Switch on to saving

4 August 2011



Businesses are reaping the advantages of low energy processes and there is financial help to bring forward those benefits, as Joanne Hunter discovers.


Rising energy bills are a major concern for UK manufacturers and the issue is a greater concern than labour costs, falling consumer spend and the administrative burden of regulation. According to a recent survey by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 60% of the 1,000 manufacturers polled said that energy costs were of ‘high concern’. Put bluntly by the institution president John Wood, higher energy costs are inevitable in the transition to a low carbon economy. The statement will apply far beyond the shores of the UK.

In this new business climate, companies are looking at options for reining back energy usage. Their plans for growth in production and supply are embracing low-energy processes and they are calculating investment payback ‘in the round’, accounting for future energy savings. Solar power is also on the radar.

This link between lean and green thinking has been studied by the PrintCity Alliance, a group of companies with global printing and packaging industry expertise. A recently published report is the result of work done by Kurz, M-real, Manroland, MKW, Sappi, Sun Chemical, Trelleborg and UPM, with project partner Muller Martini. The 32-page guide Carbon Footprint & Energy Reduction for the Graphic Industry Value Chain aims to improve collaborative environmental performance of printers, converters, publishers, brand owners and their suppliers.

The recommendations are based on the premise that ‘lean’ and ‘green’ go hand-in-hand to improve both environmental and business performance. Energy supply is limited, expensive and likely to continue to be so. Reducing energy levels effectively will cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and consequent administrative costs, producing a ‘leaner’ business culture.

The energy saving efforts of GEWA Etiketten, a German wine and spirit label printer, have attracted investment support from the German government. The scheme, which was instigated at GEWA by production director Uwe Refflinghaus, and monitored by Klaus Wilhelm Bohr, involved the independent Ingenieurbüro Kautz.

The target was to reduce energy consumption across GEWA’s machine park of offset and narrow web flexo presses. If the company could demonstrate a reduction in power consumption of more than 20%, it would qualify for special terms with the KFW Bank as part of an official government scheme.

The presses chosen for the test were a Gallus EM 340 6-colour line and a Gallus RCS 330 all-servo press fitted with eight stations. On both machines, GEWA had elected to fit Martin Automatic MBSC unwind/splice and STR rewind units to allow continual operation. The idea was to measure the difference in power consumed over the entire print run, when the rolls were changed manually and automatically.

The test involved a different job on each machine, chosen as being of medium difficulty, and run over half a day. There were eight points on each press where measurements were taken of the power consumed by the press and the UV curing and cooling systems, as well as other ancillary equipment, such as waste extraction. The jobs were based on three rolls of 2,000 linear metres each, so included two roll changes. Set-up time was identical for each machine, whether using the Martin equipment or not. The two machines then ran and completed their respective jobs, first with manual roll changes and then using the Martin Automatic equipment.

The results were considered ‘striking’. Not only was there an average of 23% power saving per job, beating the 20% target; they were also finished significantly quicker, freeing the presses and operators to begin work on the next order. The statistics recorded were then calculated for jobs per shift, running time, and material used, and then grossed up for annual production, working on a double-day shift pattern on 250 days/year.

On power savings alone, GEWA calculated that on the two presses the Martin equipment reduced costs by €10,000/year. If waste savings are added in, based on metres of substrate bought against metres sold, this equates to some €100,000/year on the special labelstocks used by the company. A cut in waste was key for GEWA - in 2010 it threw away the equivalent of 419 tonnes of substrate (1,200 pallets). The 2011 target is to reduce this by 55 tonnes (145 pallets).

“One of the hidden benefits of automatic roll changing is the improved quality of product. Continuous running eliminates the bad material produced while slowing the press down for a manual roll change and ramping it back up to production speed. This also saves time and money on downstream processes like inspection/rewind,” comments Uwe Refflinghaus. “On a roll-fed press where production is on a continuous web of substrate it makes no sense to stop the press for roll changes. It lowers net output and increases expensive waste,” he adds.

