Lowering the impact of our operations
Over the past sixty years our prime site at South Liberty Lane in South Bristol has undergone a number of major re-developments as the company has expanded its operations ten-fold. The original buildings have all now been upgraded with better quality insulation and enhanced natural lighting to make them more energy efficient, whilst the newer parts of the plant are also now sustainably powered in part at least by roof mounted solar panels. Our new satellite large panel laminating plant located at Clevedon, in North Somerset and our PRIMA Leisure parts and accessories business in North Bristol, are both housed in modern industrial units which comply with all current environmental building standards.
Inside, investment in state of the art manufacturing equipment such as CNC timber panel machinery, complete with a full extraction system, and bead application bodyshell panel bonding equipment has not only enhanced production efficiency and reduced waste, but has also created a cleaner, safer working environment for our employees.
In 2022, Bailey initiated an energy efficiency programme which included the installation of a new low energy LED lighting system at its South Liberty Lane caravan and motorhome production facility. The new LED fittings use 70% less energy than the previous lighting system, which not only comes with obvious environmental benefits but also clear economic advantages to be gained in the face of spiralling fuel costs. As part of the same initiative, at the same time, the company also switched to a 100% renewable energy power supply tariff across all three of its sites. Whilst more expensive than the standard tariff we believe this sends an important message on our desire to reduce our dependence upon the burning of fossil fuels for electricity generation.
In addition to introducing measures to reduce energy consumption Bailey is also looking to increase the amount it generates itself, by expanding its existing its own solar power provision. Most recently, this year, the company invested £400k in a second roof mounted solar panel array, this time at its Large Panel Laminating Plant in Clevedon. Consisting of over 800 individual panels this installation is capable of generating up to 333 kilowatts of energy, which is equivalent to approximately two thirds of the annual power requirement of this facility.
The first Bailey solar panel array was installed at South Liberty Lane 2015 on the building currently housing its Product Development Centre. Consisting of over 900 hundred individual panels this system is capable of generating over 200 kilowatts of energy to help power the company’s two leisure vehicle assembly lines.
