Earthmill was launched in 2009 by Steve Milner. The company supplies electrical wind turbines designed to generate energy in an environmentally friendly manner. Although Earthmill’s customers are largely agricultural, there is also a small group of corporate clients.
The company began in Steve’s garage and in its third year generated sales of almost £10 million. Heart set on joining the green energy market, Steve considered many options but settled on turbines: after all “One thing we have in Yorkshire is an abundance of wind!
“Smallhold turbines are sufficient to power a property. The feed in tariff and the government initiative to support renewable energy meant it was commercially viable for people to do it. And the beauty of farming is that farmers aren’t afraid to make an investment and they are prepared to wait for a return. You also need space in which to put the turbines.
“Energy costs in farming are one of the single biggest burdens on the business, and by producing the energy on site, it’s efficient. Any excess goes back into the National Grid for others to use.”
Mark Woodward joined the business at the start of Earthmill’s second year. The company now operates out of offices and has a rapidly growing team of staff.
After just the first three years Earthmill has grown by 600% and is the world’s largest distributor of the Endurance 50kW wind turbines. Says Steve, “The reason we’ve been so successful is because we are very customer centric, and we will continue to focus on that. We manage every part of the process from the site assessment to the planning applications, the grid connections and the installation of the turbine which is done by our own in-house engineers, and we pride ourselves on being there to look after the turbine for its 25 year life.”
The company began in Steve’s garage and in its third year generated sales of almost £10 million. Heart set on joining the green energy market, Steve considered many options but settled on turbines: after all “One thing we have in Yorkshire is an abundance of wind!
“Smallhold turbines are sufficient to power a property. The feed in tariff and the government initiative to support renewable energy meant it was commercially viable for people to do it. And the beauty of farming is that farmers aren’t afraid to make an investment and they are prepared to wait for a return. You also need space in which to put the turbines.
“Energy costs in farming are one of the single biggest burdens on the business, and by producing the energy on site, it’s efficient. Any excess goes back into the National Grid for others to use.”
Mark Woodward joined the business at the start of Earthmill’s second year. The company now operates out of offices and has a rapidly growing team of staff.
After just the first three years Earthmill has grown by 600% and is the world’s largest distributor of the Endurance 50kW wind turbines. Says Steve, “The reason we’ve been so successful is because we are very customer centric, and we will continue to focus on that. We manage every part of the process from the site assessment to the planning applications, the grid connections and the installation of the turbine which is done by our own in-house engineers, and we pride ourselves on being there to look after the turbine for its 25 year life.”