The Benefits and Necessity of Being Seen as An Energy Intensive Industry

Summary. In the energy-intensive industry, rising costs impact manufacturers like EC Williams, a Birmingham electroplating firm. Despite over a century’s experience, they, along with others, hope for government support against these unprecedented energy price hikes.

EC Williams is a Birmingham based electroplating company serving businesses up and down the country. With a focus on zinc nickel plating, tin plating, and stay black plating, we have been electroplating engineered components since 1921.

Over one hundred years of experience in the industry has meant that we have built a resilient business model. It is truly adaptive to the growing and evolving demands of the sectors we serve. Along with our unbeatable electroplating services, our business has remained resilient. We continue to face significant challenges, including the energy crisis.

Rising Energy Costs for Businesses

Off the back of the pandemic and the events unfolding in Ukraine, UK businesses and households are facing huge hikes in energy prices. The global increase in demand for energy has resulted in a massive increase of wholesale energy costs. This has meant that businesses and households have little choice but to pay new rates which are only continuing to surge.

Impact on Manufacturers

Whilst it may be easy to assume that only energy-intensive industries are being impacted by the rising energy prices, in fact almost all businesses are being affected. Energy costs have increased by between 25%-90% for some. Consequently, some manufacturers are having to change business operations to accommodate the higher outgoings. Almost 6 in 10 manufacturers adjusting business practices in order to reduce energy consumption.

At EC Williams, we are working hard to ensure that our business continues to operate to the highest standards and meet the many demands of our customers. However, we too are feeling the effects of the rising energy costs. The electroplating industry as a whole hopes to be considered eligible for support for these unprecedented hikes.

Energy Intensive Industries

When we talk about ‘support’ above, we are referring to the support that Energy Intensive Industries (EII) are receiving from the Government. EII tends to be sectors that work with steel, chemicals, and engineering. But the term is essentially used to categorise industries where energy usage makes up a large part of their production costs.

What is the Energy Intensive Industries exemption scheme?

The UK Government formed the EII scheme between 2017-2018. However, it has had small tweaks made to it over the years in line with energy and economic trends. The scheme is a form of energy tax relief which allows eligible companies to have a reduction on their energy bills.

Electroplating: an energy intensive industry?

One of the main challenges our sector faces currently is the level of energy we use in our day-to-day operations. We are essentially a manufacturing company and without energy we would not be able to offer our electroplating services.

Energy costs are continuing to increase for our business and many others in our sector however we have not been deemed as an energy intensive industry yet. As a result, we are essentially ‘on our own’ when it comes to paying the rising costs of energy consumption, despite it being a pivotal part of our production costs.

The Benefits

The electroplating sector is keen to be made eligible for the EII exemption scheme. This is so that it can continue to meet the worldwide demands for electroplated parts without changing business practices. The sectors we work with require the highest quality standards when it comes to plated parts.

Our goal is to continue to guarantee this level of quality throughout all of our services. However, we hope that in the near future, the list of energy intensive industries will be revisited by the UK Government. As a result, a chance for other high energy-consuming industries to make the list will be given. Support with our energy bills will only ensure we can continue to grow and adapt to the demands of our customers with ease.

Contact us today

If you are looking for an electroplating company in Birmingham then get in touch with us today. Head to our website for more information or call 0121 236 2524 to speak to a member of our team.

If you have found this blog helpful, you may wish to read our previous blog: Environmental Regulations In The Electroplating Industry.