Gary hopes to treble his sales

Oct 7 2008 by Graeme King, The Journal

AN ambitious entrepreneur in the renewable and alternative energy markets is aiming to treble his sales to £30m in just three years after opening up a new £1m facility in Durham.

Gary Bowden heads up both Cleaner Air Solutions and sister company CLS Dual Fuel, and has taken the two businesses from a standing start in 2000 to sales of £10m this year.

Now with the green agenda gaining momentum all the time, and the economics starting to stack up too, Bowden’s businesses are thriving, with ever more growth predicted.

The managing director already employs 24 staff and expects to have as many as 60 by the end of next year.

Cleaner Air Solutions and CLS have recently moved into their new home on the Meadowfield Industrial Estate in Durham.

Mr Bowden is in the forefront of promoting and installing technology such as solar electric and thermal modules and wind turbine generators in both the UK and global markets. He has worked hard to get his expertise accredited and says he is now reaping the benefits.

Meanwhile CLS Dual Fuel is a leading authority in the supply and installation of alternative fuel systems for motor vehicles, such as engines adapted to use LPG (liquid petroleum gas)

Mr Bowden said: “The new 20,000 sq ft site will help us cope with the company’s rapid expansion into the new renewable energy market.

“It includes a new renewable energy technology centre which will showcase our company’s products and will also be used as a training facility for local schools and colleges. The Bowden Court complex also houses state of the art workshops for vehicle conversions as well as offering servicing and MOT testing for clients in a unique “one-stop” package.

“Our LPG conversion service results in cleaner, greener and leaner exhaust emissions and the significant savings by running on LPG as opposed to petrol at approximately half the cost per litre. All of our core products and services achieve reductions in carbon emissions with every customer who walks through the door.”

Mr Bowden believes the Government could do more to help the renewable energy grow more rapidly. He said: “To ensure sustainable growth, companies like ours need more help from Government. Recently, Gordon Brown announced he would provide more funding for the renewable energy sector.

“While we welcome the Prime Minister’s commitment, more needs to be done to simplify systems and processes to make this funding more widely available.

“In the UK, we do not have the incentives available to many of our European counterparts, and so we are immediately disadvantaged.

“We must act now to combine energy saving measures with energy saving technologies if we have any chance of achieving the ambitious targets that Government has set.”