Trelleborg trims energy bill at Tewkesbury plant

TEWKESBURY, England—Trelleborg Sealing Solutions has achieved annual savings of more than $14,000 through the installation of a new compressor unit at its Tewkesbury plant. The equipment was installed in July as part of a wider production strategy which aims to reduce the energy bill at the 6,000-sq.-ft. plant in Gloucesteshire by 3 percent each year.

The English west country facility is one of Trelleborg's main production centers for high pressure elastomer seals used in specialist applications, including aerospace, chemical processing, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and semiconductor manufacturing.

Air supply applications at the plant range from actuating pneumatic doors on production machinery to the removal of processed products from molding tools and the spraying of bonding agents on to metals.

"Everyone takes compressed air for granted, but it is very important throughout our production processes. Compressed air is one of our three fundamental site facilities," said Ian Henderson, engineering manager for the facility.

Based on an energy audit, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions installed an Atlas Copco rotary screw compressor with integrated refrigerant dryer.

Running the plant at 6.2 bar air system pressure rather than 7 bar, combined with variable-speed-drive capability to alter output from 26 to 155 l/s to match air demands, Atlas Copco said a news release.

Energy consumption fell from 45 to 17kWh, which adds up to $14,570 in annual energy cost savings, according to the equipment supplier's estimates.

"Energy efficiency remains high on the agenda for Trelleborg Sealing Solutions at Tewkesbury and we are always striving to raise the bar," said Kiet Huynh, general manager of the rubber-parts facility.