Solar energy: from a non-core investment to business advantage for Centuary mattress
A 9th generation family business with deep roots in Secunderabad, the Shree Malani Group has ensured that their mattresses have become a household name in India. The Malani Group is led by Mr. Purushottam Malani and his two sons, Mr. Siddharth Malani and Mr. Uttam Malani.
“We have been evaluating solar as an option, for energy generation, at our manufacturing units for the past 3–4 years. We undertook a couple of assessments and project reports over the last three years but somewhere we didn’t find the viability of the commercial part to be very lucrative” recalls Uttam Malani during my meeting with him. To minimize risk, assess costs and savings, in early 2019, a 25kW pilot project was finally commissioned at their Kazipalli factory through Freyr Energy.
After a successful trial run, an additional 215kW solar power plant was installed in March 2019. With this installation, the factory is expected to eliminate approximately 329 tons of greenhouse emissions and plant an equivalent of 3,750 trees annually. During the first year, the factory should generate around 3,81,235 kWh of clean power. Even though it’s only been a month, Mr. Malani is positive that they made the right choice. The family is looking to install solar in all their factories going forward.
As a takeaway, to promote the benefits of solar, he hopes that the solar industry and the government engage in dialogue to provide further guidance for policymakers, private consumers and industries.
“Recycling and reusing is a big part of what we do. We are very proud that we are a zero-waste company and that we are doing all that we can to champion sustainability in multiple ways”. Their Polyurethane factory is a zero-waste management facility where all scrap metal and foam are recycled and reused.
He adds that “professionalism shown by Freyr and the fact that they were upfront about all costs” made it easy for him to take the first step. In return, Freyr values Centuary mattress as an esteemed customer and applauds them for engaging with renewable energy. We look forward to a long-term relationship where we continue to provide solar as a way to balance their energy needs in a sustainable way.
Source: medium
