Haagen Dazs, which produces and markets ice cream the world over, has a production site in Arras, Northern France. Industrial refrigeration is a substantial cost item, accounting for more than 65% of the energy consumed by the site. To produce the refrigeration, 20 compressors are needed. In partnership with Haagen Dazs, Actemium Arras carried out a centralized compressor management project. Information is reported enabling each compressor to be controlled by a single PLC connected to a general supervision system. Variable speed drives installed on the compressors round out the project. Refrigeration can now be produced according to need, and energy consumption has been optimized and cut by about 20%.
Expertise views: Energy Optimization, a major source of competitiveness
Jean-Pierre Riche, Chairman and CEO, Okavango Energy: "Energy is one of the largest cost items in industry but it also offers the greatest potential for optimization. Savings can easily amount to 30% of expenses and the payback period is only two or three years. This is an area that industry must leverage in order to cope with the constant need to boost competitiveness."
Jean-Laurent Schaub, Director of Maintenance & Services, Actemium: "Actemium's expertise in industrial process measurement and monitoring enables the brand to support customers wishing to improve the energy efficiency of their plant and equipment. The Actemium offering enables them to gain on understanding of the way they are consuming energy and determine whether the consumption is truly useful. It is also in line with the energy audits that will become compulsory in 2015."
