The world's largest automotive battery supplier, Johnson Controls, has a Nederman centralized vacuum system for general heavy duty cleaning

The company has more than 100 years of tradition in the production of batteries and, in order to reach this milestone, prioritizes and dedicates itself to the health and safety of people. With the implementation of Nederman's high vacuum system, it has minimized the operators' contact with the raw material in the production process.

In 2012, the unit of Johnson Controls do Brasil, located in Sorocaba - SP, contacted Nederman in search of a solution for general cleaning of the automotive battery production line. The main objective was to eliminate the old method of cleaning used, using portable vacuum cleaners, brooms, squeegees and yarn waste which, in addition to consuming a lot of time of employees, facilitated contact with substances that are harmful to health and the environment, such as lead oxide.

Johnson Controls is recognized worldwide for its concern and investment in practices for the development of safe and sustainable products. In view of this, Nederman, which also has this mission, dedicated itself to the creation of a project for the installation of a centralized system for cleaning using a large scale aspiration with four pieces of RBU 2100 vacuum equipment, each with a 60 hp motor and two self-cleaning FlexFilter filter manifolds installed in the factory's external area. The system also has a single sampling point chimney to identify the amount of particulate being emitted into the atmosphere, which reinforces the company's concern with the environment. "We are very careful with our facilities, because we want to overcome the high levels of demands of the Brazilian legislation applicable to our business," explains Faustino Correa da Silva, Environmental Coordinator of Johnson Controls and the person responsible for the project.

In total, there are 98 aspiration points distributed in different areas of the factory, all with manual valves for automatic system activation, which facilitates the day to day operation of the operators and especially assists in the handover of the shifts, as it provides more speed and efficiency in the cleaning process. "We use approximately 120 tons of lead oxide per day in our manufacturing process and dirt is inevitable. With the implementation of Nederman's system, our biggest gain was in terms of eliminating employee contact with dust. This has always been our concern and we already complied with the indexes of the Brazilian legislation and Johnson's internal indexes, which are even more strict, but now the operators can clean the work environment without any contact with the substance," explains Faustino.

Faustino adds that Nederman was already a benchmark of the group abroad, but in Brazil it was the only company that presented a complete solution to the demands of Johnson Controls, because through its understanding of its needs, in addition to the equipment it also offered the design, the installation, warranty, maintenance service and spare parts - all locally, which contributed to the purchase decision process.

The accessories used in the Johnson Controls' operation, such as floor cleaning devices, suction nozzles, electrical panels, among others, are standard system items, and all items requiring regular replacement for preventative maintenance such as the elements filters and belts are purchased directly from Nederman, which also offers all the support through its own Technical Assistance team.

"We are very proud of the solution installed at Johnson Controls, because currently in Brazil this is the largest high vacuum system for general cleaning from Nederman, with total installed power of 240 hp. We managed to work to overcome our biggest project challenge: the distance between the suction points of the material to the vacuum center - measuring more than 200 meters. Our biggest concern was the pressure required for the aspiration of the particulates, so we work with pressures up to -40 kPa (-4,000 mm.c.a)", emphasizes Luiz Fernando Araújo, Technical Manager at Nederman with more than 30 years of experience in industrial exhaust systems.

Learn how the system works step-by-step:

1. By means of the cleaning devices, the lead particulate resulting from the company's production process is aspirated from the equipment, the floor and the entire manufacturing environment.
2. The material, driven through specific flexible hoses, passes through the "Flap" valve of the system, which has the function of opening and closing the vacuum by activation at the point of use.
3. The particulate then passes through the high vacuum tubes, which has the function of transporting it to the Central Unit.
4. In the Central Unit, the powder is separated, filtered and stored for future and correct disposal using Nederman technology.
5. The system chimney is unique and has sampling points for identifying the amount of particulate being emitted into the atmosphere.