GKD Architectural Mesh Omega Louis Vuitton Shoe Factory, Italy (architect: Jean-Marc Sandrolini, photo: Jean Philippe Caulliez) Container compressor station at GKD – Gebr. Kufferath AG Compressed air from the roof: metal weaver saves 20 % energy The applications of the metal meshes produced by GKD – Gebr. Kufferath AG range from microfilters for inkjet printers to automotive filtration, and from process belt mesh for dryers and ovens to challenging architectural projects. The company is based in Düren, Germany, and is the world‘s leading technical weaver. A compressor station on the factory roof was an innovative solution to the growing demand in production for compressed air – and also delivered significant energy savings. Customer GKD – Gebr. Kufferath AG Metallweberstraße 46 · 52353 Düren · Germany · www.gkd.de/en/ The company is the world‘s leading technical weaver. Objective: Future-proof and efficient supply of compressed air. The design to be implemented included a central compressed air station with three L 75 RS regulated speed screw compressors, each generating 13.5 m3/min of compressed air. Turnkey container solution on the factory roof A further plus point of the CompAir L series is the modular design, which delivers very compact dimensions. There was no suitable space in the factory itself, but there was space on the roof of a centrally located factory building. The weaving process is not just about a number of different production areas, processing yarn. Metals can also be weaved weaving machines produce mesh for – using technology with a long tradition everything from technical strainers to that has been developed to perfection by filters for processing (conveyor) belts and GKD – Gebr. Kufferath AG. Nowhere is that architecture. The smallest wires used in the clearer than on a tour through the factory process have a diameter of 18-thousandths at the company’s headquarters in Düren. of a millimetre – four times thinner than The company, founded in 1925, is the world’s leading technical weaver. Across a human hair. But wires with a diameter of 7 mm are also processed at the factory, and the applications range from Almost all the machines and equipment for metal mesh production at GKD require compressed air as energy

microfilters for inkjet printers to filters for exhaust gas recirculation in combustion engines and challenging architectural projects. The size of the machines and the end products is correspondingly varied. Compressed air is used (almost) everywhere The facilities at GDK in Düren are typically upgraded by specialist engineers or to suit GKD’s requirements and operate around the clock. After all, any market leader who regularly designs technically demanding systems can only rarely rely on standard machinery. As every machine has (electro-)pneumatic drivers and actuators, all the machines are...

The container compressed air station is optimally located at a central point on the roof of a production building. The storage tank was also installed on the roof. There was no suitable space in the factory However, that was only a part – though itself, but there was space on the roof a significant part – of the modernisation Energy savings across the board of a centrally located factory building. works. Dipl.-Ing. (FH) André Schumacher, After a structural engineer had given the as field technical adviser at HPS and As a result of modernisation, the pressure go-ahead, HPS designed a container...

A further plus point of the CompAir L series is the modular design, which delivers very compact dimensions. Transparency is also promoting energy savings. A continuous volumetric flow meter with data transfer to the existing Ethernet system has been installed in the compressed air outflow pipe of the container. GKD also constantly monitors the power consumption of the entire compressed air station. It is therefore possible at all times to determine the efficiency of the compressed air generation (compressed air key figure). The measurement data can be easily evaluated by the maintenance and finance...