Industrial Utility Efficiency

Energy Manager

20 Years of Case Studies: Plants Sharing Best Practices

Edited by Troy Dreier, Senior Editor, Compressed Air Best Practices® 

For 20 years, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine has published articles focused on helping manufacturers reduce power demand, lower water consumption, and improve the performance of compressed air, cooling, blower and industrial vacuum systems. In this article, we highlight a sampling of those stories across the following industries:

  • Plastics and Packaging
  • Food and Beverage
  • Automotive and Transportation
  • Cement, Building Materials, and Mining
  • Metals, Pulp, and Paper
  • Pharmaceuticals, Healthcare, and Research
  • Wastewater Treatment
     
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Seven Sustainability Projects: Demand Control

By Thomas Mort, CEM

Reducing energy costs and pollution emissions involves many areas within an industrial facility.  My studies have found 7 key (or common) areas where low cost practical projects can be implemented.  Combined, these projects provide savings exceeding 10% of the annual energy spend with an average payback of less than one year.
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Why Growth Strategies Fail

By John Baker

When the job title gets in the way of reality, failure is sure to result.  The label on your business card – CEO, president, VP, director, senior manager, whatever – clouds a lot of perceptions.  No matter how high-falutin a strategy is  – demonstrating brilliance and shrewd marketplace acumen – execution of the plan is only as probable as the tightest bottleneck in the system.
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Is Afternoon Fatigue Influencing Job Performance?

By Dr. David Tanton

Many things can contribute to afternoon fatigue, but feeling alert can be critical to both your job performance, and your job security. Let’s evaluate what causes the afternoon slump, and start to make it a thing of the past. Here is the formula that will make the difference.
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Seven Sustainability Projects: Lighting Optimization

By Thomas Mort CEM

Reducing energy costs and pollution emissions involves many areas within an industrial facility.  My studies have found 7 key (or common) areas where low cost practical projects can be implemented.  Combined, these projects provide savings exceeding 10% of the annual energy spend of a typical industrial facility - with an average payback of less than one year.
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Energy Rebates Assist Industrial Sustainability Initiatives

By Rod Smith, Compressed Air Best Practices

The CFO asks the Corporate Energy Manager, “The numbers for this energy efficiency project look too good to be true - \$334,000 in annual energy savings requiring a \$89,000 investment (after the energy rebate) with a simple ROI of just 3 months?” “How do we know the reduction in kWh useage, which the energy auditor has promised, will actually happen?” “Why don’t we just deploy this same capital into a production project where we have more experience and confidence in the expected ROI?”   The recently hired Corporate Energy Engineer answers, “Those are the right questions to ask - we strongly believe in this opportunity for the following reasons.”
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Tubular Membranes Handle Oily Wastewater at Metaldyne

By Bill Cleary, Metaldyne

Finding the most effective, reliable and economical method for separating and concentrating die lubricant is no easy task for die casting plants – and the situation at the Metaldyne aluminum die casting plant in Twinsburg, Ohio was no different. 
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Corporate Sustainability Programs

Sustainable Operations in Practice at Klöckner Pentaplast
In most of our factories, we have installed detailed energy monitoring systems at multiple points
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