Industrial Solutions Team Begins Industrial Productivity Assessments

September 5, 2000

Advanced Energy's Industrial Solutions Team recently completed Industrial Productivity Assessments at two North Carolina industries. Going far beyond the parameters of an industrial energy audit, the IPA is a proactive method of investigating factors that affect productivity and plant capacity. Recommended process improvement strategies in these two cases offered significant increases in productivity, process efficiency, and long-term savings.

Dan Welch , Ziba Kellum , and Ewan Pritchard of Advanced Energy traveled to Mastercraft Fabrics in Spindale, NC, while Dan and Ewan also sojourned to House of Raeford in Rose Hill. The common mission of their visits-to identify production barriers and offer cost-effective means of eradicating these barriers, thereby increasing plant capacity and each company's bottom line.

At Mastercraft, a manufacturer of upholstery fabric, Advanced Energy's team found a means of increasing plant capacity and reducing maintenance costs that could lead to an annual savings of approximately $692,000 a year. With an initial capital cost of $837,000, the simple payback on the investment could be achieved in 1.2 years.

At House of Raeford, a chicken processing plant, the team discovered a