Industrial & Warehouse LED Lighting | Plastek

Plastek turns to Tamlite once again for lighting solution with an impressive ROI of only 1.3 years.

Founded in 1956, Plastek, Mansfield manufactures plastic packaging for the Personal Care, Home Care, Food & Beverage, Cosmetics, and Pharmaceutical packaging Industries.

Plastek has a number of sites across the world. In an effort to increase illumination levels in the factory and warehouse spaces, Tamlite Lighting was specified to deliver a modernised lighting system. So, this meant updating the previous luminaires installed from the UK lighting manufacturer in 2009.

Reduced Energy Consumption

Lighting accounts for between 65% and 95% of energy costs in warehouses and industrial-warehousing buildings. A reduction in energy consumption provides huge benefits in terms of ongoing running costs. This was certainly the case for Plastek.

The new upgraded Tamlite solution offered energy savings of 58% for Plastek, totalling more than £70,000 per annum. This huge energy saving also provides a return on investment of only 1.3 years, providing excellent value for Plastek.

Tamlite outlined to Plastek that the switch to the proposed LED lighting solution from the incumbent fluorescent tubes would result in substantial energy savings. As a busy manufacturing site with many assembly and production machines working for long hours, the lighting is on for extended periods. Therefore, a reduction in energy costs is key.

This was augmented by automated PIR lighting controls, providing additional long term energy savings over simply switching to LED, as well as ensuring a future-proof solution for Plastek. These lighting controls ensure that the lighting is only used when it is required, minimising time of use and reducing energy consumption.

Controls are an essential aspect of retrofit lighting solutions, particularly in industrial-warehousing and warehouse applications where lighting takes up a sizeable proportion of energy costs."

Industrial and Warehousing Lighting Solution

The 180,000sq.ft facility is made up of injection moulding, high speed automation, industrial-warehousing and racking areas. On top of this are board rooms, offices and external spaces. The previous lighting system served Plastek well for more than a decade, made up of T5 luminaires in the industrial-warehousing areas. The main aim of the new lighting upgrade was to reduce ongoing energy costs and increase illumination levels by switching to LED.

There were four key objectives for the new lighting scheme:

Reduced energy consumption
Maintenance cost reductions
Enhanced lighting levels
Improved uniformity throughout the site

Plastek Engineering Manager, Darren Warboy, commented, “We selected Tamlite from a choice of 4 leading manufacturers. We base this based on: quality of illumination and uniformity, actual lux levels compared to reported lux levels, actual energy usage compared to rated energy usage and the quality of the luminaires themselves.

“Tamlite performed significantly better in comparison to the other manufacturers. With the positive experience and service levels we’ve had from them in the past, we were happy to specify them again.”

Enhanced Light Levels and Uniformity

As is common with fluorescent lighting which has been in place for over a decade, the level of illumination had reduced. Therefore, a key aspect of Tamlite’s proposal to Plastek was the significant improvement to lux levels and uniformity.

The Tamlite EXPO was specified for the upgrade in the warehouse and industrial-warehousing spaces. The range is available with 6 different optical options to choose the right light for the application. The Wide Beam version was selected for the lighting design, providing a broader spread of illumination, avoiding shadowing or dark patches. As a result, it helps avoid accidents when using heavy machinery.

The outstanding efficacy of the EXPO also made it the ideal luminaire for the project, achieving over 150 lm/W. Of course, this is essential for keeping energy costs to a minimum whilst providing the required level of illumination.

Reduced Maintenance Costs

In sustaining its relationship with Tamlite, Plastek has assurance of continued quality in luminaires and service – all Tamlite Lighting LED solutions offer a 5-year warranty.

Plastek also took advantage of Tamlite’s free lighting design service, and site survey solution. This ensures that the lighting system complies with all relevant standards to enhance illumination, uniformity and worker wellbeing.

For more information on our Urban lighting solutions, contact our expert lighting team.