Summary
Bernstein AG manufactures switches, sensors, housings and support arm systems for industrial applications. In the old production plant for the switches, 200 switches per hour could be produced, of which an average of 35 % were classified as defective during inspection. This resulted in approximately 2,800 kg of plastic and 800 kg of metal waste per year.
The existing plant was therefore replaced by a new, innovative automatic production machine that can produce 800 switches per hour at a maximum of twice the power consumption. The reject rate should also be less than 3 %.
Due to the demanding technical implementation, the project took more time than planned and finally lasted 30 months. During this time the plant was commissioned and inspected over a period of 6 months. The plant is equipped with a modern system for recording operating data, so that key production data is stored for each switch produced.
Results:
The achieved environmental effects are partly even higher than expected. The reject rate was reduced to 1.08 %. The amount of material used per switch is reduced while at the same time quality standards are raised. Thanks to the subsidies received, the investment in the plant can be amortised in 7.5 years.
Achieved savings:
- 3.5 t/a plastic (polyamide)
- 0.9 t/a Steel
- 6 MWh/a Energy
- 18.5 t/a CO2 equivalents
