Modern sheetfed offset presses are extremely sensi­tive to temper­a­ture fluc­tu­a­tions and humidity. Even slight devi­a­tions can change the behavior of the paper—it expands, curls or absorbs ink unevenly. “If the temper­a­ture or humidity is not right, the quality suffers imme­di­ately,” explains Christoph Herzog, Managing Director of the Mayr Mies­bach printing company. “We have to work precisely—and that includes equally precise venti­lation.” 

Strong part­ners from concept to imple­men­ta­tion 

When Peter Berberski, sales engi­neer at building automa­tion specialist Kieback&Peter, called on the print shop because of a faulty control cabinet, he also noticed the outdated venti­lation system. He contacted retrofit expert Dieter Hilde­brandt from Breuell & Hilgen­feldt, the ebm-papst service center. The two have known each other for years through the annual Energy Forum in Rosen­heim and have learned that their skills comple­ment each other perfectly. 

“As with the Mayr printing company, we work directly with many customers on their systems and recog­nize where modern­iza­tion is sensible and neces­sary,” says Berberski. “Together with Breuell & Hilgen­feldt, we can imple­ment such projects holistically—from high-effi­ciency control to energy-effi­cient fans.” It is often possible to obtain subsi­dies for modern­iza­tion. This was also the case at the Mayr printing company, as all the require­ments were met, including an energy-effi­cient conver­sion of the venti­lation system and the modern­iza­tion of the control tech­nology. Kieback&Peter applied for the subsidy and success­fully imple­mented it as part of a subsidy part­ner­ship for the entire project. 

Christoph Herzog, CEO Mayr Mies­bach GmbH (Photo | Stefan Hobmaier/Fotogloria)

Old tech­nology, high load 

The fans installed at the Mayr printing plant were lightyears from being energy effi­cient. The huge, belt-driven fan unit, which was around 40 years old, simply guzzled power. “The venti­lation system runs prac­ti­cally around the clock in the printing plant, around 8,700 hours a year, with only 30 to 40 percent effi­ciency and no way to regu­late it according to demand,” reports Hilde­brandt. “Some­thing had to be done urgently.” 

Peter Berberski was able to convince the managing direc­tors of the printing plant, Christoph and Ulrich Herzog, that rapid action was needed. “As a family busi­ness with regional roots, we place a high value on sustain­able working prac­tices. A retrofit that signif­i­cantly reduces energy consump­tion and CO₂ emis­sions fits in perfectly with our corpo­rate philos­ophy. And if it also has a posi­tive finan­cial impact, so much the better,” explains Christoph Herzog with a smile. 

Berberski and Hildebrandt’s concept included replacing the defec­tive control cabinet, renewing the control system and opti­mizing the venti­lation. The instal­la­tion of two FanGrids, each with six RadiPac 3 radial fans, provided a breath of fresh air. The RadiPac units, which are connected in parallel, not only increase effi­ciency but also oper­a­tional reli­a­bility: If one fan fails, the others auto­mat­i­cally compen­sate for the loss of power. 

Perfect climate, lower costs 

The new RadiPac fans operate quietly, hygien­i­cally and—thanks to the absence of V-belts—require little main­te­nance. Their higher effi­ciency cuts the elec­trical power consump­tion in half, reducing energy consump­tion by around 50 percent. “Many of our customers are unaware of how much they can save by upgrading their venti­lation system,” explains Berberski, and Hilde­brandt agrees: “Hardly any oper­a­tors know how much energy their old venti­lation systems consume. Those who modernize save money immediately—and over the long run.”  

The retrofit has paid off for us. It is the best proof that sustain­ability and economic effi­ciency can go hand in hand.

Christoph Herzog, CEO Mayr Mies­bach GmbH

Today, Christoph and Ulrich Herzog have no regrets about their invest­ment: “The retrofit has paid off for us. Not only are we saving energy, but we have also opti­mized our produc­tion condi­tions. For us, this is the best proof that sustain­ability and economic effi­ciency can go hand in hand.”