Voltage optimisation technology being installed in several printers is expected to save them 15 to 20 per cent of their energy use.

The technology by BJ Ball’s new environmental services division e3 systematically optimises and cleans the power buildings draw from the grid to bring the voltage supplied in line with what is required.

Environmental services consultant Phil Lawrence, who is working with BJ Ball on the e3 project, says voltage optimisation is being installed in six printing companies with ten more close to being installed.

The NSW Government is also interested in implementing the e3 project on its own infrastructure.

“These printers will save 15 per cent on their power bills and some about 20 per cent. A 25 per cent reduction is possible in extreme cases,” he says.

“Some printers have $600,000-700,000 annual energy costs so this will put significant amounts back onto their bottom line.”

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According to Lawrence, 43 per cent of energy supplied to a business or home is wasted and this leads to more energy consumption which is even more costly and produces even more energy wastage.

As voltage from the main electricity supply is often higher than necessary for most equipment, lowering and stabilising the voltage can prolong equipment lifespan and minimise energy use, reducing energy waste and cost.

BJ Ball has partnered with the technology manufacturer Claude Lyons and has the exclusive Australian licence to distribute its technology – which is widely used in Britain and boasts clients like The Rolling Stones live concerts and Hilton Hotel Heathrow saving 18 per cent a year using it.

BJ Ball chief executive Craig Brown says the equipment is tried and proven in the UK print industry along with many other industries.

“We see the environmental services and technology space as an exciting bolt on opportunity and an extension of what we do as a paper merchant,” he says.

“We see our primary customer base, the print industry, as being a benefactor of this technology and the cost savings associated with it.

“The opportunity for us is to also bring other environmental services and products with cost benefits to our market and potentially other industries.”

Lawrence says he brought the idea to BJ Ball 18 months ago and after investigating using it itself, decided to offer it to customers.

He says the paper merchant will use e3, which has its own technical support team backed up by BJ Ball’s broader infrastructure, to develop other energy saving and environmental services products, for which he and the company will hold the intellectual property.

The view is to expand its reach around the world, with North America as the biggest potential market.

“The environmental services sector is underdeveloped and BJ Ball was thinking about diversification opportunities as paper is a contracting market,” he says.

“BJ Ball can try out new ideas because it is big enough and successful enough to have the resources, and if they work out the company has a new revenue stream.”

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