News

No.sbf0115   March 19, 2014

Suntory Beverage & Food Limited

The Vending Machine with the Lowest Energy Consumption in Japan*1
Introduction of Ultra Energy Saving Vending Machines (Eco Active Machines) to Begin in Japan
SBF to Lead the Industry, Install Ultra Energy Saving*1 Vending Machines from April


From April, Suntory Beverage & Food Limited will be installing in Japan ultra energy-saving vending machines (Eco Active Machines), which offer the lowest energy consumption in the country*1.

SBF has engaged in a variety of initiatives to reduce our environmental load, including previously introducing environmentally friendly heat-pump vending machines*2 and then hybrid heat-pump vending machines which reduce energy consumption even further.

As the need to respond to daytime energy constraints and conserve electricity consumption increases, SBF has collaborated with vending machine manufacturers to be the first to introduce the ultra energy-saving vending machines (Eco Active Machine), a significant evolution in technology which consumes roughly half the electricity (420 kWh/y)*1 of conventional heat-pump vending machines. SBF will strive to continue to further advance energy conservation in the vending machine industry.

Reference Material 1: Initiatives to Reduce the Environmental Load of Suntory Vending Machines

1995: Introduced peak-cut feature, which suspends cooling functions for a fixed amount of time during summer peak energy usage times
(Currently, virtually all SBF vending machines are equipped with the peak-cut feature)
2007: Began installing environmentally conscious heat-pump vending machines
2011: Began using heat-pump vending machines for all new machines (excluding some special machines) and installing LED lighting
2012: Began installing hybrid heat-pump vending machines, which further reduce energy consumption over standard heat-pump vending machines
2013: Introduced Magic VIN Vending Machines*3, which can suspend cooling for even longer

In addition to the above, SBF engages in a variety of initiatives to reduce our environmental load, including advancing the development of reusable parts and creating systems which manage the supply of such parts in order to reuse vending machine parts in other vending machines.

Reference Material 2: Other Suntory Vending Machine Initiatives

Further, SBF has striven to pioneer vending machine locations which ensure contact with more customers; and to introduce wireless internet-type vending machines, which thoroughly reduce waste in product replenishment. As of the end of December 2013, SBF had installed approximately 150 thousand wireless internet-type machines, the most in the industry. SBF will continue to actively pursue further improvements and optimization at the operation service level.

Additionally, SBF is engaging in a variety of measures to contribute to society through our vending machine operations, such as working to introduce emergency beverage vending machines, which provide beverages free of charge during emergencies such as natural disasters. As of the end of December 2013, SBF had installed approximately 12 thousand machines equipped with this feature throughout Japan, the most in the industry.

  • *1: 420 kWh/y, the lowest annual energy consumption in Japan among the primary 25 product selection machines offered by major manufacturers in Japan as of April 2014 (according to research conducted by Suntory Foods Limited).
  • *2: Heat-pump vending machines are equipped with a system which recovers heat issued by the cooling chamber and utilizes it in the heating chamber. Hybrid heat-pump vending machines are equipped with a system for absorbing and utilizing heat outside the machine in addition to the system described above.
  • *3: Magic VIN Vending Machines use vacuum insulation, increasing ability to retain cold and enabling the suspension of cooling functions for long periods of time. Vending machines introduced in 2013 can suspend cooling operations for eight hours during the day, while those introduced in 2014 can suspend cooling for 11 hours.
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