Compressor reduces energy costs at CSR Roofing

CSR Roofing has been manufacturing terracotta roof tiles at its Vermont (Melbourne) factory for over seven decades. To replace its ageing compressor, the company chose an Atlas Copco VSD (variable speed drive) machine. 

John Tilli, maintenance manager at the facility, said he had always been impressed with Atlas Copco’s reliability, “but when I saw the results of the air measurement survey, that was the real clincher in the deal.”

He said the survey showed how Atlas Copco’s VSD technology could “save CSR Roofing thousands of dollars every year, and with the carbon tax incentives and energy savings, we were able to get the capital funds needed for the new compressor, and very close to a three-year payback period.”

He said CSR Roofing is striving to reduce the environmental impact of its operations, in particular the amount of energy and water consumed. The plant runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with the compressor constantly running in order to keep the kiln operating.

“We have had Atlas Copco compressors here for over 20 years and the machines have always performed to what the company said they would, and we expect no less with this new one,” said Tilli. He described the company’s VSD machine as “the world’s leading compressor regarding turndown range.”

“If the compressor doesn’t turn down enough you don’t get any savings,” he explained. “For example, if we only use 20% of the compressor’s capacity at night, and the turndown is not low enough, say at 50%, then we are wasting 30% of the air on energy.”

Tilli added that all the automated machinery “has some sort of air requirement, with pneumatic cylinders and vacuum cups. So it’s important for us to have a constant supply of clean, dry air as we can’t afford to have breakdowns and production downtime.

“At the moment, while we are waiting to install the new Atlas Copco Workplace design machine, a GA55VSDFF latest generation with in-built refrigerated dryer and DD/PD filters, we are running a 25-year-old machine as a standby. But it is producing a lot of water and causing me all sorts of problems with the machinery.”

Igor Kotliarski, Sales Engineer with Atlas Copco’s Industrial Air Division, said the free air measurement survey allows companies to “see what their compressor demand is on a daily basis and how much electricity they are currently using.” Atlas Copco engineers simply connect up their data loggers to the compressor and leave them on site for one week. “We then collect the data loggers and upload the data into proprietary Atlas Copco software and produce a detailed report on the proposed compressor for the client.”

Kotliarski said the software “can simulate the optimum-size VSD machines and predict energy savings for the customer.” This makes it easier for the user to justify the purchase, as they can see the proposed payback and return on capital from investing in an Atlas Copco compressor.