Background: Stephen Walters is a family-owned company founded in 1720. They specialise in Jacquard weaving of innovative fabrics for Men’s and Ladies’ apparel and neckwear, combining artisan skills with the latest design and textile technologies.
Within the picturesque settings of the Silk Mills in Sudbury, Suffolk; Stephen Walters create custom designs and bespoke woven fabrics from noble fibres, including silk, cashmere and linen. The entire process from design concept and development, yarn dyeing, weaving to finished fabric can be followed through the factory.
This family-run company has been at the forefront of silk weaving for over three centuries and ten generations, and at Stephen Walters, they are proud to be custodians of endangered skills and an integral part of the continued evolution of British textile manufacturing on the global stage.
Key to their smooth operations and communications at the Silk Mills is a UPS system that provides critical power protection and peace of mind.
Challenge: Due to their unique site at the mills, the current UPS system was surrounded by a wooden enclosure in a corridor. This meant that servicing the existing system was challenging in terms of access and there was an increased risk of battery overheating as there was little airflow.
Critically at Stephen Walters, the UPS was installed to backup communications. In their need to upgrade their current system, they were looking for something similar with a load of 15kVA at 50% capacity.
John Inman, KUP Business and Development Manager, recommended an upgrade to the KOHLER PW3000/P1 with a 2 x 10kVA setup to split the load. He also suggested that the battery runtime would need a significant number of additional cabinets to house the batteries safely. All of which would provide better power protection efficiencies and would also allow for scalability.
Solution: Following a site survey and audit of the current site and considering the now obsolete UPS system in place; it was agreed to upgrade the system as well as to build a new UPS room.
Providing a complete solution was essential to the success of this project as the install and commissioning could only be completed at the weekends when all machinery would not be in use.
John worked with the client and approved supplier, Focused Power Solutions, to arrange a seamless install and switch over as soon as the new floor standing UPS systems were approved.
Ideal for vital servers, networks and telecommunications, the KOHLER PW 3000/P1 solves the problem of providing economic, reliable critical power protection for larger single-phase applications.
Offering the highest energy efficiency in its class, combined with a small footprint and advanced double-conversion, the 3000/P1 lowers energy costs and carbon emissions, as recognised as a growing concern among customers.
The KOHLER PW 3000/P1 can be three-phase in and single-phase out or single-phase in and single-phase out.
Result and Impact: Knowing and understanding our clients and their needs is key to delivering high-quality product and service solutions. At KUP we make sure that the customer always comes first and that we work with them at every step of the way from initial project planning to design and system activation.
“We had the UPS installed at the weekend – a great success. A big thanks to the guys from Focus Power Solutions who were great to work with. And thank you for your patience as I know it was a long, drawn out process!” Kevin Wetton – IT Operations Manager, Stephen Walters
Stephen Walters is led by innovation and taking responsibility. They champion creative thinking and use of technology, and they are committed to reducing their impact on the natural world.
The PW3000/P1 offers efficiency, scalability and reliability for industrial processes, networks and telecommunication systems. It is ideal for space-limited areas in which only lower capacity units may have fitted previously. Combined with an efficiency of up to 96.6% and a dual feed providing an extra layer of redundancy, it beats all others in its class.
With 150 years of experience under our belt at Kohler Uninterruptible Power (KUP), we are proud to have to have a long-standing partnership with Stephen Walters and their 300 years of experience.
TO DISCUSS HOW WE CAN HELP YOU FIND CRITICAL POWER SOLUTIONS SPECIFIC TO YOUR REQUIREMENTS CONTACT US AT [email protected] OR CALL US ON 0800 731 3269.
