Sidel places energy efficiency at the heart of design process

Marc Aury, from the company’s engineering and material handling department, said the goal of cutting energy usage formed a major part of developing or redesigning its systems.

The executive vice president spoke as the France-based firm unveiled its first crown feeder that operated without the need for compressed air.

The feature means the new Crown Feeder Aidlin 24 CR, designed for the beer sector, uses 70% less energy compared to previous feeders thanks to the introduction of an air blower system. Other developments have also boosted its efficiency rate to over 99%, said the company.

He said the improvements were typical of Sidel’s holistic approach to production line design. Machine enhancements were not made in isolation but as part of the wider aim of boosting production efficiencies and reliability of the whole line.

On a beer line, the filler is the hub of the system. Avoiding downtime by ensuring the reliability of feeding systems into this is important for both output and energy consumption. Re-starting of equipment following a stoppage involves significant extra energy consumption.