HF Hand Constructors Pty Ltd is an Australian owned and operated company with a specialised fabrication facility and protective coatings and abrasive blasting facility on the mid north coast of NSW. They provide large infrastructure products, services and support for various industries throughout Australia.

HF Hand specialises in steel fabricated products for industrial application with the capacity to beamline structures and process plate work. They provide fabrication services with a range of materials such as:

specialised steel fabrication
specialised pipework
specialised welding
protective coating
abrasive blasting.

HF Hand Constructors workshop outside — HF Hand Constructors, NSW

HF Hand's journey

1

HF Hand was using older transformer-based welding machines that were not energy efficient.

The old transformer-based welders sized the transformer to use the standard 50-60 Hz AC frequency available from the wall outlet.

Inverter welding machines use solid-state electronic parts to improve efficiency in the electric current conversion. Inverter welders work by increasing the power input frequency from 50 Hz to 20,000-100,000 Hz. This high-frequency current requires a smaller transformer core than the old welders.

2

HF Hand replaced 5 transformer-based welders with more energy-efficient inverter welding machines.

Since the inverter welders use electronic switches which turn the power on and off up to 1 million times a second, the technology allows the inverter to increase the AC frequency significantly.

By using the higher frequency, inverter welders ‘energise’ the core much faster (100,000 times a second instead of 60 times a second). This allows a smaller core without a loss in power output. Inverter welders can output the same amount of energy as old transformer units while requiring up to 50% less input power.

Upgrading 5 welding machines was expected to result in significant reductions in energy use and carbon emissions.

HF Hand Constructors inverter welding machine

An inverter welding machine installed at HF Hand Constructors

Accessing the grant

The Australian Steel Institute contacted HF Hand’s General Manager about the grant criteria and application process.

Finance Coordinator at HF Hand, Theresa Waters, said the initial grant application process was easy to navigate.

‘We were able to provide details on what we hoped to achieve if we were successful with the grant. We were told when we should expect further correspondence and had heard during that time that our project would get the funding to proceed,’ Theresa said.

‘The grant agreement was also straightforward to complete. We had received the funds to commence our project in a timely manner and once our project was accomplished, we had submitted a completed report outlining the success of our project.’

3

The upgraded welding machines have resulted in:

reduced energy consumption (kilowatts used) per hours worked compared to the previous 12 months
significant energy and cost savings
improved operational efficiency
reduced carbon emissions and environmental impact
an expected reduction in repairs and maintenance costs in the coming years.

Theresa said the grant has also allowed them to redirect funds into other parts of the business.

‘Our company has been able to utilise the funds that we would have normally set-aside to upgrade machinery to re-inject into the company and upgrade our old hot water systems as well as look at increasing our solar panel system.

‘We were able to upgrade the above-mentioned machines in a much timelier manner than we would have if we were to upgrade over a number of years.

‘Our project highlights the benefits of adopting advanced technologies and serves as a model for other businesses looking to enhance sustainability and efficiency through similar investments or grant opportunities,’ Theresa said.

Energy Efficiency Grants for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises

Grants and funding

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