Hutchinson Delivers Major Energy and Cost Savings Through Intelligent Compressed Air Control

Across Europe, manufacturers are under increasing pressure to lower energy consumption, manage operating costs, and reduce carbon emissions while maintaining production stability.

At its Le Gué Ory site in Sarthe, Hutchinson tackled this challenge by reimagining its approach to compressed air system control.

Partnering with CMC, the facility implemented an advanced optimisation solution using the Airmatics platform and installed the Airmatics AERO control system at the core of its compressor station.

The outcome was not only enhanced visibility but also a fundamental shift in how the compressed air system responded to real-time production needs, yielding measurable operational, financial, and environmental benefits.

The Challenge

Distance, Demand Variability, and Control Lag

Hutchinson’s top priority was to reduce the energy and operating costs associated with compressed air production. However, the site’s physical layout presented a continual challenge.

The compressor room sat a considerable distance from one of the site’s largest and most intermittent compressed air consumers. Previously, pressure monitoring occurred solely at the compressor house, so the system could respond only after pressure disturbances had travelled back through the network.

This setup led to:

• Delayed detection of demand events
• Aggressive corrective responses from the compressors
• Wider pressure fluctuations across the network
• Elevated unload power and unnecessary energy consumption

Limited system visibility further hindered the team’s ability to confidently diagnose inefficiencies or verify optimisation efforts.

The Solution

Airmatics AERO: Multi-Point Pressure Control with Demand-Side Awareness

To overcome these limitations, Hutchinson replaced its outdated master controller with Airmatics AERO as part of a comprehensive compressed air optimisation strategy.

Unlike traditional single-point control, Airmatics AERO enables pressure balancing and zone-based management by using multiple pressure measurement points throughout the compressed air network.

At Le Gué Ory, this involved:

• One pressure sensor at the compressor house
• Two additional pressure sensors on the demand side
• One demand-side sensor is positioned adjacent to a major intermittent consumer.

This new architecture fundamentally transformed system behaviour.

Instead of reacting belatedly to pressure drops at the compressor room, AERO now detects changes right at the point of consumption. This enables the control system to respond earlier, more smoothly, and more proportionally – reducing pressure overshoot and system instability.

Meanwhile, the Airmatics platform offered LAN and cloud-based access to key performance indicators, giving Hutchinson complete transparency over compressed air performance, energy use, and optimisation results.

The Results

Verified Energy, Cost, and Operational Gains

The impact of improved control was both immediate and significant:

• Energy savings: 433,100 kWh per year
• Cost savings: €43,310 per year
• CO₂ reduction: 2,676,460 kg per year

A post-installation assessment validated these results, providing strong confidence in the savings achieved.

Operationally, the benefits went even further. With tighter pressure control from Airmatics AERO, Hutchinson was able to:

• Switch off one compressor entirely.
• Significantly reduce the unload power compared with the previous control approach.

Customer Feedback

Jérôme Leroux, end user at the Le Gué Ory site, commented:

“Since installing Airmatics AERO, pressure is very stable across the entire network. We have already stopped one compressor and significantly reduced unload power compared with the previous master controller.”

A Proven Blueprint for Smarter, More Efficient Manufacturing

This project proves that real energy savings in compressed air systems are achieved not just through monitoring, but through intelligent, demand-aware control.

By combining CMC’s expertise, the Airmatics optimisation platform, and AERO’s multi-point pressure control, Hutchinson transformed its compressed air system’s response to real production demands, achieving rapid payback, ongoing energy savings, and a more resilient compressed air infrastructure.