Air of confidence in efficiency monitoring

• Company decides to implement routine checks of compressed air system
• Savings in both energy and emissions prove the value of energy performance monitoring 

The German company AKRO-PLASTIC GmbH produces plastic compounds, which are processed into technical components for the automotive industry by other companies. The company works with polymers in an application-orientated business; mainly using a twin-screw plastic extruder but also strand and underwater pelletising.

AKRO-PLASTIC has a huge compressed air system for working with polymers. Leaks in the high-flow compressed air system are costly and time-consuming. The energy required to compensate for pressure losses in the event of leaks is very high.

As part of an efficiency analysis, the company sent out two workers to systematically check for leakages and flag them for immediate repair.

Key results

Within three weeks, the inspectors found leaks which would cost the company around € 11 000 per year. Fixing the leaks promptly also prevented around 62 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. Inspired by the outcome, AKRO-PLASTIC plans to continue routine checks of its compressed air system.