Cash boost for Capel Iwan firm
A Carmarthenshire energy business is moving into a state-of-the-art new home thanks to a cash windfall.
The owners of Beacon Stoves are celebrating a £96,905 grant to convert a redundant building into a brand new base for the flourishing company.
The firm, which was set up in 1985, currently operates from a house and outbuildings at Parc Gwair, Capel Iwan.
Owners Ben and Francoise Graham are now realising their expansion dream thanks to a Rural Conversion Grant.
Work is underway on the low energy building which is being built from local timber and will be heated with renewable energy.
A building that was originally used to house pigs on the site is being converted to include a new modern showroom, training room, store rooms and entrance lobby.
The project will safeguard four jobs and create another three, as well as providing a workshop for training in the installation of environmentally friendly heating systems.
Owner Ben Graham said he was delighted with the grant funding.
“It has been a long standing ambition for us to develop a low energy building,” he said.
“The business has grown from home and we have had excellent support from the county council for the project.”
The business has been built up around the sale of conventional woodstoves but has diversified in recent years to specialise in the sale of biomass and solar thermal heating systems.
The showroom will be open by the new year, ahead of the launch of the Renewable Heat Initiative in April, which will give payments to the users of low carbon technologies.
The Rural Conversion Grant is part of a major package of funding to support businesses in Carmarthenshire.
Carmarthenshire County Council is behind the scheme, aimed at creating jobs and regenerating rural parts of the area.
It has received funding through the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013, which is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.
The council’s Project Officer Mike Bull said: “The aim of the grant scheme is to assist the physical and economic regeneration of rural Carmarthenshire.
“The Beacon Stoves project is exceptional in that it will create and sustain jobs in a rural community, and enable the expansion of a business in a sector which currently has a low employment share but high growth prospects.
“It will also result in the delivery of training courses to improve workforce skills.”
Regeneration Executive Board Member cllr Clive Scourfield said: “The Rural Conversion Grant provides entrepreneurs in rural areas with the opportunity to expand, safeguard or establish their business.
“It marks a major step forward in the ongoing regeneration of the county and supports the innovative work that the council is leading to support and develop our communities.”
Grant aid: County councillor Clive Scourfield, owners Ben and Francoise Graham, builder Jonathan Firth of Firth and Sons and regeneration officer Mike Bull at Beacon Stoves.
Picture: Jeff Connell
The owners of Beacon Stoves are celebrating a £96,905 grant to convert a redundant building into a brand new base for the flourishing company.
The firm, which was set up in 1985, currently operates from a house and outbuildings at Parc Gwair, Capel Iwan.
Owners Ben and Francoise Graham are now realising their expansion dream thanks to a Rural Conversion Grant.
Work is underway on the low energy building which is being built from local timber and will be heated with renewable energy.
A building that was originally used to house pigs on the site is being converted to include a new modern showroom, training room, store rooms and entrance lobby.
The project will safeguard four jobs and create another three, as well as providing a workshop for training in the installation of environmentally friendly heating systems.
Owner Ben Graham said he was delighted with the grant funding.
“It has been a long standing ambition for us to develop a low energy building,” he said.
“The business has grown from home and we have had excellent support from the county council for the project.”
The business has been built up around the sale of conventional woodstoves but has diversified in recent years to specialise in the sale of biomass and solar thermal heating systems.
The showroom will be open by the new year, ahead of the launch of the Renewable Heat Initiative in April, which will give payments to the users of low carbon technologies.
The Rural Conversion Grant is part of a major package of funding to support businesses in Carmarthenshire.
Carmarthenshire County Council is behind the scheme, aimed at creating jobs and regenerating rural parts of the area.
It has received funding through the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013, which is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.
The council’s Project Officer Mike Bull said: “The aim of the grant scheme is to assist the physical and economic regeneration of rural Carmarthenshire.
“The Beacon Stoves project is exceptional in that it will create and sustain jobs in a rural community, and enable the expansion of a business in a sector which currently has a low employment share but high growth prospects.
“It will also result in the delivery of training courses to improve workforce skills.”
Regeneration Executive Board Member cllr Clive Scourfield said: “The Rural Conversion Grant provides entrepreneurs in rural areas with the opportunity to expand, safeguard or establish their business.
“It marks a major step forward in the ongoing regeneration of the county and supports the innovative work that the council is leading to support and develop our communities.”
Grant aid: County councillor Clive Scourfield, owners Ben and Francoise Graham, builder Jonathan Firth of Firth and Sons and regeneration officer Mike Bull at Beacon Stoves.
Picture: Jeff Connell
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