The Lancashire business improving HVACR drainage to fight the climate crisis.
Gel-clear?s innovative products reducing carbon emissions from the global HVACR industry, a big achievement for a small northern town business.
When Gel-clear founder and managing director Paurick Gaughan was invited to attend by the Carbon Trust at the Houses of Parliament, it marked a huge achievement for the small Lancashire company. The business briefing on the theme of ‘Net zero and the 1.5 degree challenge’ was hosted by Rachel Reeves, Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee.
Gel-clear has been investing in products to increase efficiency in HVACR drainage for almost a decade. Gel-clear tablets and ancillary drainage products help supermarkets and food retailers run much more efficient refrigerators, helping to reduce energy usage and carbon emissions.
But putting money into innovating new products is high risk for a small business like Gel-clear. The company’s Gel-clear tablets are a big success today, but they faced an uphill struggle to reach market, and to make it into 9 out of the big 10 UK food retailers.
Gel-clears risk-taking innovations have been rewarded with a fast growing business, expanding into Australia, Europe and Asia in 2019. And with an invitation to the Houses of Parliament, to help businesses shape their development plans for the coming years around the industry response to climate change, their future growth has been clearly mapped.
Gel-clear tablets and the HVACR drainage systems were based on Paurick Gaughan’s 35 years experience in drainage and the UK’s retail refrigerators.
We are very proud that Gel-clear and the Bio-beta range were conceived, designed and manufactured within a 25 mile radius of the Gel-clear offices in Lancashire. The idea that condensate drains are incidental to a chillers design, installation and maintenance are fast changing. The food retail cold chain is a huge industry all around the world, Gel-clear is focused on the efficient movement of the condensate waste water produced, as an essential functional aspect to a units efficiency.
Paurick Gaughan, founder and MD of Gel-clear.
Gel-clear is working in partnership with the University of Central Lancashire’s Innovation Clinic to demonstrate the environmental impact of its products. Gel-clear tablets alone reduced refrigerator maintenance call outs for drainage by 67% for one UK retailer, with the Bio-beta drainage system, they believe this can be improved with massive trickle down effects on parts replacements and operational costs.
Gel-clear tablets provide an innovative solution to biofilm EPS, a slimy substance that builds up in the drainage systems of retail refrigerators, causing drain blockages and breakdowns. The Bio-beta products provide a complete retrofit solution for HVACR drainage, and in combination with Gel-clear tablets can maximise efficiency for food retail refrigerators, and reduce operational running costs.
With scores of refrigerators in operation in millions of food retail sites worldwide, demand for Gel-clear products is growing fast. The success of this local Lancashire business is a prime example of environmentally positive innovation making good commercial sense, and of Northern enterprise even in challenging times.