Elephant Print taps into solar energy to slash costs

East Sussex-based printer Elephant Print & Display has installed 600 solar panels at its Lewes facility allowing its presses to run on renewable energy.

The panels, which were installed over the Christmas break, will cut the company’s electricity bill by at least 50% according to managing director Jason Gadd.

“We are really keen on renewable energy and low waste, as is our landlord and we couldn’t have done this without him. The panels feed straight into our units, which is great. It’s amazing to think the presses are running on solar energy,” he said.

The panels, which supply electricity across the whole business will save around 64,350kg of CO2 emissions annually.

The £450,000-turnover, five-staff business comprises two 56sqm units: one housing a studio with an Epson SureColor and an HP Design Jet, and the other housing a Xerox J75 and an HP Indigo. The Indigo, installed in 2009, is set to be replaced next week with an HP Indigo 5000 with white ink facility.

Gadd said that after seeing a 23% boost in turnover in the past year and an increase in business, particularly in wide-format, the business was looking to expand into a new neighbouring unit in the near future.

“We’re very tight for space - it gets pretty tricky doing things like nine-metre banners, like we’re working on at the moment, in such a small space,” he explained.

Earlier this year Elephant Print & Display added to its finishing capacity with an £11,000 investment in a Matrix 370P laminator from Vivid Laminating Systems. 

The 14-year-old business, which services mainly B2B clients such as local authorities and agencies, is targeting an increase in  turnover of around £100,000 to £150,000 this year.