Builders Merchants Journal – BMJ Publishing to Builders Merchants and the UK merchanting industry for more than 95 years
Concrete block manufacturer Besblock has upped its green credentials by investing in a state-of-the-art sustainable wood burner.
Shropshire-based Besblock is installing the top-of-the-range wood burner, which will be fuelled by almost 5,000 tonnes of waste wood a yea,r as part of its wider sustainability plan.
Managing director Andrew Huxley says the new device will make the company’s Telford site more environmentally friendly.
“We specialise in manufacturing, curing, storage and distribution of concrete blocks and this process has traditionally used a gas-fired boiler to provide the heat for the curing ovens,” he says.
“This new burner is replacing our current gas-powered machine and will instead burn grace-C waste wood and utilise the steam generated to provide heat in the manufacturing process.
“It’s a really fantastic piece of kit and we can’t wait to start using it. But this is all part of a much wider business plan.”
Other ‘green’ measures include the use of the lowest-emission trucks and the installation of more than 500 solar panels which now supply more than 30% of the company’s annual electricity.
“Not only does the new burner develop the environmental performance of the business, but it also adds social value by continuing to provide a range of local employment opportunities both directly and indirectly,” Huxley says.
In recent years Besblock has invested millions across all of its departments to expand the business and enable block deliveries to go further afield, currently, the firm’s fleet of lorries travel more than 840,000 kms during their deliveries, unloading an average of 1,261 tonnes a day.
