Air Compressor Installation Saves Packaging Company €60k Per Annum

A world leading paper-based packaging company has made significant cuts in costs by installing a BOGE SLF 125 compressor. The company has estimated that at least €60k per annum is being saved in energy consumption and maintenance since installation.

The project began when the paper-based packaging business made structural changes to the plant that left the company with an oversized compressor system. As a result of purchasing compact, more efficient, faster equipment the plant had become smaller and this meant its three-compressor system was oversized. Two compressors were usually required with one on standby but after purchasing the new equipment the company was only using about 1/3 of the building. It therefore required nowhere near as much compressed air as it required before so it asked several local companies to do a survey and feedback their results and recommendations. The company who impressed the most was ILS Engineering Ltd and their recommendation was a BOGE compressor.

ILS Engineering Ltd, an official BOGE distributor, conducted a compressed air energy audit on site on the day of their first visit, which was done using portable data loggers. The performance of the existing equipment over a week showed that the loaded running cost was €336.43, the unloaded running cost was €1,185.89 and that the total weekly running cost of running the compressors was €1,522.32, a system efficiency of just 1.02kw/cfm.

Having noted the huge inefficiency in the running of the compressors, ILS Engineering Ltd recommended a series of efficiency improvements. This included the installation of a 90kw variable speed drive to recover the lost energy that the older, fixed-speed units were wasting and the replacement of the existing compressor with a BOGE SLF 125, with the potential to save over €60K per annum in electricity.

The BOGE SLF series combines a direct coupled drive system with frequency control to provide the ultimate compressor for pressure control under variable output requirements. The SLF is a low carbon technology that works strictly in accordance with the compressed air demand by producing the exact volume of compressed air at the pressure required. Frequency control minimises idling time and evens out air demand fluctuations.

No loss condensate drain valves were also proposed for all filters, dryers and receivers on site, adding further savings. As well as replacement with a BOGE compressor, a reduction of the generation pressure was also advised, as the plant was generating air at 11barg, yet only 7.5-8barg was required at the printing press.

The new BOGE compressor was fully piped, wired, ducted and commissioned to be fully operational within one working week. All works were completed without any disruption to production.

Since the installation, the generation pressure has been reduced by close to 3barg, thus adding 21% to the energy savings that the BOGE SLF 125 provides. Service costs have been dramatically reduced on site and the packaging company has reported that the compressor had paid for itself in less than one year.

The upgrade has brought a whole series of benefits. Maintenance is much cheaper on one compressor than three, which brings major savings. Because ILS Engineering Ltd recognised the pressure was too high anyway, the customer has been able to reduce maintenance requirement and energy costs by reducing the running hours.

The packaging company’s Maintenance Supervisor commented, “The dealings we have had with BOGE’s agent have been excellent from start to finish, from survey to installation and after sales, and the BOGE SLF 125 compressor has been an excellent recommendation.”