Cadbury nibbles energy bill at Sheffield plant

Sheffield, UK - Cadbury has achieved a significant carbon emission reduction and a £16,000 energy cost saving following a review of the manufacturing process at its factory in Sheffield. The project was carried out by Brammer, a distributor of industrial maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) products and services.

The work started with an evaluation by Brammer’s technical specialists to identifyl areas where the use of more energy efficient components would significantly reduce carbon emissions and deliver reduced energy consumption and tangible cost savings.

A revised, more energy efficient, specification was then developed consisting of an EFF1 motor, linked to a variable speed drive (VSD) and the standard V belts were replaced with Gates Polychain synchronous drive belts. Whilst the new EFF1 motor is much more energy efficient the installation of a VSD has increased process speed control and improved the effectiveness of the production process.

According to Brammer, switching to the Polychain belts delivered an energy saving of between 5 and 6% on the drive. This instant payback, combined with the improved results from the variable speed drive and EFF1 motor gave Cadbury immediate, quantifiable energy savings, the MRO company stated.

 “The new motor and drive belt specification is much more efficient than our previous set up and we’re really starting to see a healthy reduction in our energy consumption," commented Tim Jefferies, chief engineer at the Sheffield factory.

"Monitoring our energy consumption, we have discovered that the motor and Polychain belts are set to deliver a saving of 185,000kwh or 79 tonnes of CO2 each year," added Jefferies. "That translates into a £16,000 cost saving as well as being great for the environment.”

Cadbury has pledged to reduce CO2 emissions by 50% across the company by 2020.