Work continues on our multi-million-pound showroom
This year marks 90 years since FJ Chalke first opened its garage doors in 1929, and what 90 years it’s been! In that time, we’ve sold, repaired and serviced thousands of cars in the community, listened and learned from our loyal customers and brought many years of motoring joy to lots of people.
We’ve made some big changes over the last 90 years, from the buildings we work in, to the brands we partner with and the next stage of our exciting journey is our multi-million-pound flagship Nissan & Kia showroom at Fusion Park, West Hendford.
Investment
With a considerable amount invested, the Showroom will sit adjacent to Lysander Way, and will host a showroom for up to 20 vehicles, up to 150 vehicles on the external forecourt with over 200 parking spaces, a fully equipped workshop with 8 ramps and a fully approved MOT facility and valet bay.
Environment
At the FJ Chalke Group, we’re every bit as concerned about looking after the environment as our customers are. That’s why in 2015 we decided to begin our eco journey by installing 95 solar panels at our Wincanton Showroom, cutting our carbon footprint by approximately 9962KG of C02 per year.
We took this step after reviewing our management of the dealership and realising we could do better – and we haven’t looked back since. Initial discussions evolved into 95 photovoltaic roof panels, each one 1.6 by 0.8 metres) which generate 17,540 units of electricity each year.
We realised our eco journey shouldn’t stop there and we have continued to strive to stay-up-to date with advances in green driving technology across the group; and in such a fast-evolving industry, we knew our Yeovil Showroom needed to have the lowest impact on the environment.
The Showroom has low energy lighting with the highest thermal efficiency rating reducing our carbon footprint even further.
With the addition of 10 electric vehicle charging points, plus an array of 140No multicrystalline silicon PV panels installed on the roof, we will expect a return at peak output of 38.5kWp and it is estimated this will provide a total of approximately 32,000 kWh of electricity per year. Generating electricity via these panels will result in reducing the Carbon Emissions of the building by approximately 16,700kg per year.
We will be making use of the local rainfall with a rainwater harvesting system, collecting rain from the roof area, this rainwater will be channelled through a pre-tank filter to remove large debris and leaves etc before entering a storage tank. That means we save 425 cubic metres of water per year by installing the system in addition to reducing our impact on the environment and reducing our reliance on mains water.