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Royal Van Eerd, a leading commercial printer for pharmaceutical packaging for more than a century, has reached a new milestone: a completely energy-neutral, gas-free and sustainable build-ing in Tilburg's Kanaal Zone. In cooperation with TRILUX, technology partner FiberUnlimited, Quadrant 4 and TES Installatietechniek, a unique combination of LED lighting and lightning-fast connectivity was realized for Van Eerd's second production location.
"At Van Eerd everything is about care," says John van Gestel, project manager at TRILUX. "While their customers take great care of products, Van Eerd realizes its packaging with that same care. That makes them a special client. When we came to the table with Van Eerd via Quadrant 4, we knew imme-diately: this is not going to be a standard project."
The initial focus was on a lighting plan for the halls and offices, where TRILUX used its expertise to meet the stringent requirements of a printing company by offering their solutions. "In every workplace, you have to deal with specific lighting standards," John explains. "In a print shop, higher standards ap-ply than in a 'standard' production hall. For Van Eerd, that meant 500 lux at working height and even more around the printing presses where color control is crucial. We achieved this by using extremely high lumen packages in our E-line LED continuous line system, which allowed us to achieve an aes-thetically pleasing result with a limited number of fixtures."
The TRILUX deployment required more than just lighting. Soon the innovative Polymer Optical Fiber (POF) solution from TRILUX in cooperation with FiberUnlimited came into the picture. Michiel Jongbloed, project and operations manager at FiberUnlimited, explains, "With POF we integrate light and data. For example, a data cable also runs in the E-line light line, with which we realized network connections for cameras, printers and even Van Eerd's machines. That makes this building not only sustainable, but also future-proof."
Van Eerd deliberately chose POF because of sustainability concerns. Michiel continues: "POF uses less material than traditional CAT cables. Data transmission via LED lighting not only saves a huge length of cable, but also offers a safe and efficient solution. For a company that runs 24/7, like Van Eerd, this is essential."
In order to use POF, a complete network was set up by FiberUnlimited. From patch cabinet to switching, Optolux LED fixtures, access points, junction points in walls, ceilings and floors, wall trunking with separate Ethernet points and a total of some 5,000 meters of POF cable. The POF solution was also redundant at Van Eerd, meaning that there is always a backup. The lighting plan from TRILUX invariably formed the basis for this. Michiel says: "Once the lighting plan was established, we could get to work. Together with Van Eerd and TES Installatietechniek, we went through the possibilities of POF and then worked out our plan based on the requirements and wishes set. We thought beyond our standards and even developed products (a floor well) especially for Van Eerd. The redundant connection is crucial for Van Eerd. After all, the printing presses run on a continuous network. If one side of the cable loop fails, the other side takes over. Downtime is simply not an option."
The realization of this project required close cooperation between all parties involved. "Everyone had something to contribute," Michiel says with a laugh. "Van Eerd uses a modern and large machine park. All machines that require a network connection run on the POF network. The network itself is not very large, but it is complex. Van Eerd's IT party had specific requirements, TES Installatietechniek thought about the integration and we ensured that everything came together seamlessly. From access to rights and external protection. In the end it runs flawlessly, but you have to come to the best solution together first. For each party."
John recognizes that quest: "In the initial phase, there were quite a few changes to our lighting plan. It was only when that was finalized that FiberUnlimited could get on board and draw up the network. It was essential to make sure that the LED light lines were mounted in the right position, so that Michiel and his colleagues could adhere to this positioning for the POF setup. So good communication between them was crucial. Everyone thought along, which worked."
In addition to the production hall, the offices and outdoor area were also illuminated. In the offices, Van Eerd opted for high-end lighting with a decorative touch. John: "We combined pendant luminaires with black E-line LED continuous lines,the 39-series recessed luminaire and Sonnos downlight to ensure the right light levels in terms of functional lighting. Because the interior architecture requested also additional accentual en decorative lighting we completed the lighting design with additional B.veo Spotlights and decorative Solegra pendent luminaires in different sizes to create a cozy atmosphere.
As a result, functional light goes hand in hand with decorative lighting and Van Eerd received everything from a single source: from lighting plan to delivery, installation and aftercare. Also the outdoor area where handled by TRILUX where Invego and Inveria luminaires where used to light canopied outdoor areas and the ramp to the parking area. The Jovie was used for all other functional zones around the building such as the entrance and parking area.
In close cooperation with partner Inotec, we helped provide the central emergency lighting for the pro-duction hall. The lighting control was handled by TES Installatietechniek. With Helvar's lighting control system, Van Eerd employees can easily control all fixtures via touch panels."
Looking back on the project, John and Michiel are more than satisfied. "Van Eerd is one of the first ma-jor projects where we combined light and data," states John. "Of course there were challenges, but the result is worth it. The building is not only beautiful and functional, but also prepared for the future. Van Eerd still has quite a bit of room to add printing presses. The POF system is easy to expand and we can also easily supplement our LED light line solution with a number of fixtures or short light lines as soon as a new printing press is added. The capacity of the lighting system is prepared for a scalable future."
Michiel nods in agreement: "It was a project of much innovation, learning, exchange and occasionally a search in cooperation with new parties. We have shown what POF can do, especially in combination with TRILUX lighting. It is a sustainable, efficient solution that perfectly matches Van Eerd's ambitions. It was hard work, but the end result is more than worth it."
By realizing both light and connectivity in one operation, Royal Van Eerd proves that innovation and sustainability go hand in hand.
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