Our forever home
Welcome to Willow End, our UK home for the team that has changed the way the world measures the wind. A sensitive and landscape-led research, development and production facility at the foot of the beautiful Malvern Hills, in Worcestershire.
“It was never going to be ‘just’ an office, nor would you expect it to be either if you know us. Willow End isn’t just part of our future, it will help to support the family we are and it will welcome our new members as we continue to grow.” – Ian Locker, MD at ZX Lidars.
Willow End is responsive in design to the local Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, protecting and enhancing existing and wider biodiversity based on ecological enhancement plans including wildflower grassland, an orchard, extensive tree planting and the reinstatement of a natural pond.
The building is of low visual impact, low carbon footprint and is both environmentally and ‘human’ friendly using sustainable materials throughout, with air source heat pumps and solar PV on the roof elevations. Over one hundred stakeholders were part of the consultation process, fundamental to ZX’s approach to its new home at Willow End, respecting and incorporating the views and regulations of many.
Willow End is home to ZX Lidars, ZX Innovations and ZX Operations and operates as training academy with ZX Measurement Services
Willow End was built by a team, for a team. The following are a selection of comments from the Planning Committee with regard to ZX Lidars and Willow End:
- “A very green sustainable building with biodiversity enhancements around the Site.“
- “The sooner it’s there, the better.”
- “There is an Orchard, wildflowers to help our under-pressure bees and insects, a pond which we know shall encourage wildlife and…. Allotments. It is a shame more companies do not follow this applicants example.”
- “This application represents long-term investment to both the economy and employment within the Malvern Hills District.”
- “A quality employer – a very green company”
LIFE INSIDE OF WILLOW END
The ‘home’ you come to work at
Many of us spend as many, if not more, hours ‘at work’ than at home. So why not have an office that feels like a home? From furniture and furnishings, the gym to EV car charging, allotments to garden paths; wherever possible we took inspiration from our own homes and our personal environments to influence the more flexible areas at Willow End.
And there’s no hiding the state-of-the-art wind Lidar production facility that occupies the heart of Willow End. From assembly, to verification and dispatch – Willow End is the largest dedicated CW Wind Lidar facility in the world.
In 2024, Willow End was awarded the Greener Places Award by Malvern Hills District Council, recognising the development for making a positive environmental contribution to the area.
In detail
01
The Site
In total, Willow End is ~5,000 sq. m located near the village of Welland and towns of Malvern and Worcester in the Midlands, UK
02
Design and layout
A simple building footprint with muted and non-reflective colours. A north facing living roof and south facing roof with solar array. Clear spans inside to enable flexible operations. Landscaping including orchard and allotments.
03
Working practices
Agile, configurable and collaborative work spaces reflective of both team working and hot-desking cultures. Squad rooms for cross-company activities. Industry-leading IT equipment and infrastructure and an underlying principle of ‘Leave No Trace’ in every corner of Willow End.
04
Ecology
In addition to retained trees and hedgerows, we have planted new native species, wildflower grassland and an orchard. Not only protecting existing and wider biodiversity, Willow End enhances it.
05
Environment and wellbeing
A low impact build, low carbon footprint, environment and human friendly building. Air source heat pumps, solar panels, and low energy LED lighting throughout. Almost half of the site comprises green space for team access and exercise.
UK Remote sensing Test Site
The home of remote sensor performance verifications
The site is open to all remote wind sensing manufacturers, developers, consultancies, research organisations and turbine manufacturers alike.
We own and operate the UK’s first IEC compliant Remote Sensing dedicated Test Site. An IEC compliant 90 metre meteorological mast enables performance verification of ground-based remote sensing devices operating vertically, and nacelle-based Lidars operating in slant mode, ensuring full measurement traceability of all remote sensing devices to international standards with reference to class 1A anemometry.
Using Lidars and Sodars to an agreed traceable verification methodology is not only advantageous to the development and acceptance of the technologies, but this ‘best practice’ proves beneficial to wind farm developers by instilling confidence in the accuracy and precision of measurements from the remote sensing device.
Our met mast is equipped with state of the art instrumentation mounted across a total of seven heights including MEASNET approved (to MEASNET Anemometer Calibration Procedure, Version 2, October 2009) calibrated Thies first class advanced cup anemometers at 20m, 45m, 70m and 91m, a pressure sensor at 6m, temperature and wind direction sensors mounted at 44m and 88m and a Thies 3D sonic anemometer at 88m to provide more advanced measures of inflow and turbulence.
All of our products are subject to an industry approved performance verification process which can include a period of correlations at the UK Remote Sensing Test Site or a Factory Acceptance Test as standard.
All performance verifications are conducted in line with remote sensing best practice approaches developed within the EU-FP7-Project NORSEWInD by comparing against corresponding Key Performance Indicators and Acceptance Criteria. Systems can be provided with a fully IEC compliant verification certificate showing performance is of the highest standard required for use in finance-grade wind resource assessments. This certificate can be provided by ZX Lidars or DNV.
