The 671 solar panels were supplied to the Bradford-based company’s site by Wetherby-based renewable energy firm Local Renewable Services and started to be operational in June.
Andrew Eastham, who is a director of both the Cartonage and Adwalton Holdings businesses – the latter which owns the Adwalton Business Park on which Cartonage is located – estimated the solar panels would provide over a quarter of Cartonage’s energy requirements when fully operational.
“We estimate that once the panels are up and running, it will provide around 28% of Cartonage’s electricity needs and we are aiming to get this figure to north of 33%,” he said.
“It will make a huge difference to the business and we believe the investment will pay for itself over a four to five year period.
“Our energy consumption was already something we were looking at as part of our focus on ESG, but the events of the past 12 months have sharpened our focus and accelerated our decision to invest in the solar panels.”
Eastham said the company was now examining how to add solar panels on other units at Adwalton Business Park.
The investment was financed by Paragon Bank, with a “six-figure” package provided by the bank’s SME Lending division to Adwalton Holdings, and arranged by Kyle Johnson, SME Lending business development executive at the bank.
Johnson said: “We are finding more businesses are looking at how they can cut their energy bills and enquiring about solar energy. We were pleased to support Adwalton Holdings with this funding, which will benefit the Cartonage business during these challenging times.”
Established in 1995, Cartonage designs and manufactures cartonboard food sleeves and folding cartons predominantly, for the UK food industry. The company saw its energy bill triple earlier this year as a result of the increase in prices.
The company has invested in several key production areas over the last two years to improve efficiency, which has now allowed it to implement measures to address the energy challenge, including condensing 10 shifts a fortnight into nine, helping to reduce energy usage while maintaining its output.
