METERS PAY DIVIDENDS FOR LEADING PLASTICS MANUFACTURER
July 2019
Corex Plastics Dandenong South factory has energy intense manufacturing processes.
Corex Plastics is one of Australia’s leading suppliers of rigid plastic sheets, with brand names including Corflute, Fluteboard and Armaboard, and over thirty years of experience in innovative plastic manufacturing. Located in Dandenong South, Victoria, Corex Plastics is a member of the South East Melbourne Manufacturers Alliance (SEMMA).
Australia’s manufacturing industry is amongst the most energy intensive in the world, so SEMMA invited its members to work with a leading energy services company to improve their energy management. As part of this collaboration, Corex recognised the need to get a granular understanding of its energy consumption to enable proactive cost management.
Corex subsequently installed an energy metering solution so the business could properly monitor its energy spend. This has enabled Corex to:
Slash energy waste – Corex has saved in excess of $200 a day on non-production days by identifying energy load on lines that were meant to be switched off;
Accurately assign the true cost of energy to each product type and production line – Corex is now able to identify where the costs are being absorbed by both line and expense centre to provide a true and accurate picture of the way energy is consumed within the business;
Identify the most profitable lines and avoid subsidising less efficient products and lines;
Optimise production lines – meters have revealed previously unknown inefficiencies, resulting in big wins, such as 50% savings from a single water pump;
Identify and prioritise efficiency opportunities based on actual energy performance and predicted cost savings; and
Measure and verify cost savings.
The introduction of energy metering and energy management systems has reduced Corex’s average cost of energy per kilo of plastic by 15%, and is enabling a new, ongoing program of continuous improvement in energy management.
“In line with our sustainable practices policy, we wanted to know where energy was being consumed and how we could manage that use more efficiently. Installing an energy management system has provided a visibility of where energy is actually being consumed within the business that was not available previously. This allows us to optimise our machinery to operate more efficiently. The sub metering platform is a cost-effective solution that has helped my company reduce costs and improve the overall productivity of the business.”
Find the case study on page 23 of the second edition of Navigating a dynamic energy landscape: a briefing for Australian businesses.