Metal Assemblies invests £210,000 in solar energy and upgraded factory roof Major sustainability investment expected to reduce electricity costs by 18% and operational carbon emissions by 16%
West Bromwich, September 2026 – Metal Assemblies Ltd has completed a major £210,000 investment in renewable energy and improvements to its West Bromwich manufacturing facility, reinforcing the company’s commitment to more sustainable UK manufacturing. The project included the installation of 380 solar panels, together with the over-cladding and upgrading of the factory roof. Approximately £130,000 was invested in the roof, with a further £80,000 committed to the solar installation. The project has been supported by grant funding secured as part of Metal Assemblies’ wider sustainability programme. The upgraded roof incorporates additional insulation, helping to reduce heat loss and lower heating requirements during the colder months. Its structure was also strengthened to accommodate the additional weight of the solar panels and potential snow loading. The solar array is expected to generate approximately 180,000 kWh of renewable electricity each year. Metal Assemblies currently consumes around 800,000 to 820,000 kWh annually across its site, meaning the installation is forecast to deliver an estimated 18% reduction in electricity costs and a 16% reduction in associated carbon emissions. Since becoming operational, the panels have already generated approximately 42,000 kWh of electricity, representing an estimated value of around £10,000.
Peter Douglas, GM. said: “This investment represents an important step in our journey towards more sustainable manufacturing. The new roof will improve the energy efficiency of our facility, while the solar panels will allow us to generate a significant proportion of our electricity from a renewable source.
“Sustainability is becoming increasingly important to our customers and to the wider manufacturing industry. This project demonstrates that we are making practical investments which will reduce our environmental impact, control energy costs and strengthen the long-term competitiveness of the business.”
The solar and roofing project forms part of a wider Sustainability Knowledge Transfer Partnership, which began in May 2025 and is scheduled to run until May 2027 and is headed by Ronnie Akumu, Sustainable Innovation Leader As part of the programme, Metal Assemblies has installed energy-monitoring equipment on 38 high-priority production machines. The system collects live information on electricity consumption, compressed-air usage and carbon emissions, allowing the company to identify leaks, unnecessary energy use and opportunities to make production more efficient.
The company is also developing the capability to calculate the carbon generated during the manufacture of individual components. This will enable Metal Assemblies to provide customers with more detailed product-level carbon information and support preparations for emerging carbon-reporting requirements.
Carbon dashboards include various factors that could influence energy per part. These factors include: Machine Material Thickness OEE Number of sub-processes Live Climate and Carbon Intensity, etc.
Early analysis has already identified several potential savings, including compressed-air leaks, machinery left running outside production hours and heating systems operating unnecessarily overnight.
Metal Assemblies is now considering further green technologies, including battery storage. This could allow more of the renewable electricity generated during periods of lower demand to be stored and subsequently used within the factory. The company is also exploring improvements to heating and LED lighting, alongside the development of customer-facing energy and carbon dashboards.
Ronnie Akumu, added: “Our ambition is not simply to install solar panels, but to use reliable data to understand and continually reduce the energy and carbon associated with everything we manufacture.
“Being able to measure carbon at component level will become an increasingly valuable capability. It will help our customers meet their own sustainability objectives while giving Metal Assemblies a genuine point of difference within the UK manufacturing supply chain.”
The latest investment builds upon Metal Assemblies’ sustainability policy and updated environmental commitments, while supporting the company’s long-term objective of delivering efficient, competitive and increasingly low-carbon manufacturing solutions.
