WELDING AND CUTTING
WITH SOLAR POWER
Temperatures in excess of 1,300°C are used to cut and weld the fine-grained steels that are destined for Hauer’s front loaders and attachments. Such advanced technology makes enormous demands in terms of the electricity required by the Hauer factory in Statzendorf (Lower Austria), where the vertical value chain is more than 90%. In order to safeguard the company's annual electricity supply amounting to 1,560,000 KWh and the production of equipment for its agricultural customers against a background of constantly rising energy prices, Hauer is now operating one of the largest photovoltaic power stations in Lower Austria.
Consisting of more than 2,500 solar panels that generate 700KWp over a total area of approximately 5,600m², the facility produces about half of the electricity that is required for manufacturing during a guaranteed period of 30 years.
The power station is funded by a special leasing arrangement in which the instalments are financed by the energy savings. The costs of the investment and the service costs will be amortised after 9½ years. From then on, the company and its customers will fully benefit from the savings generated by halving the consumption of externally sourced electricity. On weekends, when the factory is closed, some of the surplus energy is used to charge the fleet of electric forklifts.
Shortly before the new solar park entered operation, a new and central welding fume extraction system was commissioned which cleans the air in two production halls (total floor area of 1,800m²) at an average rate of 30,000 SCMH. To obtain the best possible air quality at minimum energy consumption inside the production halls, fresh air is pumped into the halls and is even heated in winter. Thanks to its advanced technical layout, the facility will save more than 100 tonnes of CO2 every year.
This shows that Hauer has not only developed products such as the XB Bionic front loader series in harmony with nature but also regards environmental awareness, the sparing use of resources and a commitment to Lower Austria as integral elements of its philosophy and strategy.
