EV infrastructure firms find their match

EVC Group, based in Bury, has launched a new EV charge point service, increased headcount by three and gained sales worth £200k, following support from Green Economy.

The business worked with an advisor to launch the service, following guidance on training, accreditations and funding paths, as well as competitor research and analysis. Green Economy later connected the business to £200k worth of new business, which has led the firm to take on three new employees to meet demand.

Entering the EV charge point market

EVC Group began as the brainchild of Chris Howdle and Andrew Nuttall in early 2021. After following developments in the electric vehicle market for some time, they decided the time was right to move into charge point installations.

The rapidly-growing company now employs seven people and specialises in commercial EV charging infrastructure for car parks, garages and other large-scale developments. Within the next year, Chris and Andrew hope to employ around 10 people.

“I’ve known Chris for about five years and we’ve always worked really well together,” Andrew explains. “We’ve always been interested in eco technologies and wanted to move into this area, and one obviously one of the biggest emerging markets in the UK is EV charging.”

‘The right contacts at the right time’

In May 2021, Chris and Andrew met Thalia Czarkowska, one of Green Economy’s business advisors. Thalia worked closely with the business to help them to access installer training and accreditations they would need to launch, as well as conducting competitor analysis of existing firms and a comparison of charge point manufacturers to help select the right technology partners.

“What we wanted to do was spend our first year building up our contacts and knowledge,” Andrew continues. “Chris and I knew what we wanted to do and why, and we had the business experience to know how to set it up and scale it, but what we were missing was technical experience and someone to give us the right contacts at the right time.

“EV technology changes rapidly, sometimes almost day-by-day, so to be able to call on someone like Thalia who has the knowledge and contacts is brilliant. The amount of time she’s saved us from having to do heavy amounts of research is huge.”

EVC Group has gone from strength-to-strength, thanks in part to a pipeline of opportunities provided by Green Economy.

“Each week Green Economy shares an email listing of sales opportunities including Meet the Buyer events and live tenders, this is in addition to enquiries we receive directly from customers that use their Marketplace. This, along with invitations to networking events and speaking opportunities, has led to us winning business and successfully installing hundreds of EV charge-points.”

Bright future ahead

The rapid growth and business wins has led to EVC taking on an electrician, and they have also recruited a Business Development Manager and a Marketing Executive to keep growing further.

“We’ve gone from struggling to decide what to call our business a year ago to the stage where clients are banging on our door looking to install, so it’s a very exciting time for us as a business,” Chris concludes. “The support we’ve received through Green Economy is a huge part of that success.”