Telford factory fits fast EV chargers for staff and local community use
A Telford manufacturer has installed two new high speed charging points for staff and members of the community to power their electric vehicles thanks to council funding.
Fabweld Steel Products, which manufacturers access covers for the water, energy and security sectors, secured more than £8,000 from Telford & Wrekin’s Climate Change Fund enabling the changing points to be fitted at the Madeley factory at the end of last year.
FSP’s new equipment will be used primarily to charge electric vehicles and bikes belonging to the company’s workforce, but members of the public will also be given access to the chargers, where they will be able to recharge their cars at preferential rates during daylight hours.
Managing director Wayne Carter says that FSP are on a mission to make their operations as green as they can be, to not only save money, but to help the environment. He said: “We’ve invested £0.5m in making our factory run as efficiently as possible, and that has included fitting solar panels across our entire roof to generate our own electricity.
“We use this renewable electricity to power the equipment in the factory, but we wanted to keep the positive environmental impact going further. So, with the assistance of the Climate Change Fund grant, we are now supporting the roll out of EV charging infrastructure in Telford, by providing a resource for our own staff to encourage them to switch to electric cars and bikes, while also giving our local community access to a fast charger on their doorstep.
“This will all help to encourage more people to make the switch to EVs, which reduces carbon emissions and makes Telford a cleaner place to live and work.”
FSP’s high speed chargers will be going live in the coming weeks, and once they are available for public use, their location will be added to a ‘zap map’ to signpost them to EV users. Drivers will be able to recharge their vehicles to 80% in just 60-90 minutes (based on a 40kW battery) with preferential tariffs for local EV owners.
