Manufacturer grows turnover by 80 per cent after innovating through Covid-19

A Lancashire company which manufactures energy management systems has set its sight on continued high growth following rapid expansion over the past 18 months.

Chorley-based EnergyAce manufactures energy saving systems, helping businesses to reduce costs and improve their carbon efficiency. The firm has grown around 80 per cent after developing a range of new products and services as its customer base was hit by Covid-19.

EnergyAce received support through the pandemic from Two Zero’s Scaleup Resurgence programme and the company has now set its sight on continued fast growth over the coming years.

Gary Vizard, managing director, EnergyAce, said: “We typically operated at a high price point when comparing our products with some foreign imports and when Covid-19 hit we found that many of our customers were less interested in orders due to strains on their own business.

“We identified a portion of the market which was reliant on imported products and suffering from supply chain issues. We were able to source cost effective components, made some modifications to how we manufactured and developed a new product to market to these companies on the basis that it was British manufactured.

“That has been the main driver of our growth.”

Before Covid-19 hit, EnergyAce was growing turnover at around 20 per cent per year. After an initial stunt in growth during the early weeks of Covid, the company recovered to record 80 per cent turnover growth for the 2020-21 financial year.

Two Zero is a Lancashire County Council led scaleup partnership and helps the leaders of Lancashire scaleup businesses realise their ambition by delivering programmes, providing access to inspirational and educational resources and opportunities to network with other scaleup leaders.

The Scaleup Resurgence programme was designed to support scaleup companies in Lancashire through the Covid-19 pandemic and return them to their scaleup trajectory as quickly as possible. Gary and the EnergyAce leadership team received guidance on cashflow, as well as the development of growth KPIs to help the firm return to growth.

“As part of the strategy, we worked with Two Zero to implement a new ERP system. We also received support through the programme to assess a number of finance options available during the pandemic and were granted a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) loan. That really helped us to manage the downturn and invest in our future growth.”

EnergyAce is now focused on continuing its strong growth of at least 20 per cent year-on-year rise in turnover. To support its continued expansion, the company has grown staff numbers steadily over the past two years, with six new starters across a range of roles taking the company’s total employees to 17.

It is also developing new products for the export market as a catalyst for its future growth.

“We want to promote an EnergyAce product in a box type service which we can send anywhere in the world. The idea we are developing is that companies using the service can pay us a licence fee to help manage their energy management.”

County Councillor Aidy Riggott, cabinet member for economic development and growth, Lancashire County Council, said: “EnergyAce is a brilliant example of a company which is thriving in Lancashire. Scaleup companies are a vital part of our local economy and through Two Zero and our other support services, Lancashire County Council has invested to provide the best possible environment for these fast-growing firms.

“We hope we can continue to support EnergyAce as they progress on their inspiring business growth journey.”

For more information about Two Zero, please visit: https://www.twozerolancs.com/