Technoplan Engineering SA of Geneva, Switzerland, makes a machine called an air recovery system that enables PET bottle makers to recover air that has residual pressure, cutting energy consumption.
Normally, PET bottle molders exhaust all residual compressed air into the atmosphere. But now, with higher electricity rates, the idea of saving money on compressed air is gaining steam, the company said.
The system is installed between a blow molding machine's exhaust system and that factory's low-pressure air system. It captures and stores nearly 50 percent of the dry, oil-free air at a pressure of 170 pounds per square inch. The equipment then returns air to the plant's low-pressure air system for reuse.
Connell Industries Inc. of Rahway, N.J., is the licensed U.S. distributor of the machinery.
Ball Corp. and Southeastern Container Inc. have used the machine.
Tel. 877-926-6635, fax 305-675-2612, e-mail [email protected].