Pictured above: (l-r) Tony Lear, President of Sandwell Chamber of Commerce, Richard Clift, Grants Case Officer at AWM, and John Whitehouse, Weatherite Chairman and Founder

A successful West Bromwich based manufacturer is facing down the recession and diversifying to produce the next innovation in sustainable combined heat and power systems, which have the added benefit of providing cooling when heat is not required.

Weatherite Manufacturing Limited, part of the Weatherite Group, is expanding and developing its existing factory on Credenda Road with the support of a £160,000 Grant for Business Investment from regional development agency Advantage West Midlands.

A leading UK producer of air conditioning, air handling, heating, heat recovery, and cooling equipment, Weatherite is creating the additional factory space, and investing in new manufacturing and testing equipment, to produce tri-generation or 'tri-gen' plants - the next generation in combined heat and power.

The project will safeguard at least 15 highly skilled engineering jobs and will lever in more than £640,000 of private sector investment.

Weatherite has invested heavily in research and development in recent years to develop 'tri-gen' plants. It has successfully applied innovative ADsorption chiller technology, which uses recovered heat from the power generating process, instead of electricity, to produce chilled water for cooling. Crucially, unlike other alternatives, it does not require the use of Lithium Bromide or other harmful refrigerants, making it environmentally friendly.

The ground-breaking technology can help to reduce a company's carbon footprint by up to 25 per cent. Weatherite has sole manufacturing rights to the ADsorption chiller in Europe.

John Whitehouse, Weatherite Chairman, who founded the company almost 40 years ago, said: "Thanks to the support from Advantage West Midlands we have been able to accelerate our expansion plans and diversify. We are now in a position to take advantage of opportunities stemming from the increasing importance placed on low carbon.

"The ADsorption chiller is a very exciting part of the packaged 'tri-gen' plant rooms and can be used in various other applications and across industries. It is more reliable and viable than conventional absorption chillers.

"A top priority for industry must be to reduce reliance on the centralised National Grid for its energy supply and to move to local, decentralised energy systems. We want to establish a major market presence in this area of technology and create a leading position on the European stage.

"The Government has quite clearly placed the onus on UK business to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and we strongly believe that tri-generation technology will definitely provide the way forward."

Richard Clift, Grants Case Officer at Advantage West Midlands, said: "This is a great example of how Advantage West Midlands is supporting projects that deliver the best returns on investment. It is good news in terms of business growth and jobs safeguarded for the Region, reflecting the priorities of the Manufacturing Support Strategy, which directs the Agency to support the development of globally competitive businesses through modernisation in key operational areas, as well as through diversification.

"The West Midlands is embracing the opportunities of the low carbon era and Advantage West Midlands is committed to investing in industry led projects that are helping to deliver the country's first low carbon regional economic strategy - the West Midlands Economic Strategy.

"In line with this strategy, innovative projects are changing lives and boosting the economy across our region. Innovation is one of the main challenges facing the West Midlands and encouraging companies of all sizes to develop new products and ideas is a key priority."

Tony Lear, President of Sandwell Chamber of Commerce, also supported the company's grant bid. He said: "Weatherite's growth is great news for the local community and for manufacturing in the West Midlands. This is a fantastic example of a firm seizing business opportunities arising from the growing need for greener and more sustainable technologies, products and processes."