West Midlands-based Rubery Owen, a leading industrial group, has set out plans for expansion after strong trading results over the last 12 months.

The company (www.ruberyowen.com) — established over 130 years ago in Darlaston — has announced investments in its Land Rover and Hyundai dealerships in Aberystwyth and in a new laboratory for its material-testing division in Brierley Hill (the latter will specialise in bespoke materials testing for a variety of industry sectors).

Rubery Owen also decided to tap into the expertise of Surrey-based Control Energy Costs Ltd (CEC — www.cec.uk.com) after an introduction by the Black Country Chamber of Commerce.

CEC undertook a review of its current and future energy usage, and this has resulted in substantial savings, with the potential of more to come as new energy management measures are introduced.

Kevin McGuigan, Rubery Owen group finance director, said: “Our seven businesses are all growing, and with that expansion comes an increase in the amount of energy we use.

“Traditionally, we were purchasing it separately for each division, but we realised that we should really be looking to buy as a group.

“In order to do this, we wanted to work with a partner we could trust and that is where CEC came to the fore.

“It soon became clear — after a comprehensive review that gave us complete transparency on the deals — that CEC could save us £16,000 immediately.

“With the increasing cost of power, it is important that we are able to access competitive energy prices, and having an expert on board allows us to obtain the best economies of scale.”

Liam Conway, head of CEC Direct, said: “Our success with manufacturers comes from our ability to get under their skin and understand their current and future energy requirements.

"We can then use our expert brokers to come up with the best possible deal, with transparency being key to all discussions.”