KACO new energy, one of the world’s largest inverter manufacturers - with over 3 GW of PV inverters in the field to date expands production capacity
With the new scalable Plant 5, the inverter manufacturer from Neckarsulm has created logistics benefits and flexibility
KACO new energy has invested 30 million euros in its headquarters in Neckarsulm and has expanded its peak capacity by 4 gigawatts. The new, scalable manufacturing facility enables flexible production in line with market developments. The third largest inverter manufacturer has therefore secured itself international logistic advantages. As with all its other manufacturing facilities, the production in Plant 5 is also climate-neutral. KACO new energy is therefore demonstrating what sustainable industrial production means at a time when the use of energy is undergoing a revolution: maximum energy efficiency combined with climate neutral production. “We have constructed one of the most cutting-edge inverter production facilities with fully automatic processes and just-in-time storage,” says CEO Ralf Hofmann. The management of KACO new energy was recently able to commence operation at the company’s fifth plant after just nine months of construction. Plant 5 will be principally used for producing three-phase inverters for the TL3 series. Up to 400 workstations can be housed across 12,000 square meters of usable space and KACO new energy has already hired thirty new employees. If the development continues at the current rate, it is intended to create 150 new jobs.
The breathing factory
“Innovative testing procedures enable our devices to achieve a head start in the market when it comes to durability,” underlines Hofmann. As with most of the process stages in the new factory, the new testing plant subjects inverters to a fully automated endurance test. The same is the case with the high-bay warehouse with 1,200 pallet and 16,000 bin container locations. A reserve area concept makes it possible to expand the production inside the plant if there is a sudden increase in demand and more inverters must be brought to market. The just-in-time supply of small components (Kanban principle) also ensures considerable flexibility in adapting to changing needs; it ensures supplies with reduced stocks while keeping the capital commitment as small as possible.
Pure efficiency bundle
With plant 5, both the building itself and the operational processes have been designed to achieve maximum energy savings. The use of solar power systems, heat recovery from the DC supply, an intelligent building services control system and usage of braking energy in the logistics system actually saves more energy than is required by the German Heat Insulation Ordinance. “We expect to undercut the EnEV 2009 (German energy savings regulation) by more than 10 per cent,” says Stefan Horlacher, Head of Finances, Controlling and Logistics at KACO new energy. Even the facade, which itself is a solar power system, generates 13 per cent of the company’s own electricity needs. Additional energy is purchased at a nearby wood chipfired CHP plant to help the climate balance to remain positive.
Technical details
A solar power system with 272 kilowatts of crystalline silicon modules on the roof and a solar facade with 146 kilowatts of CIS thin-film modules increase the total installed output at KACO new energy to 1.15 megawatts. The roof system is operated with 28 Powador 9600 inverters, eight 3-phase Powador 18.0 TR3 inverters, a Powador 16.0 TR3 and a Powador 6002. These inverters ensure reliable energy yields for the thin-film module facade. In order to facilitate company employees to make their own contribution to the energy revolution a 116-kilowatt solar power system is being operated as an employee profit-sharing scheme that will enable them to become entrepreneurs in the energy revolution.