GOING FOR GROWTH
SINEWAVE - A Wiltshire business driving the EV revolution By Nick Batten
With the production of electric vehicles ( EVs ) gathering momentum , the installation of complementary tech such as charging infrastructure is moving at a similar pace – and one Swindon company is at the heart of it .
Founded by Adam Woodley in 2015 , specialist engineering company Sinewave provides high and low voltage electrical services across the UK .
Run by a team of four and employing between 60 and 70 staff , the Swindon-based firm has experienced significant growth over the last 18 months and is predicting still more in the coming years .
Primarily , Sinewave - an Independent Connections Provider ( ICP ) – performs connections to the UK ' s highvoltage grid and this includes installing the infrastructure for organisations to position EV chargers around the country .
“ Throughout the UK there are thousands of high voltage cables that are delivering electricity ,” explained Ashley Hutchinson , Commercial Director for Sinewave . “ We ’ ve all seen pylons above the ground , but many of these high voltage cables are underneath the ground .”
Sinewave locates the power lines – usually off-site – which are then run , often under a main road , to the customer ' s site , sometimes a petrol forecourt .
Ashley continued , “ This could either be at a BP garage , a McDonalds car park , a Marks and Spencer ’ s car park or a bus depot . And we ’ ve done that for hundreds of projects and thousands of chargers . We are , if not the biggest , then certainly one of the top two or three providers of charging infrastructure across the whole of the UK .”
In addition to BP , Sinewave ’ s customers include Motor Fuel Group ( MFG ) and EV charging point operators InstaVolt , Osprey and Mer . More recently we have even started installing the charging infrastructure for household names like Network Rail and Persimmon Homes .
“ We provide a full ‘ turnkey ’ solution ,” said Ashley . “ From the moment the customer signs the purchase order , we do the design , get the approvals and install everything . This includes all the civils works , the groundworks , the signage – even the landscaping !”
Given that government net-zero targets for car manufacturers are set for 2030 , it seems the pressure is on in terms of making sure the required infrastructure is in place .
Ashley said , “ the biggest line in the sand is no new cars being made or sold in the UK that have internal combustion engines by 2030 .
“ The key questions now are - will there be enough chargers , and will they charge fast enough ? Currently , I think there are about 50,000 petrol pumps in the UK and only about 3,800 rapid EV chargers . And the spend predictions are in the billions to install it all . It ’ s a massive challenge .”
While not daunted by this , Ashley acknowledged that things are going to be very busy .
“ It ’ s crazy ,” he said , “ we ’ re currently discussing providing design and installation solutions for freight organisations such as DPD or Amazon so their van fleet can be charged on site , and are currently active on five bus garage conversions ."
Recently , the Federation of Small Businesses ( FSB ) commented that South West SMEs are not yet prepared to meet net-zero challenges , calling for further support . Although Ashley agreed that there could be more support available , he was clear about what is needed .
“ There are organisations like Innovate UK or the Chambers of Commerce who can advise , but if I ’ m fairly candid what we really need is money . We ’ re doing this entirely self-funded , so good support from banks is needed for us to fund growth .
“ Also , we need people . Around 18 months ago we had 28 staff , and now we ' ve got almost 70 and within the commercial team , we ' ve got another four starting next month alone .
“ We ’ re really keen to attract good talent within our operational teams – as is everybody in our sector . We predict our business will go from just under five million [ turnover last year ] to just under 30 million by 2024 . “ So , if you either have electrical training , are a jointer , a project manager or you have any form of high voltage expertise and qualifications - then we want to hear from you !”
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