IT was once dubbed the dirty old man of Tynedale, with its massive chimneys belching out great clouds of blue tinted vapours so vivid that RAF jets used it as a beacon to steer by.

But the Egger UK factory in Hexham has cleaned up its act so thoroughly that it has just become the first wood-based panel board manufacturer in the UK to be awarded the ISO 50001:2011 standard for its energy management system.

This international accreditation is only awarded to those companies who satisfy a rigorous, externally auditing programme and can demonstrate an ongoing commitment to efficiently use energy to further reduce the environmental impact of their activities.

Environmental health & safety manager at Egger Paul Turner, explained: “As a chipboard manufacturer, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, our processes are energy intensive.

“Gaining the ISO 50001 standard is therefore a major accomplishment for a company such as ours.

“To underline our commitment to continually improve our energy usage, we took the decision to appoint a technologist specifically for energy management.”

With over 600 employees on site, and many more reliant on the factory in the forestry and haulage industries, Egger is the largest manufacturing company in Northumberland.

Since 2006, it has invested over £200m at the site in Anick Grange Road, and in the last five years alone has ploughed more than £90m into highly energy-efficient plant machinery and processes to reduce the plant’s consumption of fossil fuels. This has included a new glue-making plant, a fifth lamination line and the replacement of a second impregnation line, as well as new technology on the chipboard line which enables the company to increase its production.

Technologist in energy management at Egger, Joan Iborra Rubio, commented: “It is extremely satisfying to work for such a successful manufacturing company that is so focused on reducing its environmental impact.

“The ISO 50001 accreditation acts as another incentive for us to continue with our aim to further reduce energy usage and will operate alongside our existing ISO 14001 environmental management system.”