Upgrading an old DC drive and motor system to new AC technology has resulted in a UK packaging specialist reporting a 30% boost in energy savings.

BPI Solutions is a manufacturer of flexible packaging film and has seven sites across the UK and Romania. Its Winsford site produces innovative, sustainable film used in various applications from NHS PPE to surgical waste bags. The facility has two engineers on-site, so occasionally outsources motor repairs to Rewinds & J. Windsor. 

In a bid to become more energy efficient and overcome ongoing maintenance challenges, the company decided to convert all DC motors employed on its 25-year-old main blown film extruder – the heart of the machine. 

BPI and Rewinds & J. Windsor chose a Control Techniques Unidrive M700 for the job. The two main extruders were all converted to utilise Unidrive, Dyneo and TEC solutions. 

Apostolos Papadopoulos, from Control Techniques, said: “By swapping to AC, the customer benefits from 30% energy savings, lower maintenance costs and improved machine performance. We installed one TEC motor, and the comparison between that and the Dyneo solution highlighted the better performance of the Dyneo, in a smaller size and with minimum maintenance requirements.”

Rob McAloon, from BPI Packaging Solutions, added: “The Control Techniques drives are brilliant. We have all the benefits associated with switching from DC to AC and, as a result, we are now converting to Control Techniques drives across the site to keep all parts uniform.”

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