Swish Building Products is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of low maintenance cellular PVC building products, including fascias, bargeboards, rainwater, internal and external cladding.
Swish are a long-term customer of Direct Air’s, after their first system audit was conducted all the way back in 2009.
Direct Air were first approached by Swish when they began to question their current compressed air system. Swish predominately uses compressed air for material transfer, along with numerous filter purging and a multitude of pneumatic equipment.
THE BRIEF
They identified that they needed a reliable service provider who could supply and update areas of their compressed air system. The supplier would also need to maintain the system following any new installations.
The team at Swish understood that their compressed air system lacked efficiency, but they did not realise the full extent until after the initial audit.
OUR SOLUTION
Their first ever audit in 2009, revealed that the customer had 27% inefficient air off-load. This accumulated to £33,546 per annum of their £126,700 per annum worth of air generated.
Following on from the results of the audit, Direct Air were able to identify a solution. Swish were able to save the non-productive energy by upgrading their compressed air system.
Alan Tunnicliffe, Process Improvement Manager at Swish Building Products, explains over the last 10 years: “I would estimate the energy savings to be 700,000 KW/hrs per annum.”
It started with an energy audit but developed past solving the initial energy inefficiency problem. Swish are a Gold Service Contract customer, to ensure efficiency and reliable compressed air support.
Over the last 10 years, Direct Air have provided and maintained a complete compressed air system for Swish Building Products. To further improve the service offering, remote monitoring software was installed. This provides real-time updates on machine performance.
As Swish’s requirements have changed, Direct Air have installed more equipment including a variable speed compressor in 2012 as a solution to an increased demand of air, as well as the installation of an L132RS in 2016 with heat recovery.
Alan Tunnicliffe commented:
“It has been a journey over the last 10 years with respect to compressed air, as our business has grown and evolved. Direct Air have continued to provide a world class support service, even when its outside of office hours.”
“We have benefitted from reliable compressors which are well maintained, with sufficient back-up to ensure our 24/7 350 days per year operation continues with uninterrupted compressed air supply. We have resolved numerous challenges around pressure control, moisture, pressure drops along with the added benefits of space heating which has also reduced our heating costs by £50K per annum.”
“Initially, I was impressed by the technical knowledge of Allan and Will upon our first few meetings and that has only continued with the service engineers who attend site. All the Direct Air engineers are extremely knowledgeable about their line of work and always willing to go the extra mile to resolve my queries or escalate them to someone who can provide me the answers I seek.”
Martyn Edwards, Contracts Co-ordinator at Direct Air, commented:
“Alan and Rob are great to work with and will always offer to help us when we attend site. As a customer, they’re constantly looking for new and innovative ways to unitise their energy usage, and this is evident in the investments they’ve made in relation to their compressed air equipment.”
Enjoyed this case study? Read this one about another company's compressed air system we've maintaned for many years: https://bit.ly/2VkJ2iY