A progressive Padiham IT company has received support enabling it to forge ahead with sustainable plans for the future.
Rapid IT, in Wyre Street, was notified by Chamber Low Carbon, that it qualified for a £25,000 grant under the scheme. Their team can now set to work making substantial improvements to the building.
Jack Bannister, managing director at Rapid IT, said: “This comes as fantastic news for the business and we’re keen to get started on the improvements right away.
“We’ve been in the building for eight years now. In 2017 we bought it from Craggs Energy as we sought to secure our future here in the town.
“We’ve been doing a lot work during the lockdown period to refresh the Rapid IT brand, both in terms of marketing and internal branding. To get the go-ahead on these additional plans really is the icing on the cake.”
The works undertaken
A survey carried out on the former drinks’ factory, once used as a storage depot by Cooke Oil, found the existing Rapid IT premises to be in poor condition. It was in need of substantial improvements to both the building fabric and the heating and power installations, in order to improve its environmental performance and reduce carbon emissions.
As part of this work, consultants Edge Efficiency advised the poorly insulated roof and external wall cladding be replaced with a modern, well insulated and air-tight cladding system, incorporating high levels of insulation.
This would simultaneously enable Rapid IT to improve the energy efficiency and internal thermal comfort conditions. As part of this work, the building will be installed with a 30kW solar PV system. This provides Rapid IT’s own on-site zero carbon power source, further reducing its carbon footprint.
“Our ultimate goal is to become a carbon neutral business”
Jack said, “Our ultimate goal is to become a carbon neutral business, and this is a big step towards achieving that. With the grant in place, we’re now ready to start our journey.
“We have already contracted local contractors to go ahead with the works, which we hope will be complete within the next two months.
“It really is a huge investment in the business, in the area and in our staff. We look forward to a long, sustainable future in the county.
“Thank you to Chamber Low Carbon, Edge Efficiency and all our suppliers for helping us throughout this process.”
Chamber Low Carbon is a £6m European Union, European Regional Development Fund, part funded programme. It is aimed to help businesses improve energy and environmental efficiencies, introduce on site renewable energy generation and save money.
If you are a Lancashire based SME, Chamber Low Carbon have grants available of 30% to a maximum of £25,000 or 50% to a maximum of £15,000.
Contact Chamber Low Carbon to see if your business is eligible for a grant.
