How Schneider modernisation services enabled a facility upgrade for more efficient and environmentally friendly operations.
Goal
Monitor, visualise, and manage energy use in real time; increase energy efficiency; achieve sustainability goals.
Story
Danone evian wanted to upgrade its bottling facility to deliver natural mineral water more sustainably by reducing energy consumption at every stage of production.
Solution
Service and Modernisation Plan, consulting services, ECOFIT Circularity solutions.
Results
-Improved uptime and services continuity
-Energy consumption reduced by 34%
-Savings estimated at 315 metric tons of CO2 equivalent, and 372 m3 of water
Sourcing natural goodness
The internationally renowned brand of evian natural mineral water belongs to French food group Danone. The brand’s history reaches back to 1789 when the Marquis de Lessert discovered a spring in the town of Evian-les-Bains. The unique crisp taste of evian water is the result of its 15-year journey through glacial rocks, where it gets filtered and enriched with minerals and electrolytes. Upon arriving at its destination in Évian-les-Bains, it gets bottled at the evian factory, which has 14 production lines delivering 33 product types, from 750ml glass bottles to the 6-liter carboys. But as Gilles Meunier, Electrical Distribution Manager at evian, explains “Our business as mineral water producers is not only bottling this resource, but above all preserving and protecting it.” This is one of the reasons why the company decided to modernise its facility, aiming to deliver its mineral water more sustainably. The key challenge of the project was maintaining the continuity of operations, which meant all modernization work had to be synchronised with just two annual maintenance shutdowns at the site.
A natural fit for the challenge
Danone evian has had a long-lasting partnership with Schneider Electric dating back to 1994 when the factory’s distribution network was built with Schneider hardware. For the modernisation project, Danone evian decided to go with Schneider’s Service and Modernisation Plan. The companies signed a 7-year contract with a fixed annual fee for both modernisation and maintenance of the electrical installation. This way, Danone evian gained better control of its operating budget while achieving the highest possible uptime. The project kicked off with an EcoConsult audit to comprehensively evaluate the condition of the existing equipment. Schneider experts worked to identify and document possible safety risks and regulatory issues, assess current capabilities, identify required upgrades, and create a complete overview of installed assets. In the next step, the old MV switchgear was replaced with the new Schneider SM6 switchgear. Schneider also took care of the end-of-life processing of old equipment, including the environmentally friendly disposal of SF6 gas. The LV switchgear was modernised within Schneider’s ECOFITTM solutions. The old MasterPact type M circuit breakers were exchanged for the latest MasterPact MTZ 2 circuit breakers. This upgrade helped shorten modernisation downtime, reduced costs, and lower the environmental impact of the project.
Win-win for business and nature
After the facility upgrade, Danone evian can now visualise, monitor, manage, and analyse its power quality and energy use in real time via its local platform. With actionable insights from its data, the company has reduced energy consumption and improved power continuity. What’s more, by choosing equipment modernisation with ECOFIT instead of immediate replacement, Danone evian saved an estimated 315 tonne of CO2 equivalent, and 372m3 of manufacturing water use. Today, the site operates 100% on renewable energy and since 2008 the company has reduced its energy consumption by 34% per water litre. Danone evian and Schneider Electric continue to work together on further projects, which include upgrading the bottling factory’s automation system with the Modicon M580 PLC and modernising the site’s air-handling units.
