Article by our dedicated UK Partner Extraction Solutions

Jeld-Wen are one of the UK’s largest door manufacturers producing 40,000 units a week. Over the course of 2020 and in spite of the global pandemic, they have invested heavily in new processes and equipment, working with Extraction Solutions and Modesta, to further improve the quality of their products and production methods.

A large part of this investment was replacing their 40-year-old dust extraction plant. The aging system had become heavily reliant on maintenance, and poor duct design meant all three 132kW fans were required to serve just a small part of the production process.

Extraction solutions and partners Modesta held several meetings with the team at Jeld-Wen to ascertain what design elements were most important for their new system. Ensuring compliance and preventing downtime were among the top priorities. ‘We had a very old timeworn system, that failed on compliance and required air flow’ said Jeld-Wen Project Manager Andrew Taylor. ‘

It became clear that the Modesta CFC filter with its unique cascading fan system was the ideal solution. Having several smaller built-in fans ensures that even if one fan fails, the factory can still continue with little to no impact on extraction performance. Project Engineer for Extraction Solutions James Parkes remarked ‘the multi-fan design removes unexpected downtime and is super energy efficient. Some parts of the factory only run a single shift, the extraction in these areas can be isolated greatly reducing energy consumption.’

Shortly after James (ESL) and Wyboud Kloppenburg (MD of Modesta) encountered their first hurdle, the only space available to site the new system was over 150m away from the boiler infeed. Rather than follow suit with other tenders, Wyboud questioned ‘why can’t we use the same space as the existing system?’ Although both knew this wouldn’t be an easy task, it would greatly improve the overall costs and operation of the plant, reducing components, maintenance, and difficult access over the roof.

The idea was put to Jeld-Wen who were quick to point out they had contracted supply commitments and couldn’t afford any downtime outside of their two-week Christmas shut down. Extraction solutions were confident it could be achieved. ‘At first, the idea of removing 40 years of equipment and installing a large extraction system in two weeks was quite daunting’ said Installation Director Nick Wright of Extraction solutions, ‘but this was the only window of opportunity and I had every faith our team were up to the task.’

Wyboud added ‘with both time and space at a premium, the CFC series lends its self perfectly to the situation, delivered in three pre-built sections with all fans and filter bags already installed it offers a small footprint and greatly reduces onsite installation.’

When designing the duct system Extraction Solutions carefully considered the production process, opting to install dedicated ducts to each production area. ‘This allows operators to isolate extraction to unused areas, utilising the CFC’s built in eco-safe technology and creating a true ‘on demand’ extraction system.’

12-lines of Modular QF duct system were designed to fit around, or temporarily connect to the existing duct system, with over 1km of ducting installed without impacting the manufacturing process at all. Strip out and installation started without a hitch, but as with many projects in these uncertain times, the tiny 14-day installation window was almost shattered by the unanticipated travel restrictions imposed halfway through installation. This threatened to derail the tight schedule, but thanks to the dedication of everyone involved, the project was up and running days earlier than expected.

Jeld-Wen were thrilled to be running from January 3rd and could continue production with no disruption for the remainder of the project. ‘Due to the time constraints, weather, and magnitude of this project, ESL as a company helped make this project flow perfectly. We are now proud owners of a very efficient system. It has delivered excellent results for all our machinery. It has delivered huge energy savings and has made us 100% compliant,’ said Andrew.

Since the new system became operational Jeld-Wen are now seeing average savings of around £1500 per WEEK on their electricity consumption. The low rumble of the old fans is now gone with the new plant considerably reducing noise pollution and vibration around the reception area.

We asked Jeld-Wen’s project manager Andrew Taylor about his experience working with Extraction Solutions and partners Modesta. ‘ESL were very professional and accommodating to our company’s needs during this challenging project with great success. They are very team orientated which fitted with our own philosophy. The Modesta equipment is of a very high standard, it is robust and has an excellent build quality. The performance of the equipment is above expectations and delivered on our requirements.’

Extraction Solutions is our dedicated partner in the United Kingdom. More information on their website www.extractionsolutions.co.uk.