Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with leadership in diabetes care. The company also has leading positions within haemophilia care, growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy. Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk employs more than 29,300 employees in 76 countries, and markets its products in 179 countries.

The cooling system at Novo Nordisk used to be equipped with nine pumps operating at full power around the clock. The only way of regulating the supply was by using the manual on/off control. This lack of control led to a disproportionate consumption of energy in order to maintain the supply.

The company had an energy survey carried out to analyse the scope for energy savings. The consultants recommended the installation of an energy-efficient dual pump system at the cooling water plant. But they also need to take stability into consideration, for as the Production Manager says: "A full year's energy savings is nothing compared to the production being at a standstill for just a single day".

Today six large NK pumps in the basement at the company supply the cooling water for production at the factory. The six NK pumps together are able to supply no less than 3,200 m³/h of cooling water every hour. They are precisely regulated using the Control 2000 unit. Prior to this project, energy consumption was determined at 2,365,000 kWh/year. After the conversion, the energy consultants expected savings of 920,000 kWh/year - 40% - in future. The entire project has a payback period of approximately three years.