Today employing 140 people, this specialist and trusted Hertfordshire printer, securely produces and delivers election and exam materials to governments and governing organisations around the world.

Clive Nunnerley, the printer’s Commercial Manager, has worked for the business for the best part of a decade and, during the pandemic, saw his remit expand to include utilities management.  By his own admission, Clive says he feels fortunate that the business had already been partnering with Eneco for a few years because, when he took the reins, he’d not had any previous utilities management experience.

“This aspect of the role is all brand new to me,” begins Clive, “and having Eneco working alongside me over the last nine months has certainly made my life easier.  I can talk to the cows come home about printing because I’m an expert in that. But what I know about electricity is that it comes out of a socket, and you have to pay for it.”

Clive is, of course, exaggerating his lack of knowledge after nine months overseeing the utilities remit for a business which depends on electricity to keep its printing presses rolling, but he’s keen to make the point about Eneco’s expertise.

With responsibility for all the printer’s commercial activities (everything from procuring raw materials like ink and paper, to pricing and invoicing contracts), Clive admits that thinking about utilities doesn’t feature highly on his day-to-day to do list.

Yet it’s not something he can afford to ignore either.

“We spend a substantial amount of money every month on utilities and it’s important from a cash flow and forecasting perspective that we have some surety over what our utilities spend is likely to be for the next 18-24 months.”

What Clive most appreciates is Eneco’s partnership and proactive approach – particularly when it’s coming around to contract renewal time.

“I know Eneco will be on the phone telling me ‘come on we need to start reviewing the market again’ long before our contracts run out,” says Clive.  “When you have a broad portfolio of responsibilities like I do it is easy to let these things slip.”

Clive explains that rather than leaving contract renewals to the month before, Eneco get tenders out early to monitor the market and secure the best deal for the electricity, gas, and water Stephen Austin needs.

“Tash has been my point of contact at Eneco for the last nine months and she’s been very proactive – always keen to make sure we’re doing the right thing at the right time.  Having someone like Tash there to give me a nudge or as a direct point of contact when I have queries has been extremely helpful to me.”

He cites an example recently when their existing Climate Change Levy agreements were coming to an end and their application needed to be resubmitted.

“It’s a relatively straight forward bit of form filling,” says Clive “but it was good to have Eneco in support to answer any queries I had”.

Clive isn’t tied to Eneco, yet during 2020 Stephen Austin reviewed their whole outsourcing process, which included utilities.  Ultimately Stephen Austin chose to stay with Eneco based on their long-term relationship and the offerings at contract renewal time.

What’s clear then, is that in a challenging year, Clive really appreciates Eneco’s proactivity, advice, and support, while Steven Austin greatly benefits from the expertise and value their partnership brings.

Eneco has been partnering Stephen Austin for nearly four years and has been working alongside Clive for the last nine months. In the last two years alone Eneco has helped the printer secure savings of around £15,000.  And their relationship continues to evolve. The factory’s high dependence on electric means Clive’s keen to ensure renewables are a part of the conversation when this year’s energy contracts come up for renewal. Clive concludes: “As our business continues to become more environmentally-friendly, we’ll be looking to find cost effective cleaner energy sources as they come on stream.”