A pipe-fitting manufacturing plant is set to go green thanks to funding from HSBC bank.
Family-owned Flowflex Components makes brass fittings for pipes used in plumbing and heating supplies, and has received a six-figure funding package from HSBC UK to support the installation of 990 solar panels on its premises in Buxton, Derbyshire.
When installed, the photovoltaic solar panels will deliver a peak capacity of 376 kilowatts for business operations.
Management hope it will help them offset 64 tonnes in carbon emissions over the next year, with the solar panels providing around 15 per cent of the business’s electricity usage.
Flowflex Components financial director Richard Wilcock said: “As a large local employer with customers in the UK, Europe and the Middle East we have always had a genuine commitment to sustainability.
“The installation of solar panels is a big step forward for us, and thanks to HSBC UK funding, we will soon be able to substitute a sizeable amount of our current energy usage with green energy.”
Richard Beaumont, corporate relationship manager at HSBC UK, said: “We are delighted to be funding Flowflex Component’s installation of solar panels with funding from our Green SME Fund.
“This investment will generate immediate cost savings and we are very proud to support Flowflex Components in achieving its sustainability targets.
“This funding has been secured from the £15 billion HSBC UK SME Fund, a ring-fenced fund for small and medium sized businesses to support local economies and increase employment opportunities across the UK.”
Founded in 1954, Flowflex Components supplies products all around the world, providing manufacture alongside technical support for customers and major wholesalers.
