We are proud to announce we have been shortlisted for three of the 2019 RAC Cooling Industry Awards
The RAC Cooling awards are one of our industry’s biggest and most prestigious awards. A1 Engineering along with CLADE are proud to have been announced as finalists for the RAC Contractor of the Year Award, Diversity Impact Award and the Low Carbon Achievement Award.
Diversity Impact Award
In 2018 we adopted the policy ‘inclusive for all’ seeking to employ much needed skill sets and embracing the need to encourage women and ethnic minorities into our industry who are underrepresented in refrigeration. We have invested in the development of apprentice engineers graduate design engineers, and armed service leavers. The contribution from all our new employees is very apparent and is changing the face of our company and hopefully our industry, in order that we better reflect the demographics of the UK and demonstrating we are both inclusive and open as a business and industry.
Low Carbon Achievement
The board at A1 / CLADE recognised in early 2018 that doing good business means doing green business, by reducing waste and carbon.
Our 2018 challenge was split into two areas, the first was the profitable management of all waste leaving our factory in Leeds along with waste being returned to the factory from sites and service operations. The second challenge was to rebrand our plant manufacturing to be a Naturals only provider of refrigeration plant whilst managing the HFC expectations of customers, put simply, phasing down our HFC plant build operations throughout 2018 and making our customers aware of our new found commitment to natural refrigerants.
With reducing carbon emissions and the environment in mind, a closely managed recycling and waste management process has been developed. Reduce consumption, reduce waste, recycle more and reuse where possible
Our recycle, reuse methodology for unwanted refrigeration plant has paid dividends. Older plant has been returned to our factory in Leeds and stripped of all usable components. Working with our service customers these components are recycled back into the retail estate, reducing the need for new products. This has been extremely successful, especially the recycling of compressors, vessels and controls.
In support of our Naturals Only plant manufacturing, we are planting trees for every item of natural refrigeration plant we sell. Depending on the size and duty of the plant and working in partnership with Carbon Footprint limited, we are planting either 1, 3 or 6 trees which are indigenous to the UK. The trees are planted on school grounds across the UK, this initiative is extremely popular with our staff and customers
We have issued communications to our supply chain requesting that they also advise what they are doing to reduce their waste, packaging and plastic in particular, due to the heightened risks faced from micro plastics in our seas and oceans.
The team are extremely proud to be leading the way with the manufacture of natural refrigeration technologies and doing our best to recycle as much as we possibly can, or alternatively remove waste from the supply chain. It is firmly our intention to continue to find new ideas to reduce carbon and meet our environmental obligations whilst protecting the planet.
Contractor of the Year Award
For the past 34 years, A1 Engineering Solutions has been delivering a quality service to the retail refrigeration sector through its installation of refrigeration systems and equipment. In recent years our company has developed, becoming a multi divisional business with three distinct branches, namely refrigeration contracting, service & maintenance and the manufacture of natural refrigerant plant under the name of CLADE Engineering Systems.
Through the development of CLADE, A1 has been able to innovate, design, manufacture, install and maintain something which many claim to do wholly, but often do only in part. With the continued support of our industry friends we fully intend to put UK manufactured refrigeration products back in the heart of European retail operations, creating valued engineering jobs here in the UK.
A1, along with CLADE, are looking forward to attending this year’s event which will bring together over 500 refrigeration and air conditioning professionals. Congratulations to all of our industry colleagues who have been shortlisted in this year’s award categories and the very best of luck to you all.