When it comes to manufacturing, energy-efficient equipment is critical for a few reasons, including cost savings, environmental sustainability, and regulatory compliance.
To meet these challenges, Danone Evian, a natural mineral water producer, achieved 34% energy savings by partnering with Schneider Electric to modernize its bottling facility in Évian-les-Bains, France.
By conducting an energy audit and installing advanced parts, the collaboration would help Danone manage energy in real time to meet its sustainability goals.
Getting to the source: Danone
Owned by the French food group Danone, Evian is an internationally known natural mineral water that dates to 1789. The water, known for its crisp taste, takes a 15-year journey through glacial rocks where it gets filtered with minerals and electrolytes.
Preserving the product is key. Once the water arrives in the Évian-les-Bains facility, which has 14 production lines, it gets bottled into one of 33 product types, including 750-milliliter glass bottles, six-liter carboy containers, and other packaging.
“Our business as mineral water producers is not only bottling this resource but above all preserving and protecting it,” said Gilles Meunier, Evian’s electrical distribution manager, in a statement.
Ensuring the crisp taste is also vital. That’s why Danone decided to modernize its bottling facility, but it faced a few challenges. Specifically, it was critical for Danone to undergo this project while maintaining the continuity of operations. This meant modernization work had to be synchronized with just two annual maintenance shutdowns at the site. And they would need to find the perfect partner to make this happen.
Collaboration: Partnering with Schneider Electric
Danone opted to team with Schneider Electric for the project as the two companies have a long-standing relationship that dates back to 1994.
Danone selected Schneider Electric’s service and modernization plan, which focuses on upgrading, maintaining, and modernizing equipment and infrastructure to meet evolving operational, safety, and efficiency requirements.
To cement the deal, the companies signed a seven-year contract with a fixed annual fee for both modernization and maintenance of the electrical installation. With this partnership, Danone would gain better control of its operating budget while still achieving the highest possible uptime, the companies said.
Modifications: Stepping up to the challenge
To begin, an EcoConsult audit was conducted to evaluate the condition of Danone’s existing equipment. This audit is designed to help businesses optimize energy efficiency, sustainability, and operational performance through individualized consulting.
Then it was time to implement changes. First, experts from Schneider Electric identified and documented possible safety risks and regulatory issues. Congruently to this work, Schneider Electric utilized Danone’s current capabilities, identified the required upgrades, and created a complete overview of installed assets.
Second, the old medium voltage (MV) switchgear was replaced with a new Schneider Electric SM6 switchgear, which gives Danone real-time visibility of its equipment’s health, helping to reduce risks while also increasing efficiency. Schneider Electric handled all end-of-life processing of the old equipment, including the environmentally friendly disposal of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas.
Third, the low voltage (LV) switchgear was modernized within Schneider Electric’s EcoFit solutions – the company’s approach to modernizing, maintaining, and enhancing electrical distribution systems. By doing these steps, Schneider Electric ensures enhanced performance and reliability while extending the infrastructure’s life.
Also, the old MasterPact type M circuit breakers were exchanged for the latest MasterPact MTZ 2 circuit breakers, which offer smart connectivity and remote monitoring. The circuit breaker upgrade assists in shortening modernization and downtime, which reduces costs and lowers the environmental impact.
Inside the technology: IoT and EcoStruxure
For Danone’s modernization project, Schneider Electric utilized its EcoStruxure platform, an open system leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT). Through IoT, these interconnected “things” can collect, send, and receive information, often without any human intervention, thus enabling automation, monitoring, and improved efficiency.
EcoStruxure uses advancements in IoT mobility, sensing, cloud, analytics, and cybersecurity to deliver services including connected products, edge control, apps, analytics, and services.
Packaging OEM breaks down these categories:
- Connected products: Schneider Electric’s IoT-enabled products include breakers, drives, UPSs, relays, sensors, and more. The devices are embedded with an intelligence drive to make better decision-making throughout operations, according to Schneider Electric.
- Edge control: Schneider Electric offers control of devices at the edge of the IoT network. By doing this, capability provides real-time solutions that enable local control at the edge, which protects safety and uptime. Edge control can be deployed in mission-critical scenarios.
- Apps, analytics & services: Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure offers a wide range of applications, analytics, and services for enterprise integration to support diverse hardware and systems.
Utilizing data to slash energy usage
With the facility modernization upgrade, Danone can now visualize, monitor, manage, and analyze its power quality and energy use in real time. This data provides actionable insights and has propelled the company forward in reducing energy consumption while improving power continuity.
With Schneider Electric’s products, the Danone line managers can now measure the difference in consumption with their machines.“This modernization has enabled us to analyze the collected data in order to reduce our energy consumption at the industrial site,” Meunier stated. “Today, the site operates 100% on renewable energy, and since 2008, the company has reduced its energy consumption by 34% per water liter.”
Sustainability impacts
Through its partnership with Schneider Electric, Danone has achieved significant advancements in sustainability. These include a 34% reduction in energy consumption, an estimated savings of 70 metric tons of CO2, and approximately 700 cubic meters of water saved. In addition, Danone also improved its uptime and service continuity.
This seven-year modernization and maintenance plan upgraded Danone’s bottling facility and demonstrated how integrating energy management, renewable energy, and sustainable practices can drive progress toward sustainability goals.
For more on energy-efficiency in packaging equipment, download the Packaging OEM research report.
