Heat & power: Buxton Press
Buxton Press was crowned Company of the Year at the PrintWeek Awards in 2011, capping a period of growth and expansion at the Derbyshire-based magazine printer.
The company firmly believes that green technology is vital, not only for the good of the environment but also – and, more pertinently – for the good of its business.
Streamlined efficiencies and improved workflow at Buxton Press have gone hand in hand with environmental considerations and, reveals Kirk Galloway, managing director of Buxton Press, the company has focused on incorporating green technology to implement energy-saving initiatives that minimise heat loss and maximise power efficiency.
The whole of Buxton’s ancient building – it was constructed in 1816 as stables – has been reconfigured inside to enable some impressive, and expensive, technological gizmos. Power factor devices that ensure unity lead electrical power correction at all times with maximum utilisation of all power consumed have been installed, and the company’s main terminal electrical voltage correction perfector equipment, financed through the Carbon Trust, has led to a 13% reduction in energy requirements, according to the company.
High-speed, automatic, pneumatic fast-closing doors have also been installed. Sensors open the door in one-third of a second and, when the person or vehicle is clear, close it again just as fast, minimising heat loss.
Perhaps the most expensive developments have come with efforts to heat the premises more efficiently. Buxton has invested £1m in installing press auxiliaries – a source of much heat and noise – on a second floor above the presses.
“We decided to lay out the presses so the auxiliary parts of the machines were on a second floor,” explains Galloway. “This was something KBA had never done before. These units are all big heat generators, so we built a system where all the heat created in this upstairs area is blown down into the press hall to circulate. We have complete self-heat generation with no need for radiators. In summer, the fans are reversed and the building is cooled by jettisoning this heat straight out of the building.”
This heat innovation continues with some tweaks to the system that sucks all waste paper out of the building into a compaction unit. This obviously sucks out hot air with it and so as not to lose this heat, Buxton filters the air and pumps it back in.
“You have got to have high capital expenditure to get involved in serious environmental savings, but the payback is always very good in our opinion,” says Galloway. “Importantly, you have to be open-minded and imaginative about what you are capable of.”
However, he says there are limits to the company’s future plans. “We’re interested to see what the future will bring but, as we don’t get much sun in Buxton, we probably have to rule out solar panels; a wind turbine might be an option, though!”
