mpg books convergence case study 30 07 10

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30 July 2010

Bodmin book manufacturer takes free advice and

saves six figure sum!

The UK’s largest independent book manufacturer has slashed its energy costs and

saved up to a quarter of a million pounds on new machinery, all thanks to free advice itreceived from Business Link under the special Convergence programme for Cornwall’s

most ambitious and innovative businesses.

When Bodmin-based MPG Books began to have problems with the main extraction

system in its bookbinding works, the company’s staff had to work hard every day to

clear the surrounding neighbourhood of annoying dust and paper off-cuts.

Neil Boucher is a head of development of the £18 million company, which has 132

employees in Bodmin and a further 67 in King’s Lynn. “What made it worse was that

one of our closest neighbours is the Environment Agency, who were not impressed,”

says Neil. “In addition, the way Bodmin has developed in recent years means that we

have residential properties around us, not other industrial buildings. This made it

particularly important that we resolved the problem quickly and effectively.”



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The first steps were not encouraging, however. “We always believed that the system’s

problems were the result of new bits and pieces having been added to it over the years,

which had thrown it out of balance,” Neil remembers.

“We said this to the two specialist companies we called in to look at it, and that we

thought the answer lay in properly balancing the system’s main fan. They disagreed,

and told us that we needed to install a completely new system, which would involve a

lengthy shut-down and cost us between £150,000 and £250,000 in new machinery

alone.”

So Neil contacted one of Business Link’s specialist Environmental Advisers, Martin

Woods, with whom he had worked successfully on several occasions in the past.

“Martin agreed that it was likely that we could correct the existing system for far less

money,” continues Neil. “He put us in touch with a consultant, who carried out a survey.

The advice he gave us was brilliant.”

This was simply that one length of pipe had to be replaced with one of a larger diameter

and that, as they had suspected, the fan needed balancing. The work took 90 minutes

one Saturday morning, and the total cost was just £3,500.

“What’s more, having the system working properly and efficiently has reduced our

power consumption by 29%,” says Neil.

“In addition, we have been able to finish our endless clean-up activities, which were also

costing the company a great deal of money. So it took almost no time at all for us to get

back everything we paid out, and we’ve been making savings ever since.”

According to Business Link’s Martin Woods, “This is one of those stories that shows

how important it can be to get truly independent and impartial advice on a matter like

this, where not just money but also your environmental performance is at stake.”



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Neil is delighted by the role that Business Link played. “This is just one part of the very

good relationship we’ve had for years,” he says. “They are always there for you,

pointing you in the right direction – and all for free. Certainly, this time it has been

remarkably easy to quantify quite how valuable their advice was.”

For more information on the wide-ranging help and support that Business Link and its

partners can bring to innovative Cornish companies under the Convergence

programme, call 0845 600 9966 or visit www.businesslink.gov.uk/southwest.

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Photo caption:

Neil Boucher is a head of development at MPG Books in Bodmin.

Issued by The Aurora Partnership on behalf of Business Link

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/southwest




mpg books convergence case study 30 07 10

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