EBNER sustainability testing it in practice
EBNER Industrieofenbau | Lucas Johannes Winter, Business Excellence and Digitalization
Pictured from left to right: Dr. Lukas Wiesegger, Business Area / Segment Manager Industrial Chains at pewag Austria GmbH; Dr. Lucas Johannes Winter, Business Excellence & Digitalization at EBNER GROUP
EBNER sustainability testing it in practice
Austria’s pewag engineering uses ATMOSPHEREperfect to reduce energy consumption.
The ATMOSPHEREperfect software module, developed by EBNER for the VISUALFURNACES® control system, significantly contributes to the implementation of a sustainability strategy. The purpose of this module is to significantly reduce the energy consumption and carbon footprint of the heat treatment industry.
The module regulates the supply of hydrogen gas used to purge contaminants out of the interior of the furnace. This creates an optimal process atmosphere, which is a requirement for ensuring that the surface of the processed material is free of defects. Precise control over hydrogen consumption leads to significant energy savings without affecting the quality of the annealed material.
The Austrian company pewag operates several EBNER HICON/H2® bell annealer facilities for steel wire, which have now been equipped with the ATMOSPHEREperfect software module. In a recent interview, pewag’s Christopher Pusnik and EBNER’s Lucas Winter offered insights into the module’s performance and the savings it provides.
Mr. Pusnik, we appreciate your taking the time to speak with us. pewag is well-known for its long tradition and ability to innovate. How important is sustainability
to the company?
Pusnik: For us, sustainability is not just a goal – it is a responsibility. We strive to continuously reduce our environmental impact while remaining competitive at the same time. This requires innovative solutions in our manufacturing processes, particularly at our Austrian works.
What challenges do you see for reducing the consumption of energy and hydrogen during heat treatment?
Pusnik: Rising energy prices are creating major challenges. To remain competitive, we have to make our processes more efficient. Optimizing the atmospheres in our bell annealer furnaces is playing a central role in this effort.
How did your cooperation with EBNER Industrieofenbau come about, and why was ATMOSPHEREperfect implemented?
Pusnik: As a team, we have been working hard on both daily and long-term tasks intended to improve our manufacturing
processes. In this particular case, we were looking for a thermal processing solution for our bell annealer furnaces that would aid us in reducing our energy and hydrogen consumption without affecting product quality. ATMOSPHEREperfect offered us a chance to refine our processes and reduce environmental impact at the same time.
Mr. Winter, could you tell us a bit more about ATMOSPHEREperfect? How does this technology work?
Winter: ATMOSPHEREperfect is a software solution that optimizes the atmosphere in a bell annealer furnace. It uses the power draw of the fan motor to regulate the purge flowrate of the atmosphere, which leads to a more efficient use of both hydrogen and electrical energy. This solution was specially developed for the VISUALFURNACES software suite, and can be employed at HICON/H2® bell annealers.
Mr. Pusnik, what results have you obtained after implementing ATMOSPHEREperfect?
Pusnik: We have reduced our consumption of both hydrogen and electrical energy by an amount significantly above 20 %. These savings are not just commercially advantageous – they are also an important step forward on our path toward more sustainable production. I am very proud of the business culture at pewag, as it encourages us to focus on improvements and led us to realize that there was still potential to optimize our H2 and energy consumption. Data, facts and an openminded approach enabled us to make a significant improvement in one single step. This only increases our motivation to maintain our effort to continuously optimize. If you don’t keep rolling, you start to gather moss!
Mr. Winter, how would you rate the collaboration with pewag and the implementation of ATMOSPHEREperfect?
Winter: From the very beginning, the collaboration was based on a high level of trust. That trust was established extremely quickly, due our shared understanding of the process. By working together, especially with our colleagues Lukas Haberfellner and Martin Ziegler from EBNER, the team was able to generate real value very quickly and adapt the solution to meet pewag’s specific needs. The results show that the solution offers real added value to our customers.
What would you recommend to other companies facing
similar challenges?
Pusnik: I find technologies exciting when they do not just provide financial benefits, but also contribute to meeting sustainable production goals. Achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 is one of pewag’s strategic goals.
Winter: I completely agree. In a space where digital and green technologies intersect, solutions can be found that are fast, straightforward and measurably improve both costs and sustainability. This is why I am so delighted with pewag’s success with ATMOSPHEREperfect. That success is one of the many examples that can be found among our international customer base of how we are Driving Green Technologies.
Mr. Pusnik, Mr. Winter – thank you for the valuable insights, and thank you once again for your time!
FACT CHECK
ATMOSPHEREperfect stands out due to the following features:
- User-friendly operation with VISUALFURNACES.
- Automatic hydrogen purge flowrate control
regardless of the lubricant in use, the coil data
or the degree to which the surface of the wire
is contaminated. - Atmosphere tracks of annealing programs no longer
need to be developed or improved. - Both hydrogen consumption and electrical consumption by the fan motor reduced by over 20 %.
- Software solution