02/03/2016
Consequently, the world's leading producer of bottled water has achieved energy savings equivalent to the consumption of more than 20 ovens, representing savings of more than 1 million euros a year.
Nestlé Waters first undertook the conservation programme in 2010
when it challenged its long-term supplier, Sidel, to rationalise
the energy consumption of all its production equipment. With
over 96 production facilities situated in 35 producing countries
around the world, Nestlé Waters naturally places a high priority on
improving the environmental performance of its processes, as well
as keeping its operating costs to an absolute minimum.
Sidel, the leading provider of production equipment and services for liquids in PET, has worked with Nestlé Waters for over 50 years. The companies recently celebrated this landmark milestone in their lengthy collaboration. This relationship has resulted in many important and significant developments within the beverage industry.
Focus on blow moulders brings significant
energy-savings
Both companies were already well aware that blow moulding machines
generally account for as much as 70% of the total energy
consumption of a complete beverage bottling line. When
charged with reviewing the efficiency of the company's electrical
energy usage, Sidel started by carrying out a pilot Eco audit on
two of Nestlé Waters' blow moulders.
After monitoring and measuring the electrical
consumption of the blowers, Sidel identified corrective
energy-saving measures to Nestlé Waters. One such
recommendation was the installation of oven-top reflector lamps to
maintain energy in the ovens of the blow moulding machines.
This achieved a reduction in the electrical power consumption
required for the preform heating process equivalent to turning off
20 preform ovens. Despite this significant energy saving,
optimal performance is maintained.
Nestlé Waters was particularly pleased with results attained by the recommendations when they were implemented. "As we achieved around 20% in energy savings, we were really satisfied with the performance resulting from the upgrades to the first two blowers," explained Mr. Stephane Bosshart, Corporate Chief Engineer at Nestlé Waters. "So much so, that based on these results, we decided to apply a full Eco-programme to share those best practices on all of our blowers worldwide," he continued.
Global deployment of energy-saving
programme
In close collaboration with Sidel, the energy conservation
programme was deployed in all Nestlé Waters' plants
worldwide. Local Sidel Services™ teams planned and supplied all
the necessary resources for the different interventions at sites in
over 30 countries. They also provided technical support for
the project. By the end of 2015, nearly 130 Sidel blow
moulding machines were successfully converted with the oven-top
reflector lamps. All of them will have given a return on investment
(ROI) of between six and 24 months.
"The upgrades of oven-top reflector lamps have achieved real improvements," comments Mr. Eric Baronnet of Nestlé Waters. "For example, they have delivered a reduction in the use of blower energy in US plants of up to 25%." Advances such as those achieved in the US all contribute to an annual saving of over a million euros in Nestlé Waters' plants worldwide.
A combined sustainable approach
Both Nestlé Waters and Sidel are fully committed to achieving
outstanding energy savings and contributing to improvements in the
environmental performance of products. Working on a
continuous sustainability improvement plan, Sidel classifies its
production lines according to energy consumption. The company
also analyses the reasons for potential waste of energy within the
whole blow moulding machine, including the oven, the compressor and
the chiller. With Nestlé Waters, Sidel has again collaborated
to develop an energy-saving simulator in order to rate the blowers
in terms of consumption and to enable solutions to optimise
performance.
A long and successful relationship
The history of the Nestlé company began in 1866 when the
Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company opened Europe's first
condensed milk factory in Cham, Switzerland. The following year saw
Henri Nestlé develop a breakthrough in infant food and in 1905 the
company he founded merged with Anglo-Swiss to form what is now
known as the Nestlé Group. Nestlé Waters was created in 1992
and became the largest bottled water brand in the world in
2008. The company currently boasts 52 unique brands.
Those include Nestlé Pure Life, Perrier and S.Pellegrino, all of
which are among the many brands to benefit from the close
relationship of more than 50 years between Nestlé Waters and
Sidel. For instance, Sidel has been involved at every stage
of Vittel's development since its commercial production, including
the re-design of its distinctive ribbed bottle from a square to
round shape. Sidel also worked with Perrier to validate the design
of its first-ever PET bottle, providing a range of equipment still
being used for the iconic brand, which is widely exported around
the world.