One of Teka’s most important goals is the search for more energy efficiency. Teka, located in Blumenau in the state of Santa Catarina, is one of the leading producers of bed, bath and table linens in South America. As part of its strategic planning, the company develops two programs for this purpose: the first comprises replacing burnt motors for high efficiency motors and the second, the replacement through repowering studies.

Thus, when the original motor (rings) of the yarn starching machines burnt in the beginning of this year, the decision to seek a more efficient alternative was the natural direction. The old equipment used previously had brushes that needed to be replaced regularly and demanded constant maintenance. Besides all this, to fix it would cost 115% of the amount to acquire a new and more efficient motor.

After a study made by Eletromecânica Standard, a partner in maintenance of motors, along with technicians from WEG, Teka chose to install the 15 Kw WMagnet Motor + Drive System which allows rotation variation. The results were soon to be seen. The replacement reduced the maintenance costs (practically zero) and shutdown hours of the machine, speed variation with constant torque (which means saving energy) and more power in the operation. It also brought more versatility to speed control which is essential for the quality of the starching, a process prior to the production of fabric.

The installation was simple, with the automation of the motor, inverter and machine and some mechanical adjustments, because the WMagnet is twice smaller than the original motor. Whereas the previous motor weighed around 360kg, the new motor weighs only 70kg. This calls for less space and makes eventual maintenance easier.