North-west forecourt operator The Kay Group, which is ranked 24 in Forecourt Trader’s Top 50 Indies, has agreed a roll-out program with food retail energy reduction specialists, Enviroglow.

After a three-month trial at one of its sites in Blackburn, Lancashire, the forecourt group has committed to running the program at a further eight stores, three of which will take place before Christmas and the rest early in 2014.

The Kay Group, which trades its stores under Spar, installed its first full ‘Energy Reduction Pack’ in early August, at a cost of just under £21,000.

The pack consists of 45 different products, mainly focused around reducing energy used by refrigeration, voltage fluctuation and removing human interface, but also including LED lighting both inside and out.

The Enviroglow Energy Pack does not install doors on fridges, and claims that its collective fridge pack installation is more efficient than a fridge with retrofitted doors, when trading in a busy environment.

Richard Cox, managing director at The Kay Group, said: “When Enviroglow came to us with projections of 38.5% savings on our electricity costs, we were sceptical, but as they were guaranteeing a minimum return of 30%, it was a no-brainer.

“We had looked at several different solutions over recent months in an attempt to reduce our energy usage, but on a return on investment basis, nothing came close to what Enviroglow were guaranteeing and projecting. In the first six weeks, we were achieving figures well above the projected 38.5%.”

When projecting a saving to customers Enviroglow guarantees 75% of the estimation, or the difference is refunded.

Mark Crabtree, Enviroglow’s managing director, said: “There are no other companies in the UK offering a full, encompassing package specifically created for food retail. Our energy saving solutions are created by retailers, for retailers.

“The return on investment on our products averages less than 26 months. To put this in cash investment terms, The Kay Group were projected an equivalent 22% flat rate return and a guaranteed 14% flat rate return.”