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Equipment that cuts costs and uses fewer resources is starting to make an impact, but the big names will have to get behind its evolution to power an energy revolution, finds Paul Gander

The ‘eco' tag that equipment manufacturers like to slip into the names of their new machines will mean ‘ecology' to some customers, ‘economy' to others. To many it will mean both.

A machine that won't burn a hole in your pocket or the ozone layer can be highly attractive. But what may appear to make perfect sense from a carbon footprint or cost perspective can sometimes have drawbacks.

KHS launched the Eco-shrinktunnel in spring 2008. Rather than use traditional electrical power, this particular eco-machine uses mains gas. While this can mean significant cost savings in markets such as Germany and the UK where electricity costs are high, the shrinkwrapper uses the same 100kw per hour required by other lines, explains product manager for packaging machinery Werner Ageling.

Kilowatt for kilowatt, gas is often considered to be more carbon-efficient than mains electricity. While gas is burned directly, carbon emissions with electric heating are "considerably greater" due to the multiple energy conversions involved in the generation and consumption of power from the grid, KHS maintains. 

That said, power generation differences mean that the environmental and cost profiles of a given system will vary from country to country. As Ageling explains, the use of low-carbon nuclear power in France means that the KHS gas-powered technology is less attractive in that market on both environmental and economic grounds. It is significant that, to date, installations of the shrink system include three machines at one major UK brewer, as well as deliveries to Germany and Austria - all countries with relatively high electricity costs.  

The KHS system also uses an innovative method of generating energy to improve its environmental performance. Rather than use traditional gas-burning apparatus, the Eco-shrinktunnel uses porous combustion technology.

"This is a new technology for the packaging industry," says Ageling. "One interesting aspect of this is that you need no exhaust channels or additional air supply. With this system, there are no carbon monoxide emissions."

Power cuts
One company that has taken significant steps to reduce overall power consumption in some of its shrink tunnels is Sealed Air. In the case of its Shanklin GT71 tunnel, launched late last year, low-wattage heaters are used, along with improved insulation to minimise heat-loss.

European marketing director for shrink packaging at Sealed Air Helios Ruiz emphasises: "The machine on its own would not mean much. But a combination of machine and films can make a difference." Overall economies depend upon that combination and, of course, this is an area where Sealed Air, with its dual portfolio, is in a strong position.

So while KHS stresses the equivalent power output of the Eco and standard versions of its shrink tunnel, Sealed Air is able to talk about reduced wattage because it supplies low-temperature shrink films to accompany the GT71. Quality and performance are never going to be sacrificed for the sake of a few kilowatts.

Sealed Air takes a systems approach, seeing the economies from the tunnel as just one part of a much larger calculation. Far more important are likely to be the logistics savings, says Ruiz. "Customers might use 30% or 40% more pallet space with thicker films, so we sell our machines and films on the basis of these overall savings," he explains.

Of course, Ruiz does not belittle the importance of potential cuts in power consumption. "Energy saving is just one out
of maybe 10 benefits that this system can provide, but in countries such as the UK and Italy, those cost savings can mean a lot," says Ruiz. However, he adds that he is still waiting for the first enquiry about the GT71 on the basis of its environmental sustainability.

Despite their dependence on the shrink characteristics of the films they handle, high-energy heat tunnels might be considered to be among the ‘low-hanging fruit' when it comes to potential savings. But what about other, less energy-intensive, packaging processes? Are there arguments to be made for leaner and meaner technologies here, too?

Some equipment manufacturers such as Ilapak (see box) and tray-sealing specialist Proseal are addressing energy issues with other heat-based processes. Rick Carless, product sales engineer at Proseal, underlines the benefits of its Hot Rod alternative to the traditional ceramic mat heating system. "Rather than heat up the entire surface area of the tray, our system sits exactly over the profile of the tray rim, so heat is localised to the sealing area," he says.

But while this innovation can bring with it a 25% energy saving, Carless says the company is soon to introduce a new traysealer that offers a thumping 60% saving on electrical consumption. The first 10 of these machines have already been delivered, he says.

As in the case of the gas-burning system applied by KHS, he explains: "This is a technology that up to now has been available in other industries, but not in packaging."

Beyond that, for the moment he is giving little away about the machine.

Meanwhile, for thermoform, traysealing and vacuum pack specialist Multivac, energy efficiency is not a top priority - at least within the four panels of its own machines.

Marketing manager Andrew Stark explains: "We are all looking for opportunities to make any factory operation more efficient overall, but that should be in places where people can make the biggest difference."

Water cooling is a case in point, he believes. "We can use a closed-loop system for the water chiller," says Stark. "But
where you don't have that closed loop, you are pouring warm or hot water down the drain. A really enlightened factory
might even go so far as to use a heat exchanger to harness that energy." 

There is no doubt that such factories do exist, and are looking to make significant savings. Nor is cost the only justification for these changes, especially where the  larger, blue-chip players are concerned. Multinationals underestimate the importance of corporate social responsibility at their peril.

One small step
Where they may demur from Stark's analysis is in his emphasis on only the larger wins in energy terms. The larger the packing operation, the greater overall difference an apparently small redesign can make. 

Coding equipment might not be an obvious target for energy savings. But given that Pepsico globally has more than 2,000 Markem-Imaje SmartDate coders on its packing lines (particularly vertical FFS for crisps and snacks), the company felt there were savings to be made.

Markem-Imaje did not disappoint, developing a power-saving automatic ‘sleep' mode for the range of thermal transfer coders which, says the supplier, can cut consumption by half. Each coder reverts to sleep mode whenever the parent wrapping machine is not in operation. Since last year, the system has been standard on all new SmartDate 5 units, and can be retrofitted to installed machines.

When the new technology was introduced, Pepsico's UK engineering director Martin Miller pointed out: "Although the power saving on each coder may not be dramatic in its own right, the cumulative effect will help us meet our overall targets."

Last year, the company outlined a policy to "significantly" reduce electricity and compressed air consumption on its packaging lines over a three-year period.

As yet, innovation in energy-efficient packaging equipment is only in its infancy. As is often the case, pressure for change will come from the largest companies which have most to gain.

No doubt, once the re-engineered equipment is generally available, more SMEs will be able to make the move into more energy-efficient machines, both to save some pounds and the planet.

CARRERA CHANGE
Form-fill-seal (FFS) equipment supplier Ilapak is another company emphasising both the ecological and economic benefits of its latest systems, particularly the Carrera 4000 Eco.

Sales director for horizontal FFS Mike Butler explains: The energy-saving features are in the sealing system and in the motors. More specifically, the drives incorporate energy recuperation systems, according to Ilapak. The sealing system heats up in five to 10 minutes, with the shaft staying cool, and the jaws heating to only around 160°C, he adds.

Butler believes that there is increasing pressure on manufacturing and packing operations to source more energy-efficient equipment, and not only for reasons of cost reduction. Retailers are recognising that in-store energy usage is only one item in a much longer utility bill. We know that supermarkets expect their suppliers to reduce their own carbon footprint, too, he says.

But is there a risk that tailoring environmental responsibility into a machine could be more of a marketing strategy than a technical one? The ‘eco’ approach can be a bit of a cosmetic thing, Butler agrees. But then, there are genuine savings to be made with this equipment. On the 4000, for instance, the short amount of time the machine takes to heat up is a real benefit.