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Georgia-Pacific tissue line sees energy savings with motor drive software

A software system recently implemented on a tissue line at a Georgia-Pacific plant in the U.S. has reduced energy consumption by 31 per cent.

Koch Industries Inc., which owns Georgia-Pacific, shares the results of the software, created by AC Kinetics (ACK), on a start-stop jumbo-roll bath tissue line at one of its Green Bay, Wisconsin facilities.

“We see huge potential with AC Kinetics’ software to increase the efficiency of tens of thousands of machines with motors at Georgia-Pacific and across other Koch companies,” says Mike Younis, director of energy optimization for Georgia-Pacific’s consumer products division.

“This can reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power generation and significantly increase our operational efficiency.”

ACK drive software is installed on the motor drive – the hardware that regulates the voltages and currents to the motor – and auto-configures for optimal operation. This leads to energy savings, a reduction in carbon emissions, and lowered motor temperature.

“This allows companies to boost the efficiency of their conversion machines’ motors, thereby saving huge amounts of energy without compromising performance,” says Dr. Neil Singer, president of AC Kinetics.

Currently, 45 per cent of the world’s produced energy goes into motors, and 90 per cent of motor ownership costs are energy.

ACK is currently offering licenses for the software to motor drive manufacturers.