Demand Management, Energy Efficiency, Industrial, Utilities  -  November 2, 2016

Massive efficiency retrofit expected to save $1M in energy costs for New England auto parts plant

After undertaking an energy efficiency and fuel conversation retrofit, a New Hampshire automotive parts plant is expecting savings of more than $1.1 million per year in energy costs. 

Global sealing technology company Freudenberg-NOK made the decision in 2014 to retrofit the six-acre manufacturing facility's heating and production system, converting the plant from oil to energy-efficiency gas fuel, according to a Nov. 1 news release from IMEC, a mechanical engineering and design/build firm in Ayer, Mass. The completed project is expected to eliminate 4,000 tons of carbon emissions per year without any reduction in plant output or productivity. 

IMEC is one of the many engineering enterprises that are helping manufacturing facilities go green in New England, usually with the assistance of energy-reduction rebate incentives from utility companies such as National Grid USA and Eversource Energy, the company said in its release. 

"About 10 years ago, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy started an annual energy-efficiency ranking system of states," Sam Nutter, former president of the New England Association of Energy Engineers said in a statement about the region's focus on energy efficiency. "The New England and West Coast states are always the leaders, and Massachusetts has ranked first for energy efficiency for more than five years in a row."

Representatives from the manufacturing plant discuss the project in the below video, provided by IMEC: