The German casting company ACO Guss GmbH with about 300 employees produces casting parts for railway technology, mechanical engineering, and utility vehicles. Besides continuous casting processes, the company manufactures components of grey cast and spheroidal graphite iron.

Cast-iron measures

• Company instals a more efficient burner system for preheating casting ladles
• Energy savings come to around € 29 000 a year

The German casting company ACO Guss GmbH, with about 300 employees, produces parts for railway technology, mechanical engineering, and utility vehicles. Besides continuous casting processes, the company manufactures components of grey cast spheroidal graphite iron.

A win-win arrangement for neighbouring factories

Titans of metal casting

• Technical advances in metal casting presented an opportunity to save resources
• Titanium casting and precision-milling technique led to large savings: 80 % energy and 75 % materials

TITAL GmbH is a German metal components producer which is part of the larger Arconic group.TITAL uses precision casting of lightweight metals, including titanium and aluminium, targeting the aerospace technology sector.

Weaving savings from non-wovens

• Expert audit reveals ways to improve processes and better use waste materials
• Annual material savings of around 3 % of net revenue

Suominen Kuitukankaat Oy is the global market leader in non-wovens for wipes, employing nearly 650 people in Europe and in the Americas.

Keep an open mind!

A material audit is a practical tool for companies to improve the efficiency of their operations and to manage their material flows.

With material audits, it is possible to identify those stages of the production process where reductions can be made in the use of materials, the amount of waste that is produced and environmental impacts. The audit also brings significant financial savings.

Getting the full (pre)treatment

• Material efficiency report reveals where water and chemical savings can be made
• Measures introduced lead to a 90 % reduction in annual water use and 72 % chemical savings 

In the German company Farbe + Design GmbH, individual metal pieces are chemically pretreated for powder coating. To improve efficiency, the company installed a cascade system to prepare the workpieces for coating, resulting in major water and chemical savings.

Refrigeration is a process of mechanically cooling or reducing the temperature of a space, product or process. In some industries, such as chemical producers or the food and drink sector, refrigeration accounts for a significant proportion of overall energy costs. Against these costs, even a small reduction in refrigeration energy use can lead to noteworthy cost savings.

A regular service on refrigeration systems leads to:

An energy-saving brew

• A brewery renewed its plant technology and implemented energy-efficiency measures
• The investment of € 1.8 million led to a yearly cost reduction of € 238 526

C. & A. Veltins GmbH & Co. KG brews one of the leading premium pils brands in Germany, reporting turnover in the millions of euros and output measured in the millions of hectolitres. The brewhouse is easily the main energy consumer in its brewery operation.