In a growing food industry, SMC Corporation Australia New Zealand (ANZ) is stressing the importance of energy-efficient manufacturing solutions, with the introduction of its air management system and air booster regulator series.
Australia’s food industry has surged to $140 billion, with an anticipated 4.59 per cent growth rate over the next four years.
The food sector is also at the centre of New Zealand’s economy, accounting for 62.8 per cent of the country’s $67.3 billion of exported goods, according to the Ministry of Primary Industries.
This growing market requires sustainable, energy-saving solutions from the core of the supply chain – the manufacturing system.
SMC is a leading automation supplier, and has highlighted two of its products for energy savings on the factory floor.
VBA air booster regulator
The VBA-X3145 regulator is the latest SMC air booster model, with the capability to reduce air consumption by as much as 40 per cent whilst increasing main line pressure up to 1.7 times.
Designed for easy horizontal and vertical installation, the VBA requires low maintenance and has a service life of 50 million cycles.
The VBA series saves money and reduces energy consumption, while ensuring equipment is protected against pressure fluctuations. It boosts local line pressure without requiring additional power, and can be adjusted to a desired output.
Air management system
The new-gen compressed air management system (AMS) has been catching the market’s attention, with CO2 emissions and energy consumption reduced by up to 62 per cent.
Energy wastage at manufacturing and process plants is largely attributable to factors such as poor control of air consumption, undetected leaks and processes which are not optimised for standby and shutdown times.
The VBA and AMS series are solutions to reduce these factors and optimise energy savings.
SMC offers a comprehensive range of automatic control equipment, including chillers, pneumatic cylinders, dryers, ionisers, electric actuators, and fieldbus systems, that can be implemented in the food and beverage industry.
