Alliance Manufacturing – 63 kW Solar Installation

Case study of Alliance Manufacturing’s 63 kW solar installation. Thanks to a USDA grant and 30% tax credit, this installation is projected at less than a 5-year return on investment.

 

American Family Insurance – Lighting Upgrades

Case study of American Family Insurance’s installation of single-bulb reduced-wattage T8 fixtures. The project achieved savings of over 875,000 kWh per year with a 1.7 year payback.

 

Briggs & Stratton – Regeneration Project

Briggs & Stratton Corporation conducts extensive endurance testing of their engines, with engines running for hundreds or even thousands of hours per engine. With the help of a Focus on Energy Grant, Rockwell Automation for equipment, and We Energies for technical support, they were able to incorporate a regeneration system able to capture 756,000 kWh annually. The savings are $68,000 per year, with a payback period of 1.9 years with the grant, and 3.6 without the grant.

 

Donaldson Company – Boiler Management System
Case study of Green Tier participant Donaldson Company, Inc.’s installation of a boiler management system. The product cost $7,700, took less than two hours to install, and paid for itself in less than a year through reduced boiler firing.

 

Dura-bar - An Engineering Approach Proves Key to LED Lighting Project Success

Charter Dura-Bar is a 480,000 sq. ft. steel casting operation. Company leadership had set out to improve the environmental conditions of its facility for the employees and customers. A key component to that undertaking was lighting. Most of the lighting within the foundry had consisted of old mercury vapor and incandescent lighting. Very yellow.

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The end result doubled the light output for the safety and wellbeing of the entire team, while improving quality for the customer.

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ESI – Continual Reassessment

Case study of ESI’s efforts toward continual measurement, adjustment and reassessment. ESI measures nearly every quantifiable process that takes place in their headquarters building and continually strives toward improved energy efficiency.

 

Fives Giddings & Lewis - A Convenient Solution to Costly Compressed Air Leaks

It had been several years since Fives Giddings & Lewis had conducted a compressed air leak inspection at their Fond du Lac facility, so they reached out to the experts at Wasmer. Wasmer had a trained technician inspect the entire compressed air system for leaks using an ultrasonic detector that features 124 microphones and can detect leaks from up to 300’ away. The inspection detected 63 leaks. The repairs produced significant savings in a short period of time.

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Flambeau River Papers – Fine Bubble Diffusers

Case study on Flambeau River Papers’ initiative to install fine bubble diffusers in their wastewater treatment plant. The fine bubble diffusers reduce the amount of pumped air needed, thus increasing energy efficiency.

 

Frito Lay – Heat Recovery Systems

Guided by Frito-Lay’s corporate Environmental Management System (EMS), the Beloit facility set aggressive energy and reduction goals each year to reduce operational costs and their environmental footprint. Frito-Lay focused their efforts on increasing the efficiency of their baking and cooking processes, specifically by developing heat recovery technology that could reintroduce waste heat energy either back into the process or into their facility applications. On their Doritos Tortilla Chip process, they recovered waste heat from the toaster ovens that is now used to preheat the process oils. On their Lays Potato Chip process, they installed a heat exchanger device that transfers the waste steam heat from an outgoing stack, into a glycol loop that services the entire rooftop of the plant. From there, this heat is used to preheat water used in cooking and cleaning applications. The glycol loop also services over 80% of the direct exchange heating units throughout all of manufacturing and warehouse operations.

 

Georgia Pacific - Achieving Savings Without Incurring Additional Downtime

In 2019, Georgia Pacific’s Green Bay, WI, facility underwent a plant-wide initiative to save energy while delivering more candlepower to the plant floor. That meant converting from traditional lighting to high-efficiency LEDs without shutting down plant operations.

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Georgia Pacific - Meet Emergency Lighting Code Requirements While Eliminating Related Labor Expenses

Georgia Pacific was looking for an emergency lighting solution that would enhance safety in the plant without increased upkeep related labor expenses. The solution Wasmer engineered involved a battery inverter. The battery inverter located near the electrical panel was connected to the two emergency light circuits. In the event of a power outage, it would supply plenty of power to operate the designated LEDs. The inverter is essentially a single, giant battery back-up and the unit selected is projected to last 15 years.

 

Between the life cycle of the inverter and its ability to conduct required tests automatically, this approach improves emergency lighting system reliability while virtually eliminating system maintenance and the labor associated with it. Wasmer’s creative solution to the challenge gave Georgia-Pacific a big bump in facility safety while cutting associated labor costs to virtually nothing.

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Godfrey & Kahn – Server Virtualization

Godfrey & Kahn virtualized its servers, which reduced annual energy savings and long-term maintenance costs. Virtualized servers moved computer processing off site, but increased reliability and minimized risk.

