If you’re a new start up, creating a new office or still using legacy land-lines and buying expensive laser cartridges, cloud based telephones and free photocopiers are a sure fire way to save stacks of money…

Weldlag are one of the leading asbestos disposal specialists in the UK. And can help you with all matters relating to asbestos removal, from surveying and sampling through to encapsulation and environmental cleaning and legal compliance.

The situation

Weldlag had to open a new operations centre near Preston. But setting up an asbestos disposal operation from scratch, is a very costly exercise. And as they had vans and a decontamination unit to fund, cash investment in the rest of the operational infrastructure had to be kept to a minimum.

It was estimated for a traditional telephone system, which provided 3 lines, 6 handsets with basic functions and fast Fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) broadband it would cost about £200 a month (including bills). And the printing technology they needed (that would cope with large volume printing and scanning in A4 & A3) would cost £100 a month (including lease & prints/copies). At £300 a month in total it was going to be too expensive for them.

Customer objective

Weldlag required a phone system with 6 handsets, which had the ability to take and/or make calls all at the same time. Along with call routing, direct dial numbers, voice mail and the ability to transfer calls to each other. The traditional system that had been estimated only allowed for 3 lines, which meant only 3 handsets could be used simultaneously and it didn’t provide all the functions they required. If they wanted all 6 handsets to operate at the same time, it would cost them another £100 a month (in line and call charges).

Weldlag also have an ongoing requirement to print & scan in large volumes (A4 colour and mono), as well as printing & scanning a number of A3 plans and maps. It had been estimated leasing a new photocopier (at £50 a month over 5 years) with print & copy charges on top (estimated at another £50 a month) would cost them £100 a month. This presented a couple of issues. 1) they didn’t want to sign a long term financial agreement. 2) The total charges seem to high for what they needed.

So, the objective was clear. Reduce their estimated costs, whilst providing 6 handsets that could be used simultaneously (rather than 3) and lose the financial leasing requirement on the photocopier.

Our solution

In the first instance we installed fast fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) with a QoS router, which provided the platform to implement our cloud based telephone service.

This meant we only needed 1 landline (instead of 6), which was used to bring the fast broadband in. And allowed us to install 6 simultaneously working handsets, all with the features & functions Weldlag required. Our handsets come with 4,000 air time minutes each as standard, so there will be no extra call charges for normal UK landline and mobile numbers.

The printing solution was easy, as we install free refurbished photocopiers for those business customers, charities and schools, who don’t want to be tied into long term financial lease agreements. The refurbished equipment works the same as a new one and is maintained (fixed or replaced) by us, just like a new one.

And the big win for Weldlag is they save £50 a month in lease fees, as they don’t need to sign a long term financial lease agreement. And they only pay a low cost per page for what they print & copy, everything else is included.

Financial & operational result

Financially, Weldlag have saved 47% against the original estimated costs (if you include 6 simultaneous use handsets the saving increases to 60%). The original estimate was £300 a month (£400 for 6 simultaneous handsets) and they are now paying £160 a month.

Over the term of our (guaranteed price) 3-year agreement, Weldlag are saving £5,040  (or £8,640 for 6 simultaneous handsets).

Operationally, asbestos disposal company Weldlag have gained a great deal too, They have increased the number of simultaneously usable handsets, gained a fast broadband service and upgraded to the latest feature rich telephone technology, such as direct dial numbers, voice mail and call transfer. And add to this a fantastic printing, copying & scanning solution that provides all the functions the business needs today and well into the future.