Last updated at 15:08, Thursday, 15 December 2011

YOU could be forgiven for thinking the most remarkable thing about Gilkes is that the company was behind the world’s first private house to have hydro-electric lights.

Title
Author
Copyright

Description

But it is the fact that this installation took place 150 years ago which makes Gilkes stand out as a clear leader in hydro turbine systems. Now the company’s turbines generate electricity in more than 80 countries worldwide.

“We’ve been installing hydro power projects for longer than anyone else,” says Matthew Crosher, Gilkes’ sales manager.

And that’s not hard to believe.

The company was founded in 1853, long before anyone else jumped on the renewable energy bandwagon in a bid to benefit from government feed-in tariffs and subsidies.

“Back then it was just about generating electricity, not about generating renewable electricity,” says Matthew.

In fact, there are a number of hydro plants in the Lakes – where rain and running water is in abundance – which have been operating for decades.

“There’s a scheme on the back of Helvellyn, which has been there since the mid 1980s, we did that one.”

Gilkes has installed more than 6,500 hydro projects worldwide. The equipment is shipped from Gilkes in Kendal then assembled on site.

“We take them to these far-flung places in the world, but it’s our guys from Kendal who go to the sites and install them,” Matthew says.

Since the company was set up more than 150 years ago, two additional plants have been opened – in Houston, Texas and Japan. But Gilkes’ commitment to Cumbria and its head office in Kendal is unwavering.

“It does amaze people when they see the factory here,” says Matthew.

“People don’t realise what we actually do here; they see our wagons driving through Kendal and recognise the Gilkes name and branding but they probably don’t have much idea of what we do.”

And Gilkes doesn’t just manufacture hydro systems. The company’s output is split 50/50 into hydro turbines and water pumps, which are used to cool the engines in plant machinery like train locomotives and tug boats on the Mississippi river.

“We’ve been steadily increasing over the last few years,” says Matthew.

“We had an order book of £4m in 2007, and so far in 2011, it stands at £18.5m.”

Surprisingly, given the increased cost involved in hydro schemes, it is not just the developed world which is investing in Gilkes’ projects.

“It’s not just the UK, it’s worldwide,” Matthew explains.

“We are very busy in the UK but still 60 per cent of our turnover is abroad. We go to places like Africa too, everyone is short of power and looking for ways to use renewable energy.”

The average payback period – when the initial investment of installing a hydro plant is recouped by the energy generated and the investment becomes a return, is between five and 10 years.

Looking at the figures in more depth, it can take two years to get planning permission to install a hydro plant and a further 12 months for construction. Cost can be anything up to £150,000, and that’s before building begins.

But the rewards can be lucrative – each plant will generate between £300,000 and £400,000 a year and, as Matthew explains, hydro plants have a much longer lifespan than wind turbines.

“We have some plants which are over 100 years old and still operating. On average, our turbines have a lifespan of about 50 years.”

So it’s no wonder Gilkes holds the Royal Warrant for hydro turbines and in 2010 was granted the Queen’s Award for Enterprise. And although the business has changed over the last 150 years, it is still considered as a family-run firm.

“Charles Crewdson, our chairman, is the grandson of the man who designed one of our first turbines,” says Matthew.

“We have three types of turbines, one of which is the Turgo turbines, which was designed by Gilkes and patented in 1919. We’ve installed literally thousands of Turgo plants around the world, and we’re the leader in that particular type of turbine.”

Although a hydro plant sounds tempting, given the financial return and relatively short payback period, as Matthew explains, it’s not right for everyone.

“The problem with hydro is every site is different, it’s not as easy as installing a few wind turbines on a piece of land, it’s very bespoke,” he says.

“Sometimes people think ‘I’ve got water coming through my land, I can do it’ but it’s not always viable.

“Planning permission can be tricky, there are so many different surveys you have to have done – you have to check if there’s any bats or otters on the land... there’s no end to the hoops you’ve got to jump through.”

But Gilkes has found local planning authorities to be receptive. The Lake District National Park Authority, for instance, are “not against hydro” and although the LDNPA insists on certain design elements, the authority is keen to encourage renewable energy plants.

“Wind turbine companies get a lot of problems with planning because people get emotive about seeing lots of turbines but we don’t get that side of it,” says Matthew.

On the other hand, Gilkes has come across some obstacles when it comes to building on their own site.

Over the last eight years the company has submitted plans to redevelop the 20-acre site at Canal Head, which would include a supermarket in order to make the development financially viable for Gilkes.

But the company has come up against strong objections, and the proposals are no further forward than they were eight years ago.

“It’s a shame,” says Matthew. “But we won’t give up. There are three different applications for supermarkets in Kendal and one is ours – the others are on playing fields. It’s become something of a standing joke in the office and yet in comparison, when we built a new facility in the US within 10 months we had found a site, built a facility and moved in!”

But Gilkes is committed to Kendal and for the company’s 170 employees, a four-fold increase in turnover is a sure sign that they can be confident in another 150 years – and more – for Gilkes.

First published at 13:08, Thursday, 15 December 2011
Published by http://www.in-cumbria.com