Air of quality key to Knauf
May 1st 2009 Over the past few years, a multimillion-
pound investment at Knauf
Insulation's rock mineral wool
production facility at Queensferry in
North Wales has resulted in all parts
of the production line being either
replaced or upgraded, including the
plant's compressed air system. This
£10 million upgrade programme has
resulted in a capacity increase,
together with advances in material
and product development as well as
the introduction of new items.
Engineering manager, Philip
Bishop explains "In our specific
applications, the quality of the
compressed air is very important.
What is equally important to us is
energy efficiency. Our corporate
slogan is 'It's time to save energy' and
we are very serious about it. Our
company mission is to become world
leader in energy efficient systems for
buildings, so we look at the energy
efficiency of plant equipment
involved in our production processes
in much the same way. And we find
that Atlas Copco's compressed air
system solutions have met both of
these important criteria."
With the application of Atlas
Copco's measurement (ME) box
survey techniques it was possible to
establish a true indication of Knauf's
air use. The ME box analyses a
plant's compressed air demand and,
most importantly, any wastage that is
incurred in producing it.
The software programme
employed enabled simulated
compressor comparisons to be made
against the actual system operation
and it provides an indication of how
the compressed air system could be
improved for maximum efficiency
and reduced costs. More articles from Atlas Copco Ltd: | 
