Business case on RECP assessment in "Kavashen" LLC
The production of "KAVASHEN" LLC is at around 65,000 slates per year, based on orders. In Armenia, the product is mostly consumed in rural areas, where 80% of the roofs are made of asbestos slate. As the slate's main element is extremely durable, it is often used as a reinforcement component in glues, mortars, and finishing cement. In addition, to being resistant to corrosion and weathering, it is also used to protect roofs against extreme temperatures. In most cases, asbestos only comprises 15-30% of a roofing product, where it is mainly added as a reinforcement material. The final product is thus a mixture of 15% asbestos powder, 5% water, and 80% cement. The typical life expectancy of a single roof is about 30 years, with some exceeding 50 years old whilst still being in good condition. In addition to private households, the company's clientele also includes local self-government and state-authorized bodies. Motivated to achieve more energy-efficient production, the company participated in the RECP demonstration project under EaP GREEN (2013-2017).
The RECP assessment examined the production site and identified several RECP options. From the eight RECP options recommended in the assessment report, six were implemented at the end of the monitoring period. These helped the company increase resource efficiency by making its product more competitive while ensuring and improving the company's economic, social, and environmental performance.
Some of the suggested RECP measures also focused on the systematic repair of workable machines and mechanisms, and the restoration of the recovery unit (resulting in a reduction of energy and heat loss, and in an improved calibration of the electricity system). "Kavashen" LLC also faced problems with the lighting and heating of its premises. To upgrade the lighting and heating systems into modern, energy-efficient ones, the RECP experts recommended using reservoirs for additional insulation, including in the pipelines. The installation of a 40 kW solar PV panel also helped the company reduce energy costs and minimize the no-load losses through a smaller capacity transformer.
By implementing the RECP methodology through a dedicated RECP action plan, "Kavashen" LLC gained access to viable economic and environmental solutions while being introduced to the latest production technologies and approaches in its field. The measures also helped improve the organization's overall performance and implement good housekeeping measures to boost marketability. Additional opportunities were also discovered during the RECP assessment. These namely centred around the additional installation of solar PV panels of up to 500 kW to cover the total annual consumption and create an option for the grid-connected PV solar power plants. In the future, such an investment would entail that the company's autonomous power generators could operate without a license to produce electricity on a net metering basis, with the electricity produced in summer being available for use in the wintertime.
In total, 6 RECP options have been implemented in two phases. They focused on good housekeeping, better process control, equipment modification, technology change and product modification.
