Sustainable cooling and ventilation at Toyo Seat

About Toyo Seat Europe 

Toyo Seat Europe is part of an international car seat manufacturing group with more than 75 years of experience and 11 locations.

Its Hungarian facility in Százhalombatta specialises in the production of car seat frames for automotive manufacturers including Toyota, Suzuki and Volkswagen.

Creating a comfortable indoor environment for employees is an important priority for Toyo Seat. When high temperatures and indoor air quality became an increasing concern in the production hall, the company began looking for a structural solution for both cooling and ventilation.

The challenge

The production environment in Százhalombatta presented Toyo Seat with two closely connected challenges. The manufacturing process generates significant internal heat, while welding operations also release dust and fumes into the indoor air.

During hot summer days, this combination resulted in an uncomfortable indoor climate, with temperatures exceeding 30 °C and a clear need for effective air replacement.

Toyo Seat wanted to improve these conditions without having to make major changes to the existing production hall. The company therefore looked for an integrated solution that could provide both sustainable industrial cooling and ventilation, while taking energy consumption, indoor air quality and employee comfort into account.

The solution

Oxyma and Oxycom designed a solution consisting of six IntrCooll systems combined with Oxyma's HydroBank water treatment system.

IntrCooll is a two-stage evaporative cooling and ventilation system. Instead of relying on a conventional refrigerant, the system generates cooling through water evaporation while continuously supplying the production hall with fresh outdoor air.

This combination of cooling and continuous air replacement made IntrCooll particularly suitable for the situation at Toyo Seat. The system cools incoming outdoor air while simultaneously ventilating the production space with 100% fresh air.

IntrCooll features that were relevant to Toyo Seat

• Energy savings can reach up to 85-90% compared with conventional cooling systems.
• IntrCooll uses water as a refrigerant, which has no ozone-depleting potential (ODP).
• The system provides more cooling power on hot summer days without increasing energy consumption.
• IntrCooll requires 1 kWh of electricity to operate at 40 kW cooling capacity.
• Oxycom's patented two-stage evaporative cooling system can cool 4-7 °C further than conventional one-stage evaporative cooling systems.
• IntrCooll combines cooling and ventilation using 100% fresh air.
  
  

The result

Following the installation, the effects of the new cooling and ventilation solution were noticeable in several areas. The temperature in the production hall decreased, employees responded positively to the improved indoor climate and the project calculations showed substantially lower operating costs.

From above 30 °C to 25 °C

The clearest result is the temperature inside the production hall. According to Factory Manager Gábor Szorgalmas, summer temperatures had consistently exceeded 30 °C in previous years. Following the installation of the Oxycom systems, Toyo Seat reduced the temperature to 25 °C during summer.

“The feedback has been very positive. The temperature in the hall is noticeably lower. In recent years, the temperature had consistently been above 30 °C. After installing the Oxycom systems, we have successfully brought it down to 25 °C during the summer.”

Gábor Szorgalmas, factory manager, Toyo Seat Europe

Positive employee feedback

Employees have responded positively to the improved indoor climate. According to Toyo Seat, they feel more productive and are better able to focus on their work since the installation. The company also notes a reduction in absenteeism.

84% lower calculated operating costs

The project calculations also show a significant difference in operating costs. For the cooling period, annual operating costs for a conventional compressor-based cooling and ventilation system were calculated at €66,233.

For the IntrCooll solution, the calculation includes €9,328 in energy costs and €1,030 in water costs, bringing the total calculated annual operating costs to €10,358. Based on these project-specific calculations, operating costs are approximately 84% lower.

These figures are calculated values based on the specific installation, operating conditions and assumptions used for the Toyo Seat project.

For Toyo Seat, the solution resulted in a lower production hall temperature, continuous ventilation with fresh air and substantially lower calculated operating costs, without requiring a major rebuild of the existing facility.

Want to learn more about the project?

Download the full case study for the technical parameters, performance calculations and further details of the Toyo Seat Europe installation, or watch the project video.