EU Development Funding in Collaboration with Enterprise Ireland supports KORE’s Export Plans

In 2020, KORE’s plan to upgrade our block mould production came to fruition with the arrival of the Nuova IdroPress Vertical Block Moulding machine. After extensive research into technology in this area, KORE chose this machine due it’s high performance and productivity, versatility, energy efficiency, environmental impact, as well as its lean manufacturing properties. This project was co-funded by Enterprise Ireland and the European Development Fund to aid our export plan to the U.K., and additional markets in the years to come.

This smart technology can produce up to 25 blocks per hour, with multiple silos allowing for both grey and white block production of various densities from EPS70 all the way to EPS500.

The Features and Benefits of the Nuova IdroPress

The Nuova IdroPress Vertical Block Moulding machine offers numerous features and benefits. These benefits are realised by both our production in-house and by the end user on-site. This includes but is not limited to:

• Advanced block moulding technology automates the density control of each block, calculating the material weight on arrival to the machine, correcting if necessary before moulding the block, thus saving on raw material by compensating density gradient due to stratification in seasoning silos. This ensures the production of a series of blocks having the same density, compensating the possible differences present in the pre-expanded material, regrind material or due to the stratification that can occur in the storage silo.
  This procedure allows the increase of block density of up to a maximum of 7 to 8 %.
• Operational flexibility is achieved by the mass production of blocks of various densities and material, which allows us to manufacture approximately 5 insulated foundation systems per day, as well as void formers, external wall insulation, and floor insulation. We can also have the capability to adjust the depth and height of the EPS to suit the needs of each individual project. Blocks of up to 5m can be produced.
• The dry vacuum technology eliminates the consumption of water in the production process, partnered with low steam consumption and built in heat recovery resulting in electrical and thermal savings of approximately 29,900kWh and 561,230kWh respectively. The deep vacuum also allows to obtain more stabilized blocks reducing the seasoning time in storage; the complete absence of a water condensate in combination again with the deep vacuum remarkably lowers the residual humidity in the blocks, increasing speed in the cutting phase.
• The detailed process controls and visualisation allows the steaming from the back and sides to be adjusted to get uniform strength across all areas of the block baked on compression testing results from the commissioning plan.
• Lean manufacturing is achieved with the reduction of raw material waste before moulding, and the ability to take insulation offcuts from the construction industry and re-use them in manufacturing with no change to product quality.
• Eco-friendly production of blocks is established with this high efficiency machine with heat recovery, electric (29,900kWh), thermal (561,230kWh) and fleet (129,228kWh) savings as well as a large reduction in our greenhouse gas emissions by 195,802 kg/CO2.

The installation of this new machine has doubled block production capacity in the plant thus far, allowing us to manufacture high performing, sustainable EPS quickly and efficiently for the construction industry.