Wood-product company nears tough
carbon-reduction targets, gains enhanced operator insights, and
enjoys greater asset resilience
MILTON
KEYNES, England, Dec. 10,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Rockwell Automation, Inc.
(NYSE: ROK), the world's largest company dedicated to
industrial automation and digital transformation, today announced
that West Fraser, a diversified wood products company, has made
significant gains towards stringent carbon-reduction and energy
saving targets at its plant in Cowie, Scotland, thanks to its deployment of a
complete Intelligent Packaged Power (IPP) solution from Rockwell
Automation.
The IPP solution, comprising a CENTERLINE® 1500 medium-voltage
motor control center (MCC) and three Allen-Bradley® PowerFlex®
6000T medium-voltage variable-speed drives, is deployed across
three of the site's energy-intensive fan applications. Used for raw
material drying, end-product extraction, and
material-condition-based rejection, more precise control of all
three fans has resulted in West Fraser significantly cutting
overall energy consumption, translating into an annual saving of
more than $266,000 (£209,939).
"When you consider the energy consumed globally by industry in
motor and fan applications, it's clear variable-speed drives can
have a profound positive impact in reducing energy consumption and
cutting carbon levels," said Asa
Arvidsson, regional vice president, central, east &
north region, Rockwell Automation. "But as well as saving energy,
this application highlights other benefits of a smart MCC
solution."
West Fraser has ambitious sustainability targets across all its
operations in North America and
Europe – from forestry management
to final products. As a major processing facility for
medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and particleboard, the Cowie plant
was an ideal opportunity for carbon reduction. The assets on site
are well-suited for smart motor control technologies.
"We are now exactly where we need to be in terms of optimizing
the speeds of our large process fans," said Gordon McArthur, engineering manager at West
Fraser's Cowie plant. "Not only are we seeing improved process
control, but we are also gaining better reliability, with the
variable-speed drives adjusting the fans' speeds quickly and more
precisely in line with optimum application set points. West Fraser
is also a large user of Rockwell Automation technology globally, so
our engineers are familiar with the control architecture and what
it can achieve."
In partnership with the Rockwell Automation IPP project team,
additional site installation and supervision services were provided
by HF Controls, a member of the Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork™
ecosystem, as a silver-level system integrator, and a recognized
Rockwell certified system integrator for medium-voltage drive
installations.
About Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation, Inc.
(NYSE: ROK), is a global leader in industrial automation and
digital transformation. We connect the imaginations of people with
the potential of technology to expand what is humanly possible,
making the world more productive and more sustainable.
Headquartered in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 27,000
problem solvers dedicated to our customers in more than 100
countries as of fiscal year end 2024. To learn more about how we
are bringing the Connected Enterprise to life across industrial
enterprises, visit www.rockwellautomation.com.
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