Switzerland

Z.I. La Romaine 2, 2824 Vicques, Switzerland |+41 32 436 10 60

Decovi consumes as much fuel oil as a single-family home

Decovi consumes as much fuel oil as a single-family home

The Décovi factory, located in Vicques in the Swiss Jura, was built in 2000 and has continued to expand over the years. The building now accommodates nearly 90 employees and around 100 bar turning and milling machines. A network of ducts almost 800 meters long is installed within the factory itself, making it possible to supply the said machines, knowing that the factory is constantly growing. It was also necessary to increase the supply of compressed air: the 5 compressors in operation in the building represented no less than 20% of the electricity consumption over the year.

By installing a new compressed air supply system, the Jura company saves around 87,000 kWh of electricity per year, i.e. almost CHF 13,000 in lower costs.

Reconciling productivity and preservation of the environment is one of the major challenges of our generation. As a player in society, Décovi is committed to effectively managing the environmental impact of its activities and to ensuring the continuous improvement of its environmental performance.

The company is constantly looking for solutions to develop in a sustainable way. With this in mind, it has completely overhauled its compressed air supply installation in collaboration with the company Shrad’Air Compresseurs. The new system therefore includes three Renner compressors of 45 kW power each. The control of the power supply is centralized in cascade: one compressor, the one with variable rotation speed, operates permanently, when the two others start up at full power if necessary.

The compressors are cooled with water and their thermal discharges are recycled for the production of hot water and the heating of the building.

The new installation has also saved space and optimized connections, and, being much more efficient, reduces the temperature in the technical rooms, as well as the necessary pressure, which has dropped by 0.3 bar. Which, in addition to improving the performance of the compressed air network, it optimizes on its own scale, the working and maintenance conditions on the installation.

As said before, the consumption of the new compressed air system saves around 87,000 kWh per year, which will allow Décovi to recoup its investment in around 7.4 years. In addition, the fact of recycling the thermal discharges of this new installation, the factory consumes as much fuel oil as a single house.

The company plans for the next few years to connect the last extensions of its building to this new heating system, which will completely eliminate CO2 emissions.

The installation project has found support through the ProKilowatt subsidy program under the aegis of the Federal Office of Energy. The work was carried out by Schrad’Air Compresseurs SA and planned and implemented by EDJ Énergie du Jura SA.

Find the portrait of Décovi published by TOP MOTORS here.

Manufacturer of high-precision components for the watchmaking, medical and aeronautical sectors, Décovi machines many materials using precision turning and milling processes. Its specialty being oscillating weights for watch movements, the company supplies many well-known watch brands.