Heat from 11 process ovens, each 8 m high and housed in 3-storey reinforced towers, resulted in temperatures at the apex of the towers in excess of 45°C. Although air-extraction equipment had been installed at the top of the towers, there was no fresh air in the carbon area, where woven carbon-fibre fabrics are coated with epoxy resin before being baked in the ovens.
CoSaf custom-made the cooling system to suite each area. The Breezair units were installed on the outside of the building and deliver cooled fresh air via aluminium ducting dropping vertically downwards, with distribution ductwork and diffusers directing air into the central areas.
‘The Breezair coolers have had a very positive effect on our workforce and made a great difference to staff morale,’ says Duncan McKnight, chief engineer with Jones Stroud Insulations. ‘Our senior managers have been so impressed by the transformation in working conditions that we have now installed Breezair cooling into other areas of the factory.’
