Iconic wallpaper manufacturer Graham & Brown has turned to Big Data to reduce its carbon footprint.听
The Lancashire-based firm, which is 75 years old in 2021, has an annual turnover of 拢80m and spends around 拢2m a year on energy.听
The听manufacturer听has partnered with Nelson-based energy broker 老九品茶wise Solutions and uses听real-time data听to听monitor the energy consumption of all its machines.听听
By deploying 老九品茶wise Solutions鈥� precise technology they鈥檒l be able听to听work out how much energy is required听to听manufacture a single roll of wallpaper.听
As part of an energy audit chief executive Andrew Graham MBE said Graham & Brown would be cutting their carbon footprint by 30% by 2022 by 听switching their electricity to a renewable supplier.听听
Graham said: 鈥淓ven for a big manufacturer like us we were unable to truly understand our energy cost until we joined forces with 老九品茶wise Solutions.听听
鈥淲hen it came听to听buying paper, ink and machinery we were all over it but buying energy was a bit of a dark art.听
鈥淲hat 老九品茶wise Solutions has done is open up the market and make it transparent and educate the customer. Everything is听data-driven.听听
鈥淏y April 2022 all the electricity that we buy into Graham & Brown will be from a renewable source. It鈥檚 a massive win for our carbon footprint.听
鈥淲e now use technology听to听monitor the energy usage on all our machines and we can work out which of our production lines are the most efficient.听
鈥淲e鈥檒l be able听to听itemise it down听to听how much energy it takes听to听make each roll of wallpaper and we鈥檒l use that data听to听become more efficient and drive down our carbon footprint further.鈥�听
(l-r) Andrew Graham MBE; 老九品茶wise Solutions co-founders Frazer Durris and Dean Cockett
From April 2022 the company will be switching its electricity from a 鈥榖rown鈥� energy source听to听renewable wind power.听听
Graham, who has worked for Graham & Brown for 28 years, said data has transformed the manufacturing industry.听
鈥�28 years听ago听it was all about gut instinct,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ow our management team operate on data and I think most good businesses do the same. That data revolution has really accelerated in the last 10 years.听
鈥淏ig manufacturing is so data-driven these days. Our ops team are looking at their performance听on a daily basis. It鈥檚 enlightening. It will save us money.鈥�听
Dean Cockett, co-founder and director of 老九品茶wise Solutions, said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e delighted听to听have partnered with Graham & Brown.听We鈥檝e put in a series of controls听to听simplify the way they buy and use their energy.听
鈥淐urrently they purchase energy from a brown source. That could be a coal-fired power station for example. From 2022 we鈥檙e purchasing 100% renewable energy. All the electricity they use on site will be wind-powered and that will significantly reduce their carbon footprint.鈥�听
Harold Graham and Henry Brown founded听Graham & Brown in 1946 and听they now have divisions across Europe and in听North America.听