The BRÜCKNER Group remains one of the leading world producers of high-tech systems for the finishing of textiles and woven technical fabrics since last 65 years. Innovation, sustainability and the highest quality and reliability “made in Germany” are the most important factors behind its success.
In Europe drying lines are almost exclusively operated with heat-recovery units. In some countries this is even prescribed by law. In other countries such as in the big textile-focused India, energy costs are partially subsidized. This increases the pay-off time of energy saving systems considerably.
In addition, investment budgets are often very low and leave no room for such systems because the big trade chains from Europe and the US are very price-driven in their purchase of clothing and home textiles. But the public questions more and more the production conditions and the compliance with ecological standards.
As per today’s estimates India will be the most populous country in the world by 2025 with 1.5 billion people. As an emerging market it will undergo a similar development as China, and the energy demand will probably increase disproportionately.
On a global scale the Indian textile sector plays an important part, producing 14 per cent of the worldwide textile yarns and fabrics corresponding to 60 billion m² textiles per year. Almost 66 billion kWh thermal energy is required for this quantity which corresponds to a consumption of about 1.1 million tons of coal when this fuel is used. A simultaneous energy saving of about 10 per cent by heat-recovery systems would allow an annual saving of 230.000 tons of CO2 in the Indian textile industry alone. The prerequisite for this would be that all lines are provided with a heat-recovery system.
Production and use of process energy in the Indian textile industry takes place often with old concepts and systems. This has considerably negative consequences for the environment. Hence the need to save energy and for a better protection of the environment.
Particularly in the case of energy-intensive processes such as the drying or heat-setting of textiles and other materials present an enormous energy saving potential. Some years ago BRÜCKNER began with a development project to show these potentials, the central point of which was to use a mobile heat-recovery unit in several Indian textile companies. The German Ministry for the Environment and Nature Protection (BMU) as well as the German Investment and Development Company (DEG) subsidized this project. The Ministry supports projects which serve to spread climate-friendly technologies in developing countries and emerging markets.
This project is intended to sensitize the decision-makers in producing companies and to train the qualified personnel. In the framework of this project the company planned and built a mobile heat-recovery unit. Installed for the first time at Arvind Ltd. in Ahmedabad. After several weeks in operation, energy savings have been recorded and documented. At the same time, the opportunities was utilised to train the operators regarding the optimum production sequence and possible optimization potentials.
As support for this first test phase the company held a symposium in Ahmedabad for other interested companies. By and by, it installed the mobile unit at nine Indian companies to convince them of possible energy savings and also of the CO2 reduction in production. At five symposiums at different Indian sites, the successes achieved up to that moment were outlined. Arvind Ltd. decided in the meantime to buy a new BRÜCKNER machine.
Arvind Ltd., founded in 1931, is today one of the world’s leading garment manufacturers. Right from the beginning it invested in the most modern BRÜCKNER machinery technology “made in Germany” in order to be always state-of-the-art under ecological and economical aspects and to supply high-end fabric in best quality. This strategy helped the company to be successful mainly, during bad days.
Arvind Ltd. will install shortly its ninth BRÜCKNER machine. With a highly-efficient heat-recovery unit, Arvind can achieve significant energy savings depending on the respective process. These savings lead to a sustainable reduction of CO2 emissions and make a valuable contribution to the protection of the environment.
Arvind Ltd. produces fabrics for Lee, Wrangler, Arrow, Tommy Hilfinger and many more.