Schiavello is one of Australia’s leading international designers and manufacturers of furniture products and interiors that enhance people’s work environments.
Location:
1 Sharps Rd, Tullamarine, VIC
Purpose:
Since their foundation in 1966, by brothers Tony and Joe Schiavello, the family owned company has grown into an international brand that is ranked amongst Australia’s top 200 private companies.
Water Use:
Schiavello’s manufacturing capabilities include state-of-the-art powder coating facilities. A significant amount of water is required in the metal powder coating process, primarily in the on line pre-treatment of the metal prior to powder coating, where the metal is cleaned by chemicals and rinsed with water. The rinse water is now recycled. It was calculated that the existing system used approximately 10 million litres per annum.
Implementation:
In order to make the water suitable for re-use, it must pass through a thorough cleansing process:
1) High volume particulate filter – to remove solid particles
2) Carbon filter – to remove chlorine
3) Twin bed de-ioniser
Once the water has been through these processes it is returned and reused in the pre-treatment rinse of the powder coating lines. Some additional water is used to make up for water lost through evaporation caused by the heat of the aforementioned process
Results:
After several months of fine tuning a design, installation of filter and re-generation technology commenced (on one powder coat line) in September 2008. Whilst some adjustments to flows and cycles were required, the new system made significant water savings in the first few months of operation.
Water savings – 8ML per annum (85%).
50% reduction in effluent treatment chemicals (approx. $1200 p.a. saving)
Total Project Cost:
$77,000