Company profile and core business: www.savekers.com
Despite having a pedigree that stretches back for more than 100 years, the Birmingham based fabricator Savekers Ltd. has built up and today maintains its reputation for producing high quality, shop-fitting, point-of-sale, hotel furnishing and architectural products by constantly looking forward - rather than back.
Time for choosing
In 2007, in order to improve competitiveness in a world of ever-improving quality and flexibility demands, the management decided to update the company sheet-metal and tube profiling.
Laser-cutting was the obvious technology to employ and after a thorough evaluation of the market the company invested in both flat-bed and tube profiling machines from Trumpf, which needs nitrogen.
Needs/requirements
a quality of the cut guaranteed, to totally satisfy customers
high availability of the plant: laser-cutting machines must work continuously, to be profitable
Screened solutions
Cylinder racks (old solution used) -> rejected at once
- 20-25% of the "paid for" gas back to the supplier in so called "empty bottles"
- less tangibile (but no less significant) administrative and shop inconvenience costs of contracts, paperwork delivery, inconsistencies and machine and general shop upset at bottle changeover time
Bulk-supply/cryo tank facility-> it seemed the best solution, but it didn't work because:
- overcome planning regulations with regard to the siting of a bulk facility - even before the cost of site preparation and supply and installation of the tank and its associate equipment
- running costs - apart from a fixed monthly plant rental - much of the gas purchased would regularly "vent-off" to atmosphere
- at every fresh delivery, the bulk-tank would have be vented to a lower pressure before the tank coule be re-charged
SELF-GENERATING NITROGEN: CLAIND IS THE WINNING SOLUTION!
In-house nitrogen generation seemed to be the best solution, but the high-powered Trumpf lasers that Savekers were going for were to "give their best" they needed to be supplied with nitrogen at pressures of up to 200 bar. When Savekers started looking at generation systems they found 40-bar units on the market which could be boosted to higher pressures - but such units were of a bespoke nature and comprised elements from multiple sources.
However they discovered the LASER CUT, a new system from the italian company Claind, a comprehensive, single-source package, designed from the outsets to meet the very high pressure requirements if laser-cutting.
DISCOVERED BENEFITS
- a very low pay-back: less than 3 years
- run both Trumpf per 18 hours per day
- able to manage peaks
- a purity constantly guaranteed
- the only inputs required: air and electrical power
- good green credentials: very low consumption, high efficiency, no leaks, only the nitrogen really needed is produced, no bottle or bulk deliveries by lorry to site
