Walter Schmidtkunz | Production Manager, BL Sound Solutions, Vienna, Austria

By making a relatively small change - replacing conventional ultraviolet (UV) lights with new UV-LED lamps - BL Sound Solutions in Vienna produced some very big results. So much so, that they've been recognized for their achievement by the city itself.

Like many companies that assemble small electronic components, BL Sound Solutions uses UV light to cure and harden bonding material during their production process. UV light makes a quick, durable bond, but conventional UV lamps generate a lot of heat. Temperatures can reach as high as 80 °C (176 °F), so, to prevent damage to the components, the area around the lamp needs to be cooled and the hot air needs to be removed by blowers. That takes a lot of energy. Upkeep can be expensive, too, since the lamps have a relatively short lifespan. A ready supply of new bulbs needs to be kept in stock, and machinery has to be taken offline every time a bulb is replaced. On average, the facility went through 270 UV lamps a year.

“As part of our Continuous Improvement Program,” says Walter Schmidtkunz, who oversees the production activities in Vienna, “our manufacturing teams started looking at alternatives.“ They found that, by replacing the existing lamps with new ones based on LED technology, they could save energy, save downtime, and save money.

“The results were really impressive,” says Walter. The new lamps alone reduced power consumption by 93%. Eliminating the need to cool the area and extract hot air saved approximately 2,750,000 kWh per year – at a cost savings of about EUR 330 thousand (USD 450 thousand). The new lamps also last a lot longer, so they don't need to be replaced anywhere near as often. There's less waste and the production line runs more efficiently. The savings in repair and downtime costs amount to roughly EUR 530 thousand (USD 750 thousand) annually.

As a way to share their story with others, the group entered the Vienna “EcoBusiness” competition, which recognizes companies that have made significant gains in reducing their impact on the environment. The judges were so impressed that they awarded BL Sound Solutions the 2009 Environmental Prize of the City of Vienna.

Says Walter, “We're really proud to see our employees recognized for their performance and their know-how. They took a new look to an old problem, and that's the essence of continuous improvement.”

The group's other production lines are being converted to LED technology, and any new lines will, by default, be equipped with UV-LED lamps.