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Built for the future: KAESER Australia unveils new facility in Vic

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08 Feb, 2024

This post was originally published on Sustainability Matters

KAESER Australia has unveiled its new 4500 m2 facility in Dandenong South, Victoria, which includes offices, a warehouse and a workshop. The $15 million facility features various innovations that echo KAESER’s emphasis on sustainability.

The original warehouse and office was constructed in 1989 on Zenith Road, Dandenong South, in the industrial outskirts of Melbourne’s south-east. The following year, KAESER Compressors Australia was established and the fledgling subsidiary moved in.

Over time the business grew, but despite modifications and expansion works, eventually it was apparent that an entirely new facility was needed. Using the existing site, the challenge was to keep the business running while demolishing and rebuilding the entire premises at double the size.

“We needed a facility that would not only serve our needs in five or 10 years, but in 20 or 30 years’ time — and, most importantly of all, we need to always uphold KAESER’s values regarding sustainability,” said KAESER Australia Managing Director Peter Eckberg. This philosophy permeates the company from product design and manufacture at the head office in Coburg, Germany, all the way down to the Australian subsidiary in Melbourne.

“KAESER products set new standards when it comes to dependability, efficiency and sustainability,” Eckberg said. “Our product innovations help to reduce resource and energy consumption significantly and to save emissions and operating costs.

“They also help our customers to achieve their own sustainable and environmentally responsible goals. Likewise, our building and operation here in Dandenong South is designed to be as resource-friendly as possible and, ultimately, move us to carbon-neutral operations.”

After a number of COVID-related setbacks, the first sod was turned on 12 January 2021, with a new warehouse and temporary office space with 98 kW of solar panels built behind the old one. Once the new space was operational, the old building was demolished. Over 98% of the materials that made up the old factory were recycled and reused, including all of the concrete and steel. A new workshop and office were built in its place, thus doubling the footprint. The final move-in took place in March 2023.

Now the 4500 m2 building is home to 196 kW of solar panels, so far creating a 90% drop in energy reliance on the grid. A large screen in the reception area gives employees and visitors real-time data on the solar energy generation, earnings from the grid, as well as the amount of CO2 saved. As part of KAESER’s commitment to ensure minimum possible environmental impact and move towards carbon-neutral operation, three electric vehicle charging stations have also recently been installed.

Managing Director Peter Eckberg with the EV charging station.

In summing up the monumental project, Eckberg said, “It has been two years in the construction phase, and it is an overwhelming feeling of relief and satisfaction to now use this spacious, modern facility. We are pleased to look to the future knowing that while we have increased our physical footprint and given ourselves space to grow, we have also reduced our environmental footprint at the same time.”

Top image: The new KAESER Australia head office, completed in 2023 (image by Misheye).

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ABB receives EPD status for gearless mill drive ring motor

ABB receives EPD status for gearless mill drive ring motor

ABB has gained Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) status for its Gearless Mill Drive (GMD) ring motor — technology used to drive large grinding mills in the mining industry.

An EPD is a standardised document that provides detailed information about the environmental impact of a product throughout its life cycle. Based on a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study, the EPD highlights ABB’s commitment to transparency, environmental responsibility and supporting customers in making informed decisions on sustainability in their supply chains.

ABB analysed the environmental impact of a ring motor across its entire life cycle from supply chain and production to usage and end-of-life disposal. The study was conducted for a ring motor of a semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill with an installed power of 24 MW and was based on a reference service life of 25 years.

“Sustainability is at the core of our purpose at ABB, influencing how we operate and innovate for customers,” said Andrea Quinta, Sustainability Specialist at ABB. “By earning the Environmental Product Declaration for our ring motor, we emphasise our environmental stewardship and industry leadership for this technology. We adhered to the highest standards throughout this process, as we do in the ABB Ring Motor factory every day. This recognition highlights to the mining industry what they are bringing into their own operations when they work with ABB.”

The comprehensive LCA was conducted at ABB’s factory in Bilbao, Spain, and was externally verified and published in accordance with international standards ISO 14025 and ISO 14040/14044. It will remain valid for five years.

The ring motor, a key component of the GMD, is a drive system without any gears where the transmission of the torque between the motor and the mill is done through the magnetic field in the air gap between the motor stator and the motor rotor. It optimises grinding applications in the minerals and mining industries by enabling variable-speed operation, leading to energy and cost savings.

The full EPD for the ABB GMD Ring Motor can be viewed on EPD International.

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