In July, Atlas Copco launched a 0% APR (annual percentage rate) finance scheme to encourage investment in energy efficient compressed air technology. The loans by Atlas Copco Compressors UK replace the recently withdrawn UK Carbon Trust loans scheme.

“The original Carbon Trust 0% loan scheme was a real boon for industry and we were involved in many projects which used the funding it provided,” says Elwyn Smiles, regional sales manager Northern Europe at Atlas Copco Customer Finance. “We do not want to see affordable funding disappear, so as part of our commitment to energy efficiency, the environment and the continued recovery of British industry, we are introducing our own 0% finance offering for Atlas Copco equipment.”

The terms of the loan are flexible and can be taken out for a period of up to seven years for amounts from £1,000 upwards. A standard four-year term for the original Carbon Trust scheme was set between £5,000 and £100,000. Also, Atlas Copco’s offering is available to everyone, not just SMEs, subject to the usual credit checks. The process is said to be more straightforward than the original Carbon Trust scheme and the Energy Efficiency Financing Scheme that has replaced it. For example, while Atlas Copco can provide details for the carbon reduction achieved, there are no carbon assessment criteria to be met in order for the equipment to qualify for the funding. Also, the loan approval and funds release are very smooth and quick - not reliant on government bureaucracy.

The other major benefit is the comparatively low cost of the loan. As Elwyn Smiles explains: “It is significantly cheaper than the current Energy Efficiency Financing scheme, in fact up to 25% cheaper in some instances, and greatly improves on some of the fixed terms and inflexible bureaucracy of the original government-backed scheme.”

US company Menasha Packaging this year published its first corporate Sustainability Report entitled Making the World a Better Place and it contains wide-ranging news on how the company is meeting its goals for energy efficiency. A heat recovery system in the Wisconsin-based facility reuses heat generated from the corrugator as a primary source of heat for the building. The consumption of electricity, natural gas and water has gone down. It has installed five Renewegy 20kW wind turbines at its Neenah office and manufacturing complex.

In addition, new product introductions include packaging that offers the same function and performance while using fewer raw materials in the manufacturing process.

“Menasha Packaging helps its customers – some of the biggest names in their industries – to protect, move and promote their products,” says Menasha Packaging president Mike Waite. “We are engaged in helping them create high-impact graphic packaging and merchandising products that attract shoppers and reduce their impact on the environment. At the same time, we have also made tremendous strides in reaching our internal sustainability objectives.”

Amcor’s new reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions, water use and waste management will have direct and indirect benefits for the company’s energy use and its utility bills, as well as for the environment.

The goals for 2015/16 include a 10% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions; a 50% reduction in waste to landfill; and a 25% reduction in potable water use at Amcor’s Australian sites. The company also aims to have active water management plans in place at all other sites by the end of 2011.

“As the world’s largest packaging company, we have the opportunity to take the lead on packaging sustainability. Our approach to sustainability continues to evolve and move beyond compliance and operational efficiencies to one that will drive sustainability across the supply chain of packaged goods,” says Ken Mackenzie, Amcor’s managing director and CEO.

The impacts of energy consumed across the length and breadth of packaging production are far reaching, and solutions for improving process efficiency and energy saving must look at every part of the business and its supply chain. What is apparent is that support from industry and governments does exist to help companies which are prepared to explore and consider the overall benefits, and commit the necessary investment, to energy saving measures.


Martin Automatic STR rewinder fitted to GEWA’s Gallus EM 340. GEWA Atlas Copco’s new finance scheme aims to encourage investment in energy efficient compressed air technology used in MAP ready meal production. Atlas Copco GEWA’s production director Uwe Refflinghaus (left), and Klaus Wilhelm Bohr, tested the energy efficiency of Martin Automatic machinery. GEWA 2

GEWA GEWA
Atlas Copco Atlas Copco
GEWA 2 GEWA 2


Privacy Policy
We have updated our privacy policy. In the latest update it explains what cookies are and how we use them on our site. To learn more about cookies and their benefits, please view our privacy policy. Please be aware that parts of this site will not function correctly if you disable cookies. By continuing to use this site, you consent to our use of cookies in accordance with our privacy policy unless you have disabled them.