"His enthusiasm has a positive impact in other areas of the business."

AES Limited

AES Limited recruited Grant Feasey through the Graduate Placement Programme to help them find innovative solutions for their solar collector. Campbell MacLennan, Technical Director tells us a bit more about his experience of the programme.

What is your company background?

AES Limited is a manufacturer of solar thermal collectors and designer of bespoke solar water heating systems for domestic, commercial and public sector clients. AES supplies solar thermal heating systems to end users and installers and arranges installation and commissioning of systems for larger projects.

With more than 30 years experience in the renewables industry AES has seen rapid growth in recent years with turnover increasing almost fourfold over the past three years.

Why did you choose to take on a graduate placement?

AES is currently reliant on its current solar collector which was developed in 2002 and was then the market leader in terms of performance figures and practical application.

The current collector is still successful and competitive but the arrival of renewable heat incentive is expected to expand the market for solar thermal technology both for new build and for retrofit. In order to benefit from this growth in the market, we have taken on Grant to help us develop and bring to market our next generation solar collector and improve its ease of installation.

Grant Feasey, a MEng Mechanical Engineering graduate from the University of Strathclyde, started at AES Limited in February 2011.

What is your graduate involved in?

Grant's main role is the Research and Development of the AES Solar Collector. This involves material research and investigation, computational analysis and performance testing. Furthermore, Grant has been involved in developing a roof integration system for the AES collector.

What benefits have you had from employing a graduate?

Grant brought up to date technical knowledge into the company and is instrumental in finding innovative solutions. Not only is the fresh approach beneficial, but his enthusiasm has a positive impact in other areas of the business.