Keeping it cool Elco

Thermix® TX.N® plus: the latest spacer generation from Ensinger

The Ensinger Group was founded in Ehningen, Germany in 1966 by Wilfried Ensinger who recognised the potential offered by the emerging high-tech plastics of that era. Intrigued by this opportunity, Ensinger designed and constructed new plastic extrusion methods to produce highquality semi-finished products and machine elements. Ensinger’s success resulted in the company relocating to nearby Nufringen in 1970, where the new family business established a dedicated plastics manufacturing complex. The company also acquired the nearby warehousing and factory space in order to expand its capabilities to meet future demand.

Following four decades of continuous investment, innovation and acquisition, the Ensinger Group today is represented worldwide with 27 major production plants and global R&D facilities. In 2012 Ensinger employed more than 2100 people and achieved consolidated sales revenues of over €350 million.

Today Ensinger’s high performance compounds and optimised solutions can be found across a broad spectrum of manufacturing industries, from mechanical engineering and the automotive industry, to medical device technology and the building industry. The company’s plastic semi-finished products and machined or injection moulded precision parts also form the basis for technical innovations in the food industry, aeronautical engineering and the electronics industries.

Optimising thermal efficiency

One of Ensinger’s important business sectors is that of industrial plastic profiles for windows and façades. The company manufactures these special profiles using both extrusion and co-extrusion methods.

Ensinger’s Thermix® spacers are the global brand of choice for the insulation of double glazed and triple glazed windows. The company’s latest generation of Thermix® TX.N® plus spacers offers one of the most effective reduction of heat loss at the glass edge area. The resulting lower heat loss through the window and without higher temperatures at the glass edge, help drive down energy and heating costs and reduce considerably the risk of condensation. The latest generation of Thermix® spacers is the culmination of almost 20 years of experience in the development, production and application of its famous Thermix® spacer brand.

Lingens said, “Thermix was the first ‘warm edge’ product containing highly

Qualified employees as a basis for success of the Ensinger group

State of the art manufacturing facilities at all locations of the Ensinger Group

Thermix® TX.N® plus: the latest spacer generation from Ensinger

insulating plastics to be launched in Europe at a time when the market was dominated by traditional aluminium spacers which were very cheap but also very poor insulators.” The process of educating architects and end users proved to be a very difficult one, however when legislation was passed in Germany which set new standards in thermal insulation, the market grew significantly.

“Interestingly, a similar transition occurred in France in 2009 when the French government offered incentives for people to insulate their homes, after which our sales rose dramatically.”

But not only in Germany and France the energy and CO2 saving requirements will increase: Also the new EU building directive describes that every new house has to achieve a low energy level. Such demanding energy requirements are much easier to reach with Thermix® than with aluminium spacers.

“Overall, our biggest market will remain Europe for the foreseeable future, in particular countries where the legislation for energyefficient housing and renovation is most demanding. However, we are seeing growth potential in all our world markets and there are also opportunities for us in the Middle East where buildings there require airconditioning. As we all know, these are very demanding energy-wise and our Thermix® spacers can reduce these high energy requirements significantly by maintaining temperature levels within the buildings.

Lingens added, “As the pioneers in this field we have to work hard to maintain our position in the market. We now have many competitors worldwide, especially since the ‘warm edge’ spacer market moved from being a ‘niche’ product to that of a mass market product. Here at Ensinger the focus is very much on quality and customer support and we also offer very competitive pricing, but we will not sacrifice quality for price and are proud of our reputation for innovation and high quality.”

“The fact is that our products are designed to be effective and functional in all weathers for the lifetime of the window, which in most cases is around 30-40 years. Our products are also guaranteed to remain stable across a broad spectrum of temperatures and UV radiation levels, as well as in other environmental conditions. All of our products are very energy efficient and as a company we take our environmental responsibilities very seriously. Our on-going sustainability and eco-management programmes means that we continuously strive to reduce our energy consumption and minimise waste. As you would expect from a company like ours, we are certified to ISO 9001 as well as to ISO 50001.” Actually ISO 14001 is implemented step by step in the divisions. Improving precision and stability

When developing a new Thermix® brand product, Ensinger takes into account the issues faced by the world’s insulating glass manufacturers. Therefore without changing the product’s thermal characteristics, the development of the latest Thermix® TX.N® plus spacer generation is focussed particularly on improved processability for its key manufacturing customers.

Using an optimised construction method and new material combinations, the company’s engineering teams have succeeded in making the latest product even more dimensionally stable. This is a key consideration, especially when working with triple-glazed windows as it allows the spacers to be positioned precisely parallel to the glass. In addition, the overbend angle has been significantly reduced, which is vital to ensuring a safe, precise and rapid bending process.

These additional benefits not only speed up the production process for manufacturers, but also enhance productivity and overall economy. n

For further details of Ensinger’s innovative products and services visit: www.ensingeronline.com/en/ or www.thermix.de/en.

KEEPING IT COOL

Fancy a fish meal, a cool drink or a tasty ice-cream on a hot day? And what about spending time in a cool room in summer and a warm room in the winter? Elco makes it possible with its ‘green’ commercial refrigeration and ventilation/air conditioning solutions (electric motors, fans and accessories) as Barbara Rossi finds out from its sales director, Mr Gianluca Albrici.

Elco was established in Milan a few years after World War II, making motors for record players and household appliances. In the 1960s the focus of its activity shifted to the production of fractional horse power motors (and linked accessories) for refrigeration. In the following years, alongside these motors and accessories for the cold chain, the company started manufacturing higher power motors (up to 1 HP) for ventilation and air conditioning, including for electric heating. Since then the range on offer has been centred round two areas: commercial refrigeration and ventilation/air conditioning.

The Elco range includes shaded pole and high efficiency motors and accessories for both the commercial refrigeration and ventilation/air conditioning sectors. Today high efficiency motors (ECM- electronic commuted motors) are its core business and they are subdivided into the ECM HC range for refrigeration and the ECM-CO range for ventilation/air conditioning. In comparison to traditional motors, they allow to lower energy requirements up to one third. The ventilation/air conditioning range also includes DD-EC centrifugal fans driven by high efficiency brushless motors provided by the sister company Genteq by Regal Beloit. ECM in this sector is a technology developed internally by the company in 1998, and which can be applied to motors of different dimensions. Elco has a range of standard products, which can be customised to a high degree so