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Industrial refrigeration · Food 2025

Retrofit of 40 variable frequency drives at an industrial refrigeration plant

Leading food processing cold storage plant — Panama City

40
VFDs modernized
4.2%
Energy savings
~28 h/yr
Unplanned downtime avoided
6 wk
Total time

Challenge

The plant was running 40 Allen-Bradley PowerFlex 40 drives more than 12 years old. Frequent drive trips on the ammonia compressors, no way to source genuine spare parts, and unplanned downtime that kept growing.

Beiton solution

We selected the VLT AutomationDrive FC-302 as the equivalent replacement, adapted the panels (different footprint), migrated the parameter set reproducing the compressor curves, ran FAT testing at the Beiton workshop and commissioned in 4-hour windows per panel to keep the operational impact to a minimum. Full integration into DrivePulse.

Result

The work was completed in 6 weeks with no impact on production. 6 months on, zero unplanned trips. Verified energy savings of 4.2% from the higher efficiency of the new drives.

We had spent years stretching spare parts that were impossible to find. Beiton gave us an orderly way out, without stopping production beyond the windows we had agreed on.
— Maintenance Manager — Food processing plant

Products used

  • VLT AutomationDrive FC-302
  • Class B RFI filters
  • Shielded cable

Services delivered

  • Applied engineering
  • Retrofit
  • Commissioning (SAT)
  • DrivePulse

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