History
The history of bhsl has been a story of enterprise and invention.
Jack O’Connor – the founder of bhsl – was active in the poultry industry, owning and operating his own farm. His vision was to find a solution to the increasing number of challenges facing the poultry industry in its operating methodologies – management and cost of litter disposal, regulatory and environmental factors and low margins with a high dependency on energy.
Over 10 years of going through a series of prototypes, a solution was devised, capable of reliably converting poultry litter into heat through fluidised bed combustion, a system used in large power plants but miniaturised for on site application.
Working with the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency and other regulatory authorities in Ireland the company highlighted the need to deal with litter disposal in a modern, sustainable manner resulting in the company becoming licensed to use poultry litter in a fluidised bed system on site in April 2008.
In 2008, Richard Hayes became the Chairman of bhsl with Jack’s brother Declan taking up the role of CEO.
In January 2009, the first commercial plant was commissioned in Kinsale, County Cork. This is an FBC200 processing 2 tonnes of litter a day and creating 200 kWth for 2 poultry houses with 35,000 birds each. The bird welfare and performance advantages convinced bhsl that the system was not only more sustainable but was also a better way to grow chickens in a cleaner more healthy environment.
In September 2010, thanks to the support and vision of Stephen Hay, the UK’s largest privately owned poultry grower, bhsl commissioned a plant in the UK, followed by an installation in Uphouse Farm, home to Nigel Joice in May 2011.
Nigel Joice has since been awarded the prestigious Farmers Weekly 2011 Poultry Farmer of the Year award.
In addition to sites in Ireland and the UK, bhsl have completed an electricity generation trial and have set up manufacturing capabilities in both Europe and South Korea.
The future potential for the bhsl technology is global, with interest arising from Europe, Asia, Africa and America.