Green for go at Brown’s

Nov 2 2009 by Kelley Price, Evening Gazette

A FORWARD-THINKING engineering firm has taken a major step forward on the road to a green future, as it takes on more work in the renewables sector.

Not content with massively reducing its emissions, fourth generation family company Francis Brown has become carbon neutral - by offsetting every ounce of the harmful gas it creates.

The Stockton company has joined up with the Woodland Trust to invest in tree planting and is busy helping its customers reduce their carbon emissions.

Managing director Jamie Brown, whose great-grandfather Francis founded the business 106 years ago, said: “We have cut out waste journeys and minimised movement of materials and are training our staff in ways to reduce energy, having an effect both at work and at home.

“But it’s easy for companies to put it on the back burner unless they assign someone as a dedicated green champion, like we have.”

The company, which supplies design, fabrication and welding to the oil, gas, chemical and subsea sectors, is gathering more work in renewables and also wants to build its portfolio in the nuclear power market. Around 50 staff are employed at its Portrack Lane premises and the company has a yearly turnover of around £4m. Mr Brown runs the company alongside his director brother Simon.

“A lot of our work now has an environmental slant. The green agenda is very much a growing area for us,” said Mr Brown. “We are involved in offshore windfarms, making subsea cable ploughs and working on transformer stations.

“We are also becoming involved in gasification of waste.

“With the industrial heritage and skills base the Tees Valley has, we are very well placed to make the most of the great opportunities coming our way from the renewables sector.

“We believe tidal and nuclear energy will be the big ones, that’s where the future lies.”

He added: “Our carbon lowering will put us ahead of the competition with customers that are serious about becoming more green and changing the way they work.”