Resources are not unending, but are, in fact, a rare good. We accept this responsibility. For this reason, MAPLAN machinery exhausts every opportunity to optimise energy efficiency and avoid waste which the current level of technology provides.

ENERGY-EFFICIENT TECHNOLOGY

Energy-saving drive – MAP.cooldrive
The servo-motor drive matches the amount of power that is actually required, meaning it can provide sensational energy savings of up to 70 percent.
Read more…

Intelligent temperature control – MAP.dci
Through intelligent, demand-based regulation of the MAP.dci temperature units’ flow rate, energy consumption is reduced by up to 80 percent – and this is achieved at the same time as improved accuracy control.
Read more…

Energy monitoring – MAP.energywatcher
In many businesses, uneconomical energy usage can often go unrecognised for a long time. Precise awareness of energy flows as well as a visualisation of energy consumption constitute the essential basis for the implementation of energy-saving measures. And that is exactly what the MAP.energywatcher makes possible by permanently logging the resource consumption of a given injection moulding machine. Consumption is recorded and can be calculated on that basis, meaning it can continuously be optimised. With the MAP.energywatcher, process engineers and technicians will also be able to calculate the energy used by individual machine parts in future. This will be of great benefit in the calculation of new and article related parts, since it will be based on real data.There are further comprehensive analysis opportunities available:

• Energy per shift, day or period of time as defined by the user (comparable with a trip meter)
• Energy consumption for the product just produced

The MAP.energywatcher is available in three variants:

1. For the measurement of power: MAP.powerwatcher
2. For the measurement of water: MAP.waterwatcher
3. For the measurement of air pressure: MAP.airwatcher

Additional heating plate isolation
All new MAPLAN machines are fitted with strong side isolation of the heating plates as standard. This additional isolation leads to a significantly raised level of energy efficiency and also helps in the optimal distribution of temperature.

LOW WASTE

The avoidance of expensive material waste is likewise a sustainability issue for MAPLAN.

Compound change without loss of material
With MAPLAN machinery, there is no expensive loss of material when changing compounds since it is not necessary to clean either with material compounds or other cleaning materials. Furthermore, the injection unit’s simple and straightforward design means that no material is wasted owing to it becoming dirty. As a result, you can change from colour to colour easily and in a way that saves you money.

MAPLAN’s green concept

Not only did we double our capacity in 2016 with the new MAPLAN plant in Kottingbrunn, we also implemented a sustainable energy concept from the beginning on. Over an area of 42,000 square metres, we set up a a new HQ which meets our high architectonic, technological and ecological standards.

The majority of MAPLAN’s company premises is covered with greenery while trees cast shade in the car park and reeds have been planted around the pond. The photovoltaic system on the roof supplies three quarters of the entire site’s energy requirements with its 200 kilovolt-amperes. The production site’s floor is equipped with underfloor heating which is heated or cooled using a ground water heat pump.

Sustainability, like efficiency, is a common thread that runs through the fabric of MAPLAN: from its offices and production sites to its storage facilities and fleet of vehicles. We have defined the SOCE parameter to ensure that these measures are implemented consistently. SOCE stands for security, order, cleanliness and energy. This is the measure by which we assess every single square metre each week. Nobody should be looking for parts at their workplace and no machine should be operating unnecessarily.

Sustainability needs to be anchored in the operational environment

We are convinced that it is not enough to implement sustainability measures on a purely ad hoc basis. A commitment to sustainability needs to be seen in the entire operational environment across the long term. A look at the environment today shows that responsible corporate behaviour is more important than ever. This is because climate change is a reality, and we see it as our duty to make a contribution to sustainability, to energy efficiency and to the protection of the environment in a way that goes beyond statutory requirements.

Energy efficiency courtesy of LED technology, thermal glazing and water heat pumps

Our power consumption is not only kept low thanks to modern LED technology. The lighting system also provides optimal lighting conditions in the evening thanks to brightness control. Additional energy efficiency is ensured by thermal glazing and external shading of the windows by exterior roller blinds. At the new site in Kottingbrunn, four wells have also been dug: three suction and discharge wells with ground water and a water heat pump which heats the factory hall and the office building in winter and which cools them in summer. The underfloor heating in the factory hall also functions using the water heat pump.

Electro-mobility at MAPLAN is a lived reality

Electric cars are also available for travel. Four of them can also be used by our staff to travel to work for free as part of carpools. We are also replacing the company cars we have had at management level until now with electric cars one by one.

Besides switching to electro-mobility, the optimisation of logistics routes also plays an important role at MAPLAN. Forklift journeys and transport routes can be reduced through optimisation and perfect logistics.

The outcome: Enormous savings

Everything meshes together – energy efficiency and sustainability at MAPLAN are composed of many small and large individual parts. And all of these measures taken together are having an effect: between 2015 and 2018, we were able to halve our electricity consumption and even reduce our gas consumption by two thirds – and we were able to achieve this even though our production increased by 40 percent during this time.