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Mayflower saves £98,000 with ABB energy surveyA massive saving in the running cost of paint plant motors is being achieved by a Coventry based body panel manufacturer following the installation of variable speed drives from ABB.
Business IssueMayflower Vehicle Systems in Coventry manufactures body panels for, among other, Aston Martin and MG-F cars. With the introduction of the Climate Change Levy (CCL) the cost of electrical energy has increased. Mayflower has also implemented the environmental management standard, ISO 140001 and as such is driven towards meeting environmental targets, which includes a significant reduction in CO2 emissions. A concern was the 30kW phosphate / Alkali rinse pumps used in Mayflower's nine stage pre-treatment system for the panels, that were running for 10 hours per day. With the existing star-delta starter arrangement, the motors could not be turned on and off quickly to meet the rinse pump's duty cycle, without severely damaging the motor's windings and bearings. ABB Drives SolutionA SEAchange energy audit of the paint plant revealed that the pumps need the motors for just over two minutes of its eight-minute duty cycle. With ABB's ACS600 and Comp-AC variable speed drives, Mayflower has been able to change its control strategy and cut the running costs of the pumps by 87.9%.
ABB Drives BenefitsThe cost savings were immediate. In fact, such were the project savings, the management of Mayflower committed £30,000 which had not been budgeted. The money was used for the purchase and installation of six drives for the phosphate and alkali rinse, chemical and soap pumps and a further 1 drives for other pumps and cooling tower applications ranging from 2.2 kW to 55kW. The investment is expected to yield a return in less than 12 months. Pat O'Sullivan, Facilities Manager for Mayflower Vehicle Systems explained : "When asked "Do you want to save £98,000 off your electricity Bill? Can you afford not to?'" Other savings have resulted from reduced maintenance. For example, the 11kW soap pump was throttled manually to achieve 3 bar, but the valve would regularly work loose. Using PID control on an AC drive, to control the pump, not only avoids the manually valve adjustment, but provides a faster, more reliable control method. |
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