DETA Consulting says managing director Jonathan Po
och holds primary responsibility for the company’s success to date.
In the past year DETA has grown its team from 1.5 full-time employees to a team of five full-time staff. In the same period it maintained 100 per cent staff retention and reported no lost time injuries or health and safety incidents.
This exponential growth reflects the addition of 30 new customers and 70 new projects to DETA’s programme for 2014. As a result, turnover increased by 240 per cent and profit increased by 800 per cent.
DETA says Pooch’s greater focus on client needs and realised results – rather than theoretical analysis – has been a key part in the firm’s achievements in the past year.
Internally, DETA exceeded its sales target by around 3 per cent and its profit target by 20 per cent. Important partnerships were also developed with industry players like Schneider Electric, Cosgroves and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority.
Pooch was the project lead on the two-year energy efficiency programme DETA has just completed for ANZCO Foods. ANZCO Foods appointed DETA to carry out a companywide energy management programme after participating in an EECA tender for companies interested in implementing energy management measures.
The programme involved $3.2 million of capital works and resulted in annual savings of $2.8 million and 10.7 per cent reduction in overall energy use across all its facilities.
DETA designed, implemented and monitored the programme and ensured it was within budget and exceeded the customer’s cost saving targets.
Group-wide, ANZCO saw a 5.3 per cent reduction in total energy costs and payback was achieved in 14 months. The firm also benefited from reduced maintenance spending and improved process reliability.
Pooch was also involved with a project at the Hellers factory at Kaiapoi which resulted in major cost savings and improved operating efficiency.
He developed a business case to install a new high-temperature heat pump for water heating – only the second to be used at a New Zealand factory. The system’s co-efficient of performance – a measure of operating efficiency – now ranges from 8 to 9 compared to industry-wide standard practice of just 0.8.
Pooch is a board member of the Energy Management Association of New Zealand and is also accredited as an EnergyMasters Auditor. He has also presented at several industry conferences including the 2014 EECA Large Energy Users’ Forum and this year’s Downstream conference.
DETA says Pooch’s decade of experience has allowed the firm to take a greater role in the Christchurch rebuild during the past year.
Post-construction assessments of new commercial buildings provide owners and tenants independent verification of whether they are delivering on the sustainability parameters specified in the original contracts.
The Young Energy Executive of the Year award category is sponsored by ABB