The company is drilling
boreholes and installing ground source heat pumps
around the UK at properties ranging from a school
in Yarm and a Yuill Homes development to Blenheim
Palace, the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.
The success has created four jobs for the new
company with more in the pipeline and Geocore
is now looking to acquire land and expand again
into purpose-built premises.
"We purchased our first drilling rig just a
few months ago," said Michelle Woodhead, "and
now we have three. We have 18 Geocore employees
in total and are currently looking for another
two people with drilling experience."
With ever-increasing concerns about the environment
and carbon footprinting as well as the high cost
of heating, geothermal pumps are seen as the home
heating system of the future. Pioneered in Sweden
where 97% of new houses incorporate them, the
system collects heat from the garden and moves
it into homes.
It uses renewable energy, has a 25 year life
span with no regular maintenance necessary, produces
no local greenhouse emissions and is a safe system
with no risk of explosion or pollution and hot
water supplied at safe temperatures. A major attraction
for householders is that it can reduce heating
bills by as much as 75%.
"Installation costs range from £8,000 to £12,000
but grants of up to £1,500 per household are available,
and the savings are extremely impressive," said
Adam Woodhead.
Geocore drills boreholes of up to 100 metres
deep before installing a ground loop filled with
a mixture of glycol and water and heated by the
ground temperature even in freezing weather.
"We have been awarded a contract for 100 boreholes
for Harrogate Council and expect a lot of local
authorities in the UK to follow their lead," said
Adam, who says that around 30% of the company's
current work is for private homeowners.
"We have total confidence that this method of
heating is the way forward," added Michelle. "We
were determined to be one of the companies in
at the very beginning and have built up a lot
of valuable expertise and experience. The progress
has been phenomenal and shows no signs of slowing."
Geocore, a Shell Livewire Business Award winner,
was the first company to move into UK Steel Enterprise's
Innovation Centre in 2000. Investing heavily in
new equipment, it soon acquired clients from across
the UK seeking its expertise for projects ranging
from contaminated land assessment to subsidence.
The company doubled the size of its premises
by moving in to the Centre's extension, built
in 2003, after carrying out the ground investigation
work for the building and being invited by UK
Steel Enterprise to officially open it.
"The Innovation Centre has been a fantastic
place for us to grow," said Adam. "As a young
company we needed quality premises with facilities
such as meeting rooms that were available for
visiting clients. Every time we reached bursting
point UKSE has helped us to expand but we have
now grown to the point where we need to look at
building our own premises."
Nick Johnson of UK Steel Enterprise, said "Geocore
is a perfect example of the type of company that
our Centres are specifically designed to support.
The company had the foresight to diversify into
an area with huge potential at an early stage
and it will not only bring the company success
but will also play a major part in improving the
environment for this and future generations."
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