Crown Speciality Packaging is one company that felt the sting of increased electricity prices when their power costs almost tripled overnight some 18 months ago. This sudden increase propelled Crown Speciality Packaging into implementing a programme to reduce their energy consumption costs. They started at their Mansfield site with the compressed air system.

Assisted by Boge the company has now reported a massive 34% reduction in compressed air energy consumption that has significantly reduced energy costs.

This has been achieved through embracing a continual improvement philosophy to creating energy efficiencies.

Crown Speciality Packaging is a leading manufacturer of packaging products for consumer marketing companies around the world.

The plant at Mansfield manufactures speciality tins used to package teas, sweets and biscuits for some of the nations most well known household names.

Compressed air is a key energy consumer at the plant in various stages of the production process.

Chris Nolan, site service team leader, had recognised there were a number of opportunities available to the Company that would assist in reducing compressed air energy consumption.

The recent steep rise in electricity prices prompted Nolan to further investigate how and where energy savings could be made.

Nolan subsequently invited the Carbon Trust to review the existing compressed air system and make recommendations as to how they believed energy savings could be made.

Their report confirmed his own beliefs and so Crown Speciality Packaging engaged long standing supplier Boge Compressors to assist in realising the necessary changes.

The compressed air system was subsequently re-designed to accommodate ever changing system dynamics whilst at the same time ensuring optimum energy efficiency.

A Boge S151 fixed speed screw compressor along with a Boge SF150 frequency controlled screw compressor, were consequently installed.

The Boge SF series of frequency controlled screw compressors is a low carbon technology product 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.

An energy management system was also installed to continually audit the compressed air system ensuring that the compressors run as efficiently as possible at all times.

Implementing low carbon technologies allowed Crown Speciality Packaging to maintain the compressed air system's pressure precisely again ensuring ongoing cost optimisation.

This in turn is providing sustainable energy efficiencies.

Creating energy savings has been embraced as a long-term goal and the Boge Maintenance Plan ensures that compressed air energy management is a key component at all periodic site service visits.

Regular air leak detection, using an Ultrasonic Leak Detector, is one measure that Boge includes within their regular visits.

In fact, leak detection alone created colossal energy savings in the first few months of system optimisation and now continues to provide on-going energy savings for the company.