Electrical supply upgrade avoided

The installed production machinery at garden and architectural stonework specialist, Haddonstone, was collectively drawing 200A, and at the limit of the company’s electrical supply. Installing the wood chipping machine, known as a hogger, would add 70A to the load, exceeding the available supply capacity.

Improving the supply to account for the higher power demand would have required the company to install a new transformer costing £23,000. “We would also need to contribute to the connection of the transformer to the external utility supply. It could have ended up costing us anything up to £50,000,” says Haddonstone’s production director Tony Mason.

ABB authorised value provider Inverter Drives Systems recommended installing a 45 kW ABB general purpose drive to control the speed of the hogger’s motor. The drive’s improved  power factor and peak torque limit function allows the hogger to be run at a slower speed meaning it now only draws around 45 A. This has enabled Haddonstone to run its production machinery – and the hogger - from its existing power supply without the need to upgrade the electrical supply.