Sheridan Books, Inc. is a leading book manufacturer providing professional publishers, university presses, associations, and self-publishers complete book manufacturing services. Sheridan provides superior customer service and high quality sheet-fed and web offset printing, ondemand printing, and Electronic Content Services to help publishers achieve their goals from beginning to end. Sheridan Books is a division of The Sheridan Group (Hunt Valley, MD).

Sheridan wanted to reduce the cost of trim collection at their book plant in Chelsea, Michigan. Their 100hp trim waste collection system services six bindery & trim lines, even when some are not in operation. This created an opportunity for significant energy savings.

ECOGATE uses electronic gates to provide trim removal for those lines actually in use while turning off suction for inactive lines. The system regulates the speed of the collector fan motor using variable speed drive technology according to the actual requirements at any given time. The ECOGATE System automatically maintains the correct airflow to prevent settling, while minimizing energy usage. The system also reduces the amount of exhausted air which reduces the cost of makeup air. The ECOGATE System works completely automatically. The operator puts the program into operation simply by starting any individual machine.

ECOGATE engineers calculated that installation of automatic gates, sensors, Power Master variable speed drive and greenBOXTM Master SRL Controller would reduce electricity use on Sheridan's 100hp trim waste collection fan by at least 50%. Actual savings were 53% - 56% with a Return On Investment (ROI) under two years. Sheridan also benefitted from a significant reduction of noise levels. The Sheridan Books installation was ECOGATE's second in the printing industry and, the first printing industry application for ECOGATE in North America.