Sustainable production and business processes have always been an absolute must for the agricultural engineering experts at LEMKEN. The Niederrhein company and its workforce of 1,200 are continuing on this path by installing two avus 800b CHPs and an absorption chiller.

Two avus 800b CHPs ensure greater sustainability
LEMKEN is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of devices for soil cultivation, seeding and plant protection. With over 1,200 employees worldwide, LEMKEN brought in a turnover of € 344 million in 2014. As a specialist for professional crop cultivation, LEMKEN is committed to environmental protection. For instance, soil protection plays just as great a role in LEMKEN’s technology as the durability of its machines, the conservation of resources and reduction of CO₂ emissions. The company has now taken a further step towards environmental protection by commissioning two avus 800b combined heat and power plants at its Alpen location. The two plants each have an electrical output of 889 kW and a thermal output of 891 kW. The two units were each installed in a concrete sound hood in order to keep the system’s noise level down to 45 dB (A) at 10 m.

Absorption chiller as a worthwhile addition
The energy produced is used to supply the administrative and training building with power and heat, as well as for parts of the production facilities. But LEMKEN’s production process doesn’t just require power and heat. The hot shaping and hardening processes require enormous amounts of cooling energy to quench the parts and cool down the power units. To accomplish this, an absorption chiller (1,000 kW), which can transform heat into cooling energy, makes good use of the exhaust heat from the combined heat and power plants. This combined energy system also cools the server rooms of the new development facility. Plant manager Rudi Vervoorst is proud of the system’s overall design: “When we at LEMKEN make investments, we always pay attention to make sure that the ecological perspectives are taken into account alongside the economic aspects.”