The modernization achieved energy savings of 48.3 percent compared to the old system. © Interroll

An impressive example of an energy-saving retrofit project is the Triumph Group, which serves over 22,000 customers in 28 European countries from its automated distribution center in Obernai near Strasbourg, France. This location of the long-established company covers 50,000 square meters. An average of around 6,000 parcels are dispatched from here every day. The most important automation process is a conveyor system around seven kilometers long.

Nothing was left to chance during the retrofit measures in Obernai: Bureau Veritas, a leading global testing and certification company, was therefore commissioned to measure the savings achieved during the modernization of the roller conveyors. To determine the electricity consumption, the independent Bureau Veritas engineers carried out and documented one weekly measurement of the old system and one of the retrofitted system.

Decentralized Interroll drive concept reduces energy consumption by half

The modernized system, which continues to use the same conveyor frame as the old system, uses a decentralized drive concept based on the EC5000 RollerDrive and the MultiControl control system from Interroll. With this solution, only the conveyor zones in which goods are actually to be conveyed are activated. In contrast, the old system installed many years ago was based on a central drive concept in which asynchronous 400 V geared motors with actuators ensured a zero pressure accumulation flow of goods.

With the solution found, only those conveying zones are activated in which goods are actually to be conveyed © Interroll

In order to avoid particularly energy-intensive continuous operation or starting current, the electric motors were already switched off after three minutes in this old concept as soon as no goods were to be transported on the conveyor system. Despite this, the modernization achieved energy savings of 48.3 percent compared to the old system by using the EC5000 RollerDrive. A figure that will continue to improve as throughput increases.

Material flow solutions have long been part of the business-critical infrastructure in most industries. The rapid availability of spare parts and comprehensive service and maintenance services for conveyor and sorting systems has therefore become even more important. In addition to the central service unit in Sinsheim, the central warehouse in Ketsch and the repair sites, Interroll's service organization, which bears the name "Global Lifetime Service", includes around 100 qualified Interroll service employees in the European branches as well as certified partners who are responsible for carrying out the respective maintenance, repair and installation services throughout Europe in close proximity to the customer.

Customer services include, for example, the rapid supply of spare parts, customer-specific spare parts stocking, the supervision of system installations, the repair and general overhaul of products, needs-based service agreements with a round-the-clock hotline, predictive maintenance measures, the modernization of existing conveyor and sorting systems and training for customers' service personnel.

This article appeared in issue 7/23