Elpress, a leading manufacturer in the field of industrial hygienic equipment, partnered with Grundfos to optimise and future-proof an existing OEM cleaning pressure booster system. The result was a pumping system that is less complex, more energy efficient, less costly, and has a smaller mechanical footprint. This was made possible with the Grundfos Soft PLC card solution and Grundfos E-pumps. Read the story and see the film to learn more.
The situation
Elpress is a leading industrial hygiene systems manufacturer, based in Boxmeer, The Netherlands. Grundfos has been a pump supplier to Elpress for many years.
“Previously we used the Grundfos products as they were and integrated them in our machines,” says Elpress General Manager Kaeso de Jager. “In recent years, customers were demanding more – especially around saving energy and saving water.” Kaeso contacted Grundfos to upgrade the partnership. “And we started to collaborate on designing something better.”
The first focus was to improve the booster unit for cleaning systems used in wash and clean applications for industrial environments. Previously, Elpress used Grundfos CRN pumps controlled by a separate, large control panel with PLC (programmable logic controller).
“The old Grundfos pressure booster was bigger in terms of footprint, it was more expensive, more energy inefficient,” says Jannes Voss, Managing Director. “And we used to need to connect a lot more equipment to it to have it function. Our goal was to make things more simple, more robust, more reliable and with less complexity.”
Whatever you want to know, you have real insights on where you can improve or where you're already doing well.
Elpress Operations Manager Peter Agterberg says that the Grundfos cooperation started with Regional Sales Manager Luke Gardener and Key Account Manager John Bergmans exploring the possibilities. “But very quickly, all kinds of departments from both sides linked in on this project. And the enthusiasm went beyond that. We noticed that Grundfos and Elpress have a lot in common.”
After a series of workshops, collaboration and testing over 18 months, the partners were ready to bring a new type of system to market. The Open Plant Cleaning system features Grundfos Soft PLC technology built right into Grundfos CRNE pumps. That means no external PLC control box is necessary, and the smaller, smarter E-pumps save energy while controlling the application and collecting data.
From left: John Bergmans and Luke Gardener, Grundfos, meet with Peter Agterberg, Elpress Operations Manager.
The solution
The Soft PLC card solution makes the Grundfos intelligent E-pumps programmable. Previously, Elpress needed a large control box that included both power distribution and the PLC. “Now we have a small control box where we only do the power distribution. All the smart things are happening in the pump itself,” says Elpress Manufacturing Engineer Guus van Bree.
Luke Gardener likes to describe the new solution in this way: “Previously, Grundfos supplied the pumps as the heart of the booster systems, delivering the flow and pressure to customers. Now with the Soft PLC technology, Grundfos is also supplying the brain of the system, unlocking all the opportunities to deliver energy savings, lower carbon emissions and simplifying the system in totality.”
Another cool addition is that the Soft PLC can connect directly to our E-cloud, so it's fully integrated in our environment
The Grundfos Soft PLC, integrated into the E-pump’s MGE motor, creates a powerful package for advanced control and system integration. The MGE motor delivers energy efficiency through its variable-speed technology and built-in control modes, while the Soft PLC adds flexibility by enabling custom logic, external component control and enhanced monitoring via the Grundfos CIM 550 P Ethernet module. Together, they provide a comprehensive solution that simplifies automation, eliminates the need for an external PLC, and delivers significant value for compliance, reporting and optimised performance.
The system offers enhanced monitoring of data such as flow, pressure and temperature tracking – critical for compliance and reporting. To Elpress, this system control and monitoring is a key value-adder of the Soft PLC. It allows control of external components and programming with real logic, based on system input routed to the pump. “Whatever you want to know, you have real insights on where you can improve or where you're already doing well,” says Jannes Voss.
“Another cool addition is that the Soft PLC can connect directly to our E-cloud, so it's fully integrated in our environment,” adds Guus van Bree. He says the mechanical footprint has shrunken considerably as well. “Before, we had very large pumps, which were top heavy, and now we have much smaller pumps, because they use a higher RPM where we can achieve the same specs. And that’s been great to have, in addition to what we can achieve with the control. Also, it's just shrunken in size. … the old system weighed about 400 kilograms and the new one 270, so we have reduced it by about 130 kilos.”
Guus adds that the variable speed capability will allow different users to have controlled acceleration. They can always have the correct flow and pressure they need. “We can now choose to have different set points, because we can control it based on time or on something that the customer wants. Then we can say, during the day, we only run at 20 bars when they start cleaning. In the evening, we get full power, and then we go to 40 bars. That will save a lot of energy.”
- Guus van Bree, Manufacturing Engineer, Elpress
The outcome
“The cool thing is that we did this together with Grundfos,” says Guus van Bree. “We’ve never had this with any of our other suppliers – that they come to us and say, ‘Let's see how we can make this product better.’ And we now have a system that is how we like it supplied by Grundfos. This has been really great.”
Luke Gardener says the technology offered in these new co-developed systems will help the global food and beverage market in its sustainability aspirations, reduction of energy consumption, reduction in water consumption and CO2, “… and also have the transparency to see the information and data in their systems.”
Elpress has estimated energy savings per system of about 25%, meaning 10 tonnes of CO2 reduction per year and energy cost savings of EUR 4,200 (USD 4,900) per year.*
“Sustainability creates a financial impact, which in the long term will create a business case that is valuable for our customers,” says Kaeso de Jager.
“I'm really enthusiastic about the outcome,” he says. “We have addressed the main issues that we see in the market today. But what's more important for me is that we have created a collaboration where we can develop for the future. Because the changing demand will force us to innovate, and this is one of the values that we bring to the customer. We are developing constantly. We need short time to market, and we need to bring those innovations to the customers as soon as possible. The collaboration with Grundfos gives me the trust that we can bring this to the next level.”
Guus van Bree checks data flow on the Soft PLC-based booster system.
Case story info:
- Topic: Industrial cleaning systems
- Location: Boxmeer, Netherlands
- Customer: Elpress BV
Sources: The facts in this story come from interviews on site at Elpress BV in Boxmeer, Netherlands, on 14 October 2025.
* Claims are based on a Grundfos Energy Check Advanced and real-time monitored data comparison of previous booster system and new developed booster.
Grundfos supplied:
In addition to the co-development of the Elpress Open Plant Cleaning system, Grundfos supplied its Soft PLC card solution to reduce system complexity and create a more digital, data-driven pump system. The solution includes enhanced connectivity, allowing for remote settings adjustments and error code readings.
Soft PLC eliminates the need for an external PLC. Elpress drives even further the substantial energy savings, lower carbon emissions and pump reliability potential by integrating high-speed, intelligent Grundfos E-pumps into its solution.
Soft PLC is based on proprietary and patented Grundfos technology. It provides the opportunity for users to create their own logic functions and utilise all available inputs and outputs on the intelligent MGE/MLE pump motor powering the Grundfos E-pumps. Furthermore, the overall CAPEX costs for your system are lowered as well.