Packaging World has a great article in its July issue on Sustainability gains in machine and process ops.  The article discusses total cost of ownership for industrial equipment and how much of the cost derives from energy usage (in their example, 97% of costs).  By targeting sustainability initiatives, manufacturing companies can drive down operational costs and improve the bottom line.

Many industries are slow to change - if the system is working, there is no need to change it.  However, with exponentially rising and volatile energy costs, couple with increased costs of other commodities almost across the board, these industries are realizing that status quo is no longer acceptable.  They must innovate their processes in order to drive down operational costs.

And while much of the discussion around industrial energy efficiency focuses on facilities and cooling/heating, Packaging World rightly points out that there are huge efficiencies to be gained when targeting industrial processes themselves.

Adoption of low energy electron beam processes can significantly reduce energy costs in certain industrial applications, such as curing and coating processes.  By thinking critically about how to evolve traditional processes by integrating low energy electron beams, manufacturers can realize significant operational costs savings in a matter of months while creating a more operating cost structure.

 If you are interested in having AEB help determine the ROI of adopting electron beams for your process, please Contact us.

Is it a simple economic fact that rising energy costs and rising raw material costs mean that consumer packaged goods businesses are either going to lose money (e.g. J.M. Smucker Co.) or pass on their increased costs in the form of increased prices for consumers (e.g. Proctor and Gamble)?  Conventional wisdom dictates that someone will be absorbing the effects of increased material costs.  But is it that simple?

If a company does not look for opportunities to change its operating cost structure, than yes, it is basically that simple.  However, if industry leaders are able to think critically about their operations and look for opportunities to make smart investments - both resource investment and capital investment - there are solutions to deal with these types of rising operating expenses.  Solutions that protect margins and maintain prices.  

In an interview with McKinsey & Co., Amory Lovins from the Rocky Mountain Institute discusses how it is the responsibility of senior management to encourage and participate in the process of finding innovative ways to use energy more efficiently.  In the United States, the industrial sector comprises 32% of total energy consumption.  Worldwide, this number is closer to 50%.  As the industrial sector is highly dependent on energy use, these industrial leaders must be the ones to find the solutions.  And solutions that go beyond lighting and HVAC to ones that target the very industrial processes themselves.  

Advanced process technologies, such as in-line low voltage electron beams, can be a solution to the challenges posed by rising energy and material costs for a wide range of industrial processes. Below are several examples we have written about in the past:

• Replace conventional thermal processes with energy efficient electron beam processes
• Find opportunities for pollution prevention - eliminate need for energy intensive cleanup activities (e.g. pollution abatement, chemical disposal)
• Enable lightweight packaging concepts by reducing process heat
• Enhance physical properties of packaging material in order to do more with less
• Reduce the facility footprint by adopting process technologies that save space
• Find process technologies that enable faster line speeds or reduce waste
• Look for process compression opportunities - reducing the number of process steps
• Bring outsourced tasks in house - reducing logistics and work in process inventory

Energy efficient process technologies, or process technologies that enable a more efficient product concept, can be important tools for helping organizations meet the challenges of rising energy and raw material costs.

IMS Research just released a report showing increased demand for beverage packaging machinery in Europe.  The report states that this increase is being driven by several factors, including energy and environmental concerns.  Consumers are increasingly interested in more environmentally sound products and, as energy prices continue to rise, industry needs to innovate in order to offset these costs.

"According to the report, more medium-term industry concerns include energy efficiency improvements during the packaging process, as manufacturers continue to struggle with the increased costs of energy."

Advanced Electron Beams has shown how compact, low energy electron beams can be an effective sterilization technology for aseptic and ESL beverage filling applications.  EB sterilization can be an energy efficient, environmentally friendly alternative to traditional thermal or chemical methods while enabling the high line speeds needed to meet productivity targets.