Engineering a Greener Future

Engineering a Greener Future: How Apex Pumps is Supporting Sustainable Innovation

Sustainability is increasingly influencing the way industries operate, from the energy they consume and the materials they use to the technologies they develop to reduce environmental impact.

At Apex Pumps, we’re proud to be playing our part in this transition. As a British manufacturer of high-performance centrifugal pumps, we work with businesses across a wide range of sectors, including those developing innovative solutions to environmental challenges.

But our commitment doesn’t stop with the businesses we supply. We’re also making significant changes within our own operations, investing in renewable energy, advanced manufacturing technology and more sustainable working practices.

Our recent feature in World Pumps magazine, Engineering a Greener Future, explores how these two areas of our business are helping us contribute to a more sustainable industrial future.

Tackling microplastic pollution

Microplastic pollution is a significant environmental challenge, with tiny plastic particles finding their way into waterways and wider ecosystems.

We’re proud to work with Matter, a business developing innovative filtration technology designed to capture microplastics before they enter water systems.

Reliable pump performance is essential to maintaining the flow and operating conditions required by filtration systems. By supplying dependable pumping solutions, we can help support the technologies being developed to address this growing problem.

It’s a great example of how engineering expertise can contribute to environmental innovation, even when the equipment itself isn’t the most visible part of the process.

Supporting cleaner industrial processes

Our pumps also serve industries such as steel and aluminium production, where businesses are increasingly exploring opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce waste and lower environmental impact.

Industrial pumping systems play an important role in moving and managing fluids throughout manufacturing processes. Selecting the right pump for an application can contribute to improved operational efficiency, reliable performance and reduced maintenance requirements.

With decades of experience in designing and manufacturing centrifugal pumps, we’re able to work closely with customers to understand their requirements and develop solutions suited to demanding industrial environments.

Supporting other sustainable applications

Beyond these examples, our pumps are used in applications including water treatment, electric vehicle cooling, effluent management and food production.

Each application presents different technical requirements, but they share a common need for dependable, efficient pumping equipment.

For us, supporting these industries is an important part of our wider sustainability commitment. We’re proud that the pumps we design and manufacture in Bristol can contribute to technologies and processes making a positive environmental difference.

Reducing our own environmental impact

While supporting sustainable innovation through our customers is important, we believe we also have a responsibility to examine how we operate as a manufacturer.

Over recent years, we’ve made substantial investments in our Bristol facility to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and strengthen our approach to sustainable British manufacturing.

One of our most significant investments has been the installation of a 360-panel, 150kW solar array at our factory.

In its first year, this generated 175 MWh of renewable electricity, contributing to a 37.8% reduction in grid electricity consumption during 2024.

Combined with other operational improvements, we’ve achieved a 40% reduction in CO₂e emissions compared with our 2023 baseline.

These results demonstrate the progress we’re making towards our long-term ambition of achieving Net Zero.

Investing in smarter, more sustainable British manufacturing

Sustainability also plays an important role in our investment decisions.

We’ve continued to expand our in-house manufacturing capabilities through significant investment in advanced Mazak CNC machinery, including our HCN NEO Horizontal Machining Centre.

Bringing more component production in-house gives us greater control over quality, improves manufacturing flexibility and reduces our reliance on overseas supply chains.

We’re also committed to reshoring more manufacturing activity to the UK, working with British suppliers wherever practical.

Reducing the distance components need to travel can help lower associated transport emissions, while strengthening domestic supply chains and supporting British engineering.

Alongside these investments, we continue to focus on producing reliable, long-lasting centrifugal pumps. Equipment designed for durability and efficient operation can help customers reduce unnecessary maintenance, replacement costs and material waste over its working life.

Award-winning sustainability practices

Our efforts have been recognised by the wider manufacturing and pump industries.

At the 2026 Pump Industry Awards, we were delighted to win the Sustainable Contribution for a Better World award, recognising our commitment to responsible manufacturing and reducing environmental impact.

This followed our recognition as Runner Up for Sustainability Initiative of the Year at the 2025 Made in Britain Impact Awards, alongside achieving a Gold Award from Notch Carbon Accounting.

These achievements reflect the collective effort of our team and the investments we’ve made to improve the way we operate.

While we’re proud of this recognition, we also appreciate that sustainability is an ongoing process, and there is always more we can do.

Engineering a greener future together

The transition towards more sustainable industrial processes presents opportunities for businesses across the manufacturing sector.

For Apex Pumps, that means continuing to develop reliable, high-performance pumping solutions that support our customers’ changing requirements, while also reducing the environmental impact of our own operations.

Whether we’re supporting innovative microplastic filtration technology, supplying pumps for demanding industrial processes or investing in more sustainable manufacturing here in Bristol, our approach remains the same: combining engineering expertise with a commitment to continuous improvement.

We’re proud to see our work featured in the September/October 2026 edition of World Pumps magazine.

How can Apex Pumps support your next project?

If you’re developing a new industrial process, exploring ways to improve operational efficiency or looking for a reliable centrifugal pump manufacturer with a commitment to sustainability, our experienced team would be pleased to help.

CONTACT APEX PUMPS