Bucher Hydraulics launched several environmental initiatives at our site in Gurgaon, India, over the past couple of years. Their efforts earned them the Manufacturing Excellence Award from VDMA India for “Initiatives for Energy Efficiency and Conservation” for the year 2020.
Test benches with power on demand
Bucher Hydraulics in India must perform end-of-line testing on all its products. The latest test benches are equipped with servo motors coupled with highly efficient QXEH internal gear pumps. Due to this technology, power is only consumed during actual testing and on demand. This results in: lower electricity consumption and noise levels as well as less heat generation which, in turn, means better working conditions in the workshop as well as a longer service life for the hydraulic oil used in testing equipment.
20% of all electricity consumed from solar panels
Additional initiatives were launched, including the increase in the total output of solar panels installed on factory roofs. These panels now contribute nearly 20% of all electricity consumed at the production site, thereby reducing the costs of operation.
All CFL lights in offices and on the shop floor have been replaced with LED lights, a change that not only helps conserve energy, but also creates better working conditions. In addition, a remote system has been installed to monitor and control everything from air conditioning, lighting and water supply to cooling towers in order to optimise air temperatures and lighting conditions while simultaneously reducing power wastage during idle times.
Conservation of water
Due to the rapid urbanisation of Gurgaon and overexploitation of underground water resources in the Northern Indian state of Haryana, the underground water table has been depleted by around seven metres from 2013 to 2018. There is now a legal requirement for all new buildings to install rooftop rain catchment systems that recharge groundwater. Bucher Hydraulics built five such systems with a total capacity of 150’000 litres that, given an average rainfall of 600 millimetre per year, can recharge groundwater by up to 4.5 million litres annually. Systems such as these are connected to deep bore water wells, ensuring that all rooftop rainwater is used to recharge the local groundwater table.
A sewage treatment plant with a capacity of 15’000 litres per day is also installed at the production site. This plant recycles 100% of the facility’s domestic wastewater which is reused for water-based air conditioning, toilet flushing and watering local grounds. The bioreactor-based automatic sewage treatment plant installed is compact, energy efficient and needs no human resources for operation.
While there are legal requirements in place governing the installation of solar panels and rainwater harvesting systems, the company went far beyond those requirements. This was mainly driven by environmental considerations as well as the desire to improve employee health and achieve annual savings thanks to reduced operational costs. The rooftop rainwater harvesting system does not offer any annual savings, however. Bucher Hydraulics was required by law to install two pits but opted for five in order to prevent as much rainwater as possible from being lost to storm drains and to help recharge groundwater.