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Eliminating temperature fluctuations in Austrian toolmaker's production halls

WIHO Hofbauer GmbH, an Austrian tool and mold maker, operates high-end lathe and grinding machines, which require a constant temperature in production halls. The company was looking for a reliable air distribution system that would protect the machines from temperature fluctuations and also increase the working comfort of the employees. They wished to improve their facility, so they contacted FabricAir to design a brand-new fabric-based air distribution system. Instead of conventional air conditioning systems with dry drafts, the new system had to guarantee pleasant air distribution in the work areas. It also had to be a sustainable, long-lasting system without refrigerants that are harmful to the climate. As part of a site expansion in 2019-2020, WIHO Hofbauer installed a new innovative Sustainable Hall Conditioning System from Infranorm Technologie. The new system reduces operating costs and saves 83 % in CO2 emissions compared to conventional applications. It then was combined with a brand-new FabricAir air distribution system.

Since then, WIHO Hofbauer employees can work at a comfortable temperature at any time of day. With four cooling units of 14,000 cubic meters per hour each, the adiabatic cooling system ensures a constant temperature throughout the production hall.

“The employees are satisfied with the new solution and that there is a healthy working environment. We manufacture our products in the precision of thousandths of a millimeter, so it is very important that the temperature is constant and this naturally results in the best quality,” says Markus Meister, Managing Director at WIHO Hofbauer.

For the new fabric-based air distribution solution, the client chose Combi 20 fabric ducts with a combination of MicroFlow™ and SonicFlow™ flow models to distribute airflows evenly throughout all work areas. Permeable and flame-retardant fabric ducts are approved for cleanrooms, are light-colored with printed company logo, visually match the white wall elements, and blend seamlessly into the hall.

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