK’s leading presswork specialists — is urging his fellow manufacturers to take a closer look at their utility costs after his firm saved £10,000 in just two months.

He says that savings can be quite easily made if the right expertise is sought, and if companies are not afraid to ask questions.

Brandauer tapped into the expertise of Control Energy Costs (CEC) — a specialist in utility management, procurement and support services that was quickly able to identify pricing issues, incorrect billing and opportunities for smarter energy management.

This led to over £10,000 of savings within a few months of the relationship starting, with the option to save thousands more when the supply contracts are up for renewal.

Mr Crozier said: “We manufacture millions of components for the automotive, domestic goods, electronics, plumbing and renewable sectors every week, so energy is a massive overhead for us; and the fact that costs are rising all the time can really impact on our ability to compete globally.”

“There are some things we can’t do anything about, but there is a massive opportunity for us to look at our combined utility costs of electricity, gas and water to see if there are ways to make savings or supply issues that can be addressed. This is where CEC has been so important.”

CEC works with more than 450 manufacturers across the UK every year, providing a full utility management, procurement and site works service covering electricity, gas, water and associated costs.

Its analysts provide an initial no-obligation audit and then work with the customer to identify existing issues, plus opportunities to reduce bills or secure better supply contracts. The company earns its fees by taking a share of the savings made.