 

Gundersen Lutheran – Energy Efficiency and Biogas Use

Gundersen Lutheran set goals to reduce its energy use by 20% within two years, and targeted lighting, HVAC, chillers and cooling towers.  They also worked with City Brewery to harvest and burn the brewery’s waste treatment biogas discharge.

 

Homburg Contractors – Equipment Upgrades

Case study of Green Tier participant Homburg Contractors’ aggressive upgrading of their primary construction equipment to efficient Tier 2, 3, and 4 engines. Fuel cost savings vary; other benefits include production efficiencies, reduced maintenance, and increased operator satisfaction.

 

Homburg Contractors – No Idling Policy

Case study of Green Tier participant Homburg Contractors’ implementation of a no-idling policy for their diesel-powered construction equipment. Benefits include financial savings and avoided risk to safety and reputation.

 

La Crosse County Landfill – Biogas Utilization

Public and private parties came together to use natural gas from the La Crosse County Landfill to produce heat and electricity.  There were financial and environmental gains that arose from this partnership. The energy independence of Gundersen’s Onalaska campus is discussed.

 

Metalsa - More Effective Management Requires Access To The Right Data

Metalsa had an initiative to identify and eliminate waste in their facility. They started in the right place with their utility bills, but found that separating expenses between production costs and overhead costs was not a simple task with their current systems.

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The energy dashboard created by the Wasmer Company and the software collecting the data is capable of scaling for future project objectives. It shows a realtime view of data via the web, VNC, and panel view.

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Miron Construction – LEED Expansion

Case study on Miron Construction’s expansion and renovation of their corporate headquarters. During this process, the company pursued and attained Gold LEED Certification without incurring any additional costs.

 

Molded Dimensions - Lighting Upgrade A Logical Component To Achieving Lean Manufacturing Goals

Molded Dimensions was looking to upgrade their lighting to save future costs as part of a lean initiative.

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The Wasmer solution involved creating 3D photometric layouts to help show the best options for your facility along with Military-Grade LED lights from Tactik Lighting. From purchase order to installation, the whole process only took a couple of weeks, and the results of the changeover will have long lasting benefits.

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New Glarus – Heat Recovery

New Glarus Brewing Company saw an opportunity to more efficiently recover energy from its heating and cooling processes by: reusing waste heat from other processes, reclaiming the water-vapor from the brewing boil-off, implementing counter-flow piping, installing other water heat recovery systems, and developing a ’closed-loop’ refrigeration system to reduce energy.

 

SC Johnson – Alternative Energy

As part of the strategic planning process, SC Johnson challenged the organization to purchase 40% of its total worldwide manufacturing electricity from renewable/green sources by 2011, a 33% increase from 2006 usage.  One component of the alternative energy mix is wind energy.  Each production facility around the world has been challenged to evaluate the potential for a wind generated source of electricity in close proximity to the SC Johnson Plant. Each production entity must work within its facility capital or expense budgets to approve the identified projects. (more)

 

Sentry Equipment – LED Lighting

In 2006, during the planning stages for construction of a new manufacturing facility, Mike Farrell, CEO of Sentry Equipment, was looking for ways to save costs and improve the performance of the new building.  Mr. Farrell found that using light fixtures with LED bulbs was potentially more cost-effective than CFL bulb lighting systems that were included in the original design.  For outdoor lighting the LED lights were compared to High intensity discharge (HID) lighting.

 

Serigraph – Eliminating VOC from Emissions

Serigraph is a printing, molding, and custom graphics company that prints almost exclusively on plastic.  They specialize in decorative, functional, and brand identity solutions for consumer and industrial products, point of purchase and promotions. The company’s global headquarters is in West Bend.

 

The standard technological solution to VOC removal is an expensive control technology that uses intense heat to break down the VOCs. However, Serigraph CEO John Torinus was interested in a biological alternative that he’d seen at a printer in Bengalaru, India. In a biofiltration system, VOC-laden air is drawn away from the printing areas, then blown into a chamber containing a medium inoculated with VOC-loving bacteria. In this warm, humid environment, the bacteria digest the VOCs into carbon dioxide and water.

 

Serigraph – Compressed Air

Serigraph is a printing, molding, and custom graphics company that prints almost exclusively on plastic.  They specialize in decorative, functional, and brand identity solutions for consumer and industrial products, point of purchase and promotions. The company’s global headquarters is in West Bend.

 

In August 2010, Serigraph’s Energy Management Team worked with Focus on Energy to perform a compressed air leak audit. On a Sunday, when the plant was shut down, people from these two groups performed a walk-through of the plant and listened for the tell-tale hissing of compressed air leaking. The group found five minor leaks in the first audit. After this initial walk-through, Serigraph began performing a monthly compressed air audit.

 

Standard Imaging – Geothermal

Case study on Green Tier participant Standard Imaging’s installation of its geothermal heating and cooling system, which was done in conjunction of construction of the company’s new facility in 2006. The system saves the company about $10,000 per year in avoided natural gas costs.

 

Standard Imaging – Solar PV

Case study on Green Tier participant Standard Imaging’s solar photovoltaic panels. The dual-axis mounted solar panels were installed in 2009 and generate over 16,000 kWh per year.

 

Stroh Turned To Wasmer To Find The Right Answers To Their Lighting Needs

Stroh Precision Die Casting was concerned about their low light levels and high maintenance and utility costs. Above all, they wanted to provide a safe and effective work environment for their employees. Improving lighting quality was at the top of their list.

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Since the completion of their project, the company has noticed an improvement in employee job performance and overall product quality plus dramatic energy savings.

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Thermatru Doors - When It's Time To Replace Lighting, It Pays To Explore What's Possible

Thermatru Doors has two facilities that were challenged with technology that was at the end of its life cycle. This resulted in lower than desired light levels and high levels of energy consumption.

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The Wasmer Company completed a full energy audit to identify Thermatru’s pain points. Motion sensing data loggers and products to demonstrate the proposed technologies were installed to ensure the proper solution was found resulting in substantial energy savings.

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Travel Mart Convenience Stores - Proper Assessment Leads To More Effective Lighting Solutions

Travel Mart – Broadway in Wisconsin Dells, WI wanted to reduce their energy costs while providing more effective lighting to create a safer, more inviting environment throughout their facility for customers at night. Maintenance expenses were also top of mind; they needed to see a decrease in expense while improving light levels.

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A complete audit of the Travel Mart facility revealed out-of date lighting technology, uncovering a large opportunity to increase energy savings. By installing Tactik Lighting LED lighting technology, the site has experienced tremendous Energy Savings each year.

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Wagner Oil Company - Lighting Proves Key To Savings And Safety

With growing locations across the state of Wisconsin, Wagner Oil Company knew it was time to take charge of their energy savings. They also knew that in today’s market it’s imperative to increase visibility during nighttime hours. Creating a safe and approachable environment for their valued customers was a necessity.

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By upgrading to both interior and exterior LED lighting technology and installing refrigeration controls, the stores visibility has increased and is driving up sales while making customers feel safe and secure.  Their sites have seen substantial energy savings.

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Wal-Mart – Renewable Energy

Wal-Mart is committed to being supplied 100% by renewable energy.  Finding new, clean sources of power (such as wind and solar power) is an important part of achieving this goal. Wal-Mart is also looking for ways to use less energy in its day-to-day operations. Conservation is the least expensive form of new energy. It’s cheaper to find ways to reduce energy use than it is to build new power plants or use peak energy to handle demand spikes. Peak energy sources of power tend to be the most expensive to produce.  Wal-Mart’s challenge was to find new energy-saving technologies that itcould install in its stores so that they would use less power in their daily operations.  (more)

 

Standard Imaging – Alternative Energy Technologies: Geothermal and Solar

Founded in 1989, Standard Imaging has become a leading supplier of radiation calibration and quality assurance instruments and software. Their product and service solutions support a broad range of radiation treatment applications, including dosimetry, brachytherapy, intensity modulated radiation therapy, image guided radiation therapy, and stereotactic radiosurgery. Standard Imaging products are used by medical physicists, radiation oncologists and technologists at major research universities and hospitals worldwide. In February 2007, Standard Imaging moved into its new, energy efficient, eco-friendly 27,000 square foot corporate headquarters in Middleton. Standard Imaging is actively led by three individuals who originally founded the company; their dedication to Standard Imaging, and its mission, are shared by its employees.

 

Past environmental achievements include the installation of solar panels at their facility, as well as goals to reduce radiation exposure, use of geothermal power and engineering products to accomplish environmental and economic goals. In addition, the company has committed to have an environmental management system in place within 12 months of acceptance into the Green Tier program as further demonstration to manage their environmental footprint.

 

The installation costs of their geothermal system were about 33% more than a conventional heating and cooling system. In order to offset the additional costs, 1) the company was able to receive Focus on Energy support (about $10k) and 2) Economic Development tax credits from the WI Dept of Commerce were received.

 

The closed-loop, glycol based system contains 54 wells, each drilled 150 feet deep, located under the current parking lot. Piping from the 54 wells is combined into five two-inch tubes, which enter the building below grade (five other similar pipes are used for outgoing heat transfer). Once in the building, the tubing with glycol is routed into all of the 15 separate heating/cooling zones.

 

Standard Imaging of Middleton provides instruments and software to provide Quality Assurance for the Radiation Therapy and Medical Imaging health care sector.  After moving into its new geothermal-heated facility in early 2007, the company looked for ways to further decrease its dependency on fossil fuels. Management decided on solar photovoltaic panels.