Kenworth Trucks Australia

Efficient heat to fill one of the country’s biggest manufacturing facilities.

We’re proud to help Australian businesses get ahead in any way we can, and recently, we had the pleasure of working with Kenworth Trucks at their major Victorian site.

Since 1971, Kenworth has custom-engineered trucks to thrive in the most demanding conditions. Their manufacturing facility in Bayswater, Victoria, posed significant challenges in heating its interior assembly areas effectively. With Heatray in the passenger seat, these challenges were solved.

The facility’s established assembly lines feature numerous overhead sliding cranes, rails, and high roof spans. A key issue was not just how to heat the expansive space but also how to fit in within the existing infrastructure.

Originally, the facility employed warm air heating with extensive ductwork and high-velocity supply air grilles. This system proved unsatisfactory for the large open spaces with up to 15-metre high rooflines and was highly expensive and commercially unviable. Comfort was impossible due to heat stratification and the waste of energy in attempting to heat large volumes of air.

To overcome these challenges, a tailored Heatray heating solution was designed to work within the existing infrastructure. The solution incorporated gas-fired Tube Radiant Heaters (TRHs) strategically placed at high-level mounting positions to maximise efficiency.

These heaters directly provide low and medium-intensity radiant warmth to the assembly areas, focusing on heating people and their immediate surroundings rather than the entire air volume.

The TRHs were integrated seamlessly with the facility’s overhead sliding cranes and rails, ensuring that the heating elements did not interfere with the manufacturing processes. This approach not only preserved the facility's structural integrity but also enhanced the overall workflow.

The new heating system has revolutionised comfort and energy efficiency at the Kenworth facility. The TRHs have significantly reduced energy consumption, with the savings paying for the system within a short period. Employees now experience a markedly improved working environment, increasing productivity and satisfaction.

Kenworth Trucks Australia continues to lead the way in truck manufacturing, now with a facility that supports its workers' well-being and the sustainability of its operations. The success of the Heatray heating solution at Bayswater is a benchmark for industrial heating efficiency in challenging environments.