Case Study
Benefiting the Environment: Midas Pattern Reduces their Carbon Footprint and their Costs
Midas Pattern called in Anglian Compressors, a branch of Atlas Copco, as part of their Midas Green Initiative to explore new ways to improve efficiency.
Anglian Compressors, a branch of Atlas Copco, carried out a full audit that identified several opportunities to improve the compressed air system — helping Midas enhance their processes while reducing their environmental impact.
The changes have had a considerable impact on the firm’s carbon footprint. The upgrade in the compressed air system alone reduced CO₂ emissions by 50 tonnes.
Overview
Midas Pattern provides prototype and volume polyurethane moulding. While most of their products are for scientific equipment, polyurethane’s durability and flame-retardant features mean they are also found in domestic equipment like solar panels or EV charging stations.
Compressed air is used throughout the manufacturing process, from clearing the ‘swarf’ during cutting, to mixing materials before moulding, as well as finishing processes like spray painting.
Their compressors had been installed a decade before, using finance from the Carbon Trust. However, our audit discovered that their compressed air use had changed significantly.
Our recommendations helped Midas make significant progress towards their environmental responsibility goals.
A 10% energy saving from a simple change
Our audit identified that their compressors could operate at lower pressures, offering an immediate saving in energy costs.
Environmental benefits
In total, the changes recommended by Anglian Compressors, a branch of Atlas Copco, have reduced Midas Pattern’s emissions by approximately 60 tonnes of CO₂.
The Anglian approach
Anglian Compressors, a branch of Atlas Copco, always goes the extra mile for our clients — starting every project with a full system audit before doing anything else.
- The audit considers every element of an air compressor system, but most importantly, it also takes account of the customer’s needs.
- We logged Midas Pattern’s usage for a week, discovering that their current systems struggled to efficiently meet the demands placed on them, while some parts of the system were calibrated too high for their purpose.
Midas Pattern’s usage varied over the week, depending on the processes operating at the time.
- Compressed air is versatile, but for Midas Pattern, this versatility meant that, at times of peak demand, their compressors couldn’t meet the demand.
- Our audit also highlighted that their compressed air needs meant they had to use a fixed-speed compressor running all the time, whether it was fully utilised or not.
Installing a new compressor to replace an old, unreliable compressor unlocked improvements elsewhere.
- Midas Pattern was able to operate a compressed air system that matched the demands made on it, rather than over-producing most of the time, but then struggling during peak demand. It helped improve their production, saved money, and reduced their carbon footprint.
RESULTS
Midas Patterns are committed to environmental responsibility, always seeking ways to minimise their impact.
- Replacing their existing variable-speed compressor with an Atlas Copco GA37VSD+ allowed them to run a system that matched demand, up to 133 l/sec of compressed air, while their existing fixed-speed compressors were retained in the system as a backup.
- Other recommendations included reducing the pressure for some processes and reducing energy costs as a result. Anglian Compressors, a branch of Atlas Copco, carried out an audit detailed enough to recommend a single line of code that shut off swarf removal when it wasn’t needed — further cutting compressor runtime and energy use.
- Collectively, the recommendations from Anglian Compressors, a branch of Atlas Copco, reduced energy usage significantly — saving nearly £15,000 a year and delivering a rapid return on Midas Pattern’s compressor investment.
CONCLUSION
Air compressors are remarkably efficient, but as business changes, how the compressor is used needs to change with it; otherwise, it risks costing more than it should.
Our audit of Midas Pattern found several ways that changes to their compressed air system and how they used it could have a significant impact on their costs and environmental impact.
If you’re wondering whether your compressed air system could benefit from an audit, or want to ensure a new system is as efficient as possible, don’t hesitate to contact Anglian Compressors, a branch of Atlas Copco — we’re here to help you achieve the same results.
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