Bancroft Bag banks on profits by cutting its energy use
March 11, 2015
Bancroft Bag Inc., West Monroe, LA, is putting its energy into saving on its electricity bills. The company recently made an investment to reduce its supply-side kilowatt hour (KWH) consumption.
The manufacturer of paper bags for pet food, fertilizer, mining and chemical product applications, partnered with WPS Global Inc. to install a customized energy reduction system in its 348,000 sq ft facility. "We expect this decision will produce a significant drop in our power usage, monthly electricity bills and in downtime and expenses associated with power surge damage," explains David Sheppert, project manager, Bancroft Bag.
The supply-side KWH reduction solution from WPS Global meets the needs of a cost-conscious, sustainability-minded operating environment like Bancroft's with proprietary technology that ensures the bag-making equipment is not using more power than it needs.
WPS Global's system conditions the facility's power, feeding the equipment the electricity it needs and preventing it from drawing more than necessary. The system offers other benefits as well, including improved power quality and equipment surge protection.
"Packaging machines are big consumers of energy," explains Bill Behrmann, senior systems designer, WPS Global Inc. "Even with the newest and most advanced high-efficiency equipment, you cannot realize optimal energy effectiveness or maximum savings without controlling the supply side of the equation."
Power surges due to lightning strikes can wreak havoc on expensive, computerized manufacturing equipment, causing thousands of dollars in damage and production losses. WPS Global installs its system on a facility's computer-driven equipment, the most sensitive and vulnerable to electrical surges. Each system, made to withstand any lightning event that can lead to damage, involves a number of components that work together to divert electrical surges away from the equipment's sensitive circuitry.
According to Sheppert, Bancroft Bag's management has met with the local power supplier in the past, asking for ideas to reduce consumption, without much luck.
"WPS Global's system is guaranteed to produce results. We believe it will help us achieve our main goal: to reduce our electrical, drive and motor replacement costs and further expand our sustainability commitment," Sheppert adds. "Reducing energy consumption and improving our downtime will allow us to improve profitability and attain a larger market share in our industry."
By creating a facility-specific plan, selecting equipment and placing it based on the customer's particular needs, a WPS Global solution can translate to significant and enduring electrical savings for at least 15 years, the company claims.
More information is available:
WPS Global, 888-803-2903. www.wpsglobalinc.com
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