ITW’s Automotive Engineered Fasteners & Components team is committed to driving efficiencies in its operations. At its plant in Enkenbach, Germany, ITW cools manufactured plastic parts and tools using a cooling and chilling equipment system. After years of use, the cooling system was no longer energy efficient enough, and the business was in search of a new solution.
In October 2018, the ITW team identified a more environmentally friendly cooling system, which involved replacing three chillers with one chiller that is more energy-efficient and uses less water. In addition, the system is now able to use cool outdoor air in the winter, late fall and early spring. As a result, when combined with new pumps, hydraulic systems and proprietary software for system optimization, the new chiller is able to reduce energy costs for this operation by up to 85 percent. As an added benefit, the waste heat from the operation is used to heat the facility’s warehouse.
The project was completed in February 2019. As a result, the new cooling system has reduced CO2 emissions, maintenance costs and energy costs for the ITW facility.
