As a technician who has worked in the factory for twelve years, I have witnessed the transformation of the packaging industry from "big guys" to "smart guys". Now when customers come to the factory for inspection, the most common question is: "How can your equipment help us save electricity bills?" Behind this question, there is an urgent need for energy saving and sustainability in the entire manufacturing industry.
In the past two years, our factory has focused on intelligent energy consumption control systems and equipped traditional packaging machines with "energy-saving brains". To give a real example, the pillow packaging line that was transformed for the food factory last year reduced the idling power consumption by 40% by dynamically adjusting the motor speed and the intermittent start and stop of the heating module. The key to energy saving of packaging machines is to let the equipment learn to "eat according to the food" - run at full speed when there are a lot of materials, and automatically switch to standby mode during idle periods.
If we talk about innovative highlights, we have to count our modular upgrade solution. Old customers do not need to replace the whole machine. They can spend 20,000 to 30,000 to transform the transmission system and temperature control unit, so that the equipment that has been used for five or six years can reach the energy consumption standard of the new machine. Last week, we just helped a daily chemical company in Dongguan to complete the transformation. Their factory director calculated: the electricity bill expenditure after the energy-saving transformation of the packaging machine just offset the equipment installment payment. This deal is cost-effective.
In terms of sustainability, our R&D team has worked hard. Now, 70% of the steel of the newly shipped packaging machine comes from recycled materials, and the hydraulic system uses biodegradable lubricants. What makes our peers jealous is our waste film recovery device, which rolls the waste into a tight round cake while sealing and directly sends it back to the raw material supplier for recycling - this design alone helps carton factory customers save 12% of the annual consumables cost.
The new model that is being debugged recently is even more interesting. The photovoltaic power storage module is integrated into the base of the equipment. The secondary modules are driven by solar energy during the day and switched back to the mains at night. This "hybrid" system is particularly suitable for areas with large price differences between peak and valley electricity consumption. Although the initial investment is higher, the government now has green manufacturing subsidies, which are actually more cost-effective than ordinary models.
Customers often ask me: "How much room is there for energy saving in packaging machines?" To be honest, there are more tricks in this business than you think. From servo motor selection to heat sealing temperature curve setting, energy saving points can be found in every link. Last month, we diagnosed a medical device factory in Zhejiang. Just by optimizing their packaging parameter settings, a single machine can save 38 degrees of electricity per day - equivalent to burning 12 kilograms less coal per day.
Standing in the factory workshop, looking at the newly-offline equipment with green energy efficiency labels, I feel at ease. We understand that energy saving in packaging machines is not just as simple as saving electricity bills, but also helping customers get ahead in the era of carbon tax. As the old factory manager often said: "People who make equipment have to think three steps ahead of customers." The three steps now are green, smart, and sustainable.
