Power & HVAC Case Study
Temporary Utility Enabled Manufacturing Line Retooling
A mobile power generation package that fit the bill
Summary
When a Midwest manufacturer faced a six-month delay for a new utility feed needed to retool their production line, United Rentals provided a quick, reliable solution with a mobile power generation package. By deploying three paralleled 500kW generators, they ensured uninterrupted operations, fuel efficiency, and flexibility, helping the manufacturer avoid production delays and lost revenue.
Challenge
Over a six-month lead time was required to expand utility capacity for a manufacturer retooling their production line, risking delaying the release of a new product and causing lost revenue due to halted or insufficient production.
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A large manufacturer in the Midwest was retooling their main manufacturing line to shift manufacturing to a product with higher market demand. The new manufacturing equipment required a new utility feed from the local utility provider.
Permanent utility is critical to manufacturing but expanding utility capacity takes cooperation and organization on the part of both the local utility provider and the requestor, and often, approval from local governance. These factors can create lead times that stymy production and wind up placing manufacturers behind market trends.
For this manufacturer, the lead time for the new feed was expected to exceed six months. Such a delay would push out the release of the new product and lead to lost revenue due to lack of production.
When power is needed right away, rental power generation equipment can help businesses resume operations or expand capacity quickly.
A mobile power generation package that fit the bill
The customer engaged with United Rentals to work with their in-house engineering team to identify the energy requirements of the new line and create a power generation package that would fill those needs safely, reliably, and efficiently. It was determined that the load would not exceed 1 megawatt at peak production.
At the customer’s request, United Rentals created a package of three 500kW generators for a total of 1.5 megawatts. The generators would parallel together electronically and run in load-sharing mode. This arrangement allowed for redundancy in case additional power was required or one of the units needed to be taken offline for servicing. It also saved on fuel consumption because as needs fluctuated, only the generators necessary to fill the current power requirements ran.
Expertise in paralleling projects
United Rentals’ experience in paralleling projects allowed its technicians to deliver a comprehensive, turn-key package that included the paralleled generators, distribution panel and cabling, and on-site equipment service and fueling, which mitigated any risk of downtime.
United Rentals seeks to simplify manufacturing retooling and expansion for its customers, utilizing skilled and experienced technical support staff and technologically advanced equipment to provide a safe, reliable, and convenient alternative to permanent utility additions.