Cutting Energy Use

Thomas Dudley is a fourth-generation manufacturer based in the West Midlands. The group’s five companies serve the construction sector, with a focus on foundry components and plastic plumbing
systems.

With 95% of products made in-house, the business is committed to UK manufacturing, local employment, and long-term sustainability.

Amid rising energy costs, the company faced an urgent need to reduce energy use across its energy-intensive plastic moulding division. As part of its broader net-zero strategy, Thomas Dudley conducted a full audit of the company’s plastics operations. With 36 injection moulding machines running daily, energy demand was high and variable. The audit highlighted five clear opportunities: upgrading heating systems, replacing fluorescent lighting, optimising compressor use, repairing air leaks and replacing two older hydraulic moulding machines with energy-efficient servo-driven models.

The data revealed excessive energy use during evenings and weekends, prompting behaviour change across the workforce.

Maintenance teams and operators were retrained to shut off equipment properly and take responsibility for energy monitoring.

A new online portal visualised live data, helping the team spot inefficiencies and act fast.

The planned upgrades are forecast to reduce energy usage by over 770,000kWh annually and cut carbon emissions by 156 tonnes.

That’s an estimated saving of £85,000 per year, helping to bring the payback period down and justify further investments.

Longer term, the savings will support reinvestment in automation, training, and product development – critical steps to keep Thomas Dudley competitive in global markets. The success of the plastics division has already encouraged the company to roll out energy assessments across other group businesses.