Ensuring uptime in pet food production

To help eliminate harmonics and reactive displacement in a Preston-based pet food production facility, power quality specialist CP Automation supplied GA Pet Food Partners with five active harmonic filters. The new filters can correct both harmonics and power factor, which means that GA can limit disruptions, improve efficiency and reduce energy costs.

Beginning its journey in 1972 as a mixed arable and livestock farm, GA Pet Food Partners is a private label family-owned and family-run business specialising in the production and delivery of pet foods. Over the years, it has continued to grow, opening new facilities and installing new equipment to produce and prepare food products ready for customers. This includes installing a series of motors in its plants, which are inherently vulnerable to harmonic noise.

To support the company with its expansion and protect it from harmonics, CP Automation supplied five P300 active dynamic filtering (ADF) units from Swedish cleantech company Comsys. Some were used for the design of the new site, and GA’s engineering team retrofitted other filters to replace legacy units.

The P300 units have a compact build and take up minimal footprint, freeing-up space for additional equipment in industrial facilities. Unlike other mitigation technologies, these units can also resolve both harmonics and power factor issues, which avoids the need to invest in two separate technologies.

“Over the years we’ve continued to grow, and this has gradually compounded power quality issues in our facilities,” explained Jayne Whittaker, engineering director at GA Pet Food Partners. “Previously, we would have to overrate equipment to account for harmonics, which would have both cost and efficiency implications.

“As technology like the P300 has advanced, it has become easier to resolve power quality issues constructively and cost-effectively,” continued Whittaker. “Being able to combine power factor and harmonic correction is critical for us and will help us maintain uptime while complying with industry standards on harmonics, such as the new Engineering Recommendations G5/5.”

“On one site, we managed to save the space of four large panels by retrofitting two in their place, achieving a 50 per cent reduction in footprint,” added John Mitchell, global sales and marketing director at CP Automation. “The P300 units are an investment in GA’s future growth, freeing-up floorspace for additional equipment while protecting its sites from harmful power quality issues.”

For more information about active harmonic filters and other power quality technology, visit the CP Automation website.