Infinis Office Fit Out

A long-term investment in staff welfare and space: ACS takes on the Infinis challenge

Infinis is a leading distributed power producer. Operating across three revenue streams (landfill gas , coal mine methane, and power response) at over 150 sites, the company provides an energy platform for customers that is supported by a 24/7 logistics centre based in Northampton.

In 2018, Infinis exported 1,424GWh of electricity from LFG sources, which is equivalent to 1.9% of the UK’s total renewable energy generation. This, coupled with their Centre of Excellence at Lancaster has made Infinis the UK leader in producing electricity from LFG.

The brief

When Infinis approached ACS they occupied the whole of the first floor in their office in Brackmills, Northampton. Having realised that they no longer required quite as much space, Infinis decided to call upon the expert team at ACS to help reduce the footprint of the office by 50%.

The team hadn’t reduced in size, but it was clear that collaboration and teamwork could be improved if people were brought physically closer together.

A plan was hatched to completely decamp from 50% of the office and re-house the entire business in the other half. This would require careful use of the space that remained and the transfer of communication and networking components to a new logistics room – an element that is critical to the running of the entire Infinis business.

See the Office fit-out for yourself and hear more from Infinis in our exclusive video case study:

The ACS solution

The project wasn’t without its challenges and required a carefully-planned solution.

For instance, the existing logistics room was in the other side of the building and had to be operational while all the work was taking place. A generator outside the building that powers the room was also fed into the half of the building that was being vacated. This didn’t deter ACS, and the team came up with a solution that resulted in zero downtime.

Meeting rooms were also key, due to the reduction in space. ACS recognised that historical use of meetings rooms wasn’t as efficient as it should be and decided to introduce five ‘pods’ that could house up to two people and be booked out for quiet or confidential work without opting for a board room.

The server room was another big challenge due to the issue with transferring power from one side of the building to the other. This required the former location to be isolated while the new cabling and infrastructure was installed, ready for the switchover.

The implementation

ACS worked closely with the team at Infinis to ensure the project proceeded smoothly. Having worked together before, prior knowledge of Infinis’ operation, ethos and approach to such jobs enabled ACS to overcome some of the larger challenges quickly and in a way that didn’t disrupt the business.

The Office furniture fit-out included a new kitchen and breakout area. Previously, staff had access to a small kitchen in which drinks could be made. This inevitably resulted in people eating at their desks, but Infinis wanted to encourage staff to take time out from the working environment during their breaks.

A new kitchen with vibrant colours, comfy furniture from Sven, Pledge and Frovi was added, and wooden flooring from IVC was subsequently installed next to a large windowed area that provided plenty of natural light.

Claremont desks were installed throughout the new office, along with acoustic flooring from Interface which deadens the noise and aids what is a busy yet calm working environment. The same approach was taken in the new logistics room, which also features a bank of monitors that are critical for the running of the business sunk neatly into the walls. The spacious boardroom was refreshed with tables from Ocee and a folding wall installed to easily divide the large room into two smaller meeting rooms as and when required.

The result

“It’s a long-term investment in the staff’s welfare and space,” explains John Okninski, Head of HR at Infinis. “As always with projects of this size, there’s an element of nervousness about change, but ACS were really responsive whenever we encountered a new challenge and made the transition virtually stress-free.”

“We had lots of different trades coming in and out of the building during the fit-out, but ACS managed that side of things brilliantly,” says Michael Lawman, Office Manager at Infinis. “The ACS team are knowledgeable, approachable and we found working with them a breeze.”