Operational Reporting - Essential Energy

Saving money the natural gas way
Australian Pavement Maintenance Systems (APMS) is an Australian
success story. For more than 10 years they have been maintaining
asphalt and concrete pavements on state and federal highways,
airports and sporting stadiums, both in Australia and internationally.
Understandably, their line of work relies heavily on energy resources,
so minimising their costs and energy consumption are key priorities
for the management team.
In September 2006, APMS converted their asphalt plant from diesel
to natural gas, based on the advice given to them by Country Energy.
Before the conversion, the company was spending $24,000 per month
on burner fuel (diesel) for their asphalt plant.
Following the introduction of natural gas, the average monthly cost
dropped to $8,600 which was a massive 64 per cent reduction. In fact,
over the first 12 months of operation with natural gas, the company
saved $192,000 in production costs solely due to the use of natural gas.
An improvement in their bottom line wasn’t the only way the
company benefited.
“From a productivity perspective, we have seen a secondary benefit in
the use of natural gas,” said Matthew Ferris, Production Manager, APMS.
“Our plant is rated at 80 tonnes per hour, however, our actual production,
rates were averaging 50–55 tonnes per hour. This reduced productivity
could be attributed to a number of factors, not the least of which was
a reduction in the efficiency of our dust extraction system.
“The introduction of natural gas has completely eliminated the problems
we had, and we have seen an increase in production rates from 50–55
tonnes per hour to 60–65 tonnes per hour. This may not sound like
much, but when we have crews costing thousands of dollars per
hour waiting on site for asphalt to be delivered, a small saving at the
manufacturing plant translates to a large saving on site,” said Matthew.
Energy savers
John and Aileen Brooks have been Country Energy foreverGREEN
customers since November 2006, and in that time they have reduced
their energy consumption significantly.
And, of course, by reducing their energy consumption, they’ve also
reduced carbon emissions. Here’s how they did it:
aren’t using energy to boil water they aren’t going to use
keep it out in summer and reduce the need for heating and cooling
(John used merino wool insulation)
prevent drafts.
Country Energy Account Manager Duncan Butler (left) on site with customer
Matthew Ferris, Production Manager with APMS.
“From a productivity
perspective, we have
seen a secondary
benefit in the use
of natural gas.”
Matthew Ferris,
Production Manager,
APMS.
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