Höxter, 27 February 2017. The Arntz Optibelt Group is planning to implement a new innovative testing concept for drive belts at their new test facility at the Höxter site. The new four million euro test facility with an area of 2,200 square metres will be completed by this summer and will effectively double the size of its predecessor. This facility will be used for quality testing during serial production, for testing new developments and to conduct customer-specific tests. The Arntz Optibelt Group has now developed a practicable eco-friendly concept for limiting the electricity use of the drive belt test rigs.
For the first time, these rigs use servo-controlled drives for loading the belts. The test facility also uses a number of different sensors which transfer data to the company’s production parameter database to identify errors at an early stage and reduce test rig running times. The concept also incorporates two noise reducing measures. One of these consists of setting the rigs up singly or as a group to isolate and decouple them, while the other encloses the noisy test rig components in a housing.
As a result, the new test rig facility achieves annual energy savings of 1.1 million kilowatt hours and a yearly 660 tonne reduction in CO2.
Implementing this energy-saving concept is funded to the tune of €650,000 by the Environmental Innovation Programme sponsored by the German Federal Environment Ministry. For the first time, the large-scale use of innovative technology is being rewarded. To be eligible for the funding, the technology must surpass the current state of the art and have a demonstrative character.
In the words of Reinhold Mühlbeyer, Chairman of the Board of Management, “The pilot project builds on our company-wide sustainability campaign. We are always striving to boost energy efficiency and consider environmental aspects in our work, alongside our ongoing efforts to enhance our performance and the quality of our products. It is only by achieving sustainable and eco-friendly production that we will manage to remain competitive as a market leader in the long term.”
