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Frequent breaks of the paper strips at the paper machine lead to losses of material, water and energy and to reduced productivity. Solution is to improve quality of white water by reducing biological deposits.This will be achieved through replacing biocides by new chemicals and small amendments of the existing technology.

Company is exploring opportunity to reduce offcuts of film edges in reforming which wre originally perceived as inherent to the laminating process and “irreducible”.Negotiation with supliers and consumers reveals opprotunity to significantly reduce the offcuts and related loss of material and production of waste by bringing size of product closer to the standards of the laminating film supplier.

Mapping the material losses in a cement bags manufacturing company revealed that losses of ink and solvents occur mainly at the end of each production batch due to ink leftovers in the machine that are removed by solvents. Reducing the feed tray size, the volume of feed tubes, and the dead volume in the ink trough significantly reduces the quantity of ink leftovers, and the required solvent quantity.

Productivity loss was noted in a cement bags manufacturing facility due to unmonitored change over of dies between different product batches. Monitoring the changeover time, and adoptin a “Single Minute Exchange Dies” method elimiates the loss of production.

To mitigate the increasing cost of electricity consumption, and as this company has the factory roof unutilized, instalation of photo-voltaic pannels saves the cost of electricity, and supports as a clean renewable source of energy.

Replacement of Puddle size press by Rod technique. Size of openings in the screen and its setting for particular filtration purposes is essential to achieve the self-cleaning effect. Then, the Rod could be used instead of sizing without metering, just controlled by absorptivity of paper (the puddle process). Resulting higher solids content decreases the amount energy needed for consequent drying.

Ink used in a printing company is prepared through manual mixing using a vigorous stirring system in a trough. This led to spillage of 4% of the prepared ink. Switching to an automatic stirring system, with programmed stirring speed and time eliminated that loss.

The injection molding machines in this company were of an old technology, using fixed speed motors with cold runners. This lead to generation of waste in the form of plastic carrot. Replacing the machines with modern technology, supported in reducing the specific energy consumption, through increasing the machine throughput, and improved motor efficiency. The hot runner technology eliminates the generation of plastic carrot.

This circular economy practice illustrates the economic benefit from utilizing recycled PET besides the virgin material.

A plastic containers manufacturing company, working with injection molding process, has to frequently change the mold to match each product batch and respond to customer orders. Changing the mold results in loss of production time, reflecting the time to change the mold, as well as loss of the off-specification products resulting during the start-up of each batch.
Tackling this drawback was achieved through communication with the company’s clients for long term planning in order to reduce the frequency of changeover, and increase the productivity. In parrallel, capacity building for the workers on speedy change of molds, and adjustment of process parameters reduced the off-specification products.