Finn Geotherm expands its workforce by 25 percent

Finn Geotherm has expanded its workforce by 25 percent in order to meet a continued growth in demand for the company’s expertise in the design and installation of ground and air source heat pumps and to ensure that it is set for the next exciting phase of its development.

The company, based in Attleborough, Norfolk, is one of the longest established renewable energy heating companies in the UK. It has carried out nearly 500 heat pump installations at everything from bungalows to large stately homes and businesses. This has helped homeowners and commercial enterprises to cut heating costs, to become more carbon friendly and to gain attractive government payments in the form of the Renewable Heat Incentive.

With sales having grown by an average of 41 percent each year for the last six years, and the business forecasting an expected £2m turnover this year, the company has once again expanded its team to take on two new engineers and two more sales managers. This brings the current team total to 20. The business is also currently in the process of expanding its office space to make more room for its new recruits, which will treble its footprint and incorporate a brand new technology showroom.

Guy Ransom, Commercial Director, said: “We started the business with just three team members in 2006 and we’re proud to continue to create interesting career opportunities within our rural community. In an expanding industry, where many new businesses are being established, it’s important for our customers to be able to trust their heating system to a company with demonstrable skills and experience. Finn Geotherm has built a superb team of experts and as a result has completed a great range of projects which show what can be achieved.”

The four new employees are engineers Richard Lee and Paul Heath, plus Lee Coomer, Domestic Sales Manager and Malcolm Kenyon, Commercial Sales Manager.

Lee Coomer said: “I’m delighted to have joined a team which has already had such a big impact in helping people to halve their heating costs and to benefit from the large government incentives available to those who adopt renewable energy.”

The company has just received notification that it has been shortlisted for the Commercial Installer of the Year at the national Heating & Renewables Awards, adding to its existing accolades including being highly commended as Air Source Heat Pump Installer of the Year at the Energy Efficiency & Renewables Awards in 2014 and winning the Energy Efficient Initiative of the Year category at the same awards in 2013.

David Alston, Technical Director at Finn Geotherm, said: “Our new employees know that a great deal will be expected of them. But we are confident that with the support of their fellow team members, they will be well up to the task.”

New employee Malcolm Kenyon added: “It is very inspiring to be part of a team that has already completed such a wide range of great projects. There are even more exciting times ahead, as there are a number of large and very challenging projects planned, which will stretch the specialist expertise of our team even further.”

Finn Geotherm has also invested in more vehicles and equipment to cater for the needs of these larger installations, including a brand new T60.140 New Holland Tractor, large scale trenching equipment and 3 new Toyota Aygos cars. It originally started by working on projects of around 10kW and today is working on projects in excess of 800kW, providing heating and hot water systems for a large range of industrial and commercial complexes, as well as for homeowners.

Guy Ransom added: “The key to our success has been our decision to specialise purely in heat pump technology. Most other renewable energy companies choose to diversify across all forms, but have suffered through the overpopulation of the PV sector. But we decided to maintain a stable operating base by focusing our resources and expertise on the area we felt would make the greatest impact on the environment and on our customer’s energy costs. It has also enabled us to develop an expertise which sets us apart from our competitors. This has seen us successfully complete challenging projects where others doubted heat pump technology would be effective.”

The company is the UK’s only approved installer of the state-of-the-art Finnish ground source systems from Lampoassa, and one of only a few ‘expert installers’ for Dimplex Renewables. In the last couple of years it has installed innovative heat pump systems at the likes of Octagon Business Park in Little Plumstead, the Longlands Business Park on the Holkham Estate, the Dinomote children’s play facility at Lenwade and the new Eureka tropical zone at Banham Zoo. It has also been able to provide ground source systems to provide all of the heating and hot water for large stately homes, including Gayton Hall, dispelling the myth that the technology is only applicable for new, well insulated houses.

With sales having increased from £274,560 to over £2,000,000 in 6 years, it’s an exciting time for Finn Geotherm. And with the expanded team and improved facilities the directors believe the best is still to come.