McBee,
S.C.—A multiple-year initiative to reduce natural gas, electricity, and water
consumption culminated today with the employees of the A. O. Smith plant in
McBee, S.C., receiving the 2012 Chairman’s Green Star Award.
Executive
Chairman Paul W. Jones presented the 400 employees with the award during a
special ceremony today at the plant.
A.
O. Smith created the Chairman’s Green Star Award in 2009 to encourage natural
resource conservation efforts throughout the company. It is awarded to the
plant that achieves the most year-over-year reductions in natural gas
consumption, electricity usage, and water consumption. A total of 15 facilities
worldwide competed to receive this year’s award.
The
McBee plant saved more than two million gallons of water—nearly seven
percent—in 2012, reduced electricity consumption by more than 10 percent, and
cut natural gas consumption by more than five percent. During the same 12-month
period, the plant increased commercial water heater production approximately
seven percent.
“Given
A. O. Smith’s position as a leading global water technology company, I’m
pleased to see that a significant number of your projects have been focused on
water conservation,” Jones said in presenting the award. “Your efforts don’t
just have positive cost implications for the plant, they have a positive impact
on the environment as well.”
Energy
efficiency and water conservation have been critical factors in nearly every
equipment upgrade in the plant over the last several years, Sam Carver, vice
president-North American operations, observed.
“We
have been emphasizing efficiency and sound cost management throughout the
operation,” Carver said. “While a number of these are small projects, combined
they have helped us substantially decrease our water and utility requirements.”
A
major area of focus has been the parts washers that pre-treat water heater
components prior to fabrication. The engineering team in McBee has replaced a
number of older washers with new equipment that is better insulated, helping
reduce natural gas consumption. The new washers also feature enhanced
electronic controls that monitor fluid levels in the tanks more effectively,
minimizing overflows and helping the plant reduce the amount of chemicals
needed in the cleaning process by more than 25 percent, according to
Manufacturing Engineer David Hoover.
The
engineering team also has been able to modify the curing furnaces to
recirculate heated air to improve parts drying while saving additional energy.
Another
energy saving project involved an upgrade of the plant’s lighting system. The
engineering team replaced the original 30-year-old light fixtures with high
efficiency lamps that not only are brighter—resulting in improved light levels
and enhanced worker safety—but require less energy. The high efficiency lamps
give off less heat, helping maintain more comfortable temperatures throughout
the plant, Manufacturing Engineer James Shaw said.
In
addition to the new lighting, the engineers installed motion sensors in a
number of areas throughout the plant. This allows the plant to shut off the
lights when portions of the plant are unoccupied, further reducing electricity
usage.
The
engineers also upgraded the plant’s cooling tower which handles process water
and air conditioning water. The team installed a two-cell system that utilizes
high efficiency variable speed drives. The two-cell equipment provides better
control of the amount of water being pumped through the system to increase
overall efficiency.
Later
this year, the team plans to upgrade the air compressor equipment throughout
the plant with variable speed controls to reduce energy usage and continue to
upgrade furnaces and parts washers in the facility.
Another
initiative involved expanding the plant’s recycling efforts. McBee has recycled
steel and other metals for a number of years, but beginning in 2011, the plant
has been separating cardboard, plastic, and glass. Employees installed
equipment to compact and bail the waste; as a result, disposal costs have been
reduced 65 percent between 2010 and 2012. In addition, the amount of solid
waste sent to landfills was reduced 60 percent in the same period.
The
845,000 square foot McBee plant manufactures standard and specialty commercial
water heaters, high-efficiency gas residential water heaters, and copper tube
boilers for hot water and hydronic heating applications. In addition, McBee is
the location of the company’s commercial water heater product engineering
center.