Energy savings at Fisherman’s Friend cause sharp intake of breath

Every year, Fisherman’s Friend’s extra strong lozenges cause around 5 billion breath taking moments. Trident Utilities has helped make it 5 billion and one.

The Lofthouse family has been making Fisherman’s Friend in Fleetwood for almost 150 years, but as production has increased so has energy demand. Trident has been mapping energy usage at the site, with eye-opening results.

“Every business’s energy bill gives a very broad brush picture of what’s really happening,” says Barry Taylor, senior account manager at Trident Utilities.

“Energy mapping has helped Lofthouse of Fleetwood Ltd understand which areas of its business is most resource intensive. We’ve identified some surprising areas where consumption is higher than the organisation expected, and that has helped us accurately target energy reduction activities.”

Those activities began with the renegotiation of supply contracts for energy and gas. “We’ve put in place a more strategic approach to energy procurement,” says Barry, who has worked with the Lofthouse of Fleetwood Ltd board to ensure that the proposals meet the needs of the business now and in the future.

“We’ve helped the company buy energy based on the position of the wholesale market, not the deadline dictated by expiry of its current arrangements. We’ve also explored flexible-price contracts to reach a personalised solution that really fits the production of Fisherman’s Friend.”

Trident Utilities is also helping the Lofthouse family meet its obligations under the Climate Change Agreement. Like any large manufacturing company, Lofthouse of Fleetwood Ltd is obliged to pay the Climate Change Levy, a ‘green tax’ on its energy and gas bills. That tax burden can be reduced in exchange for a binding agreement to reduce energy consumption.

“Managing that agreement, and ensuring you stay on track to meet your commitments, can be difficult when it’s not the focus of your day to day activities,” said Barry. “But it is our focus, and it means we can concentrate on helping the Lofthouses lower their energy consumption (and the tax burden) while they keep supplying the world with Fisherman’s Friend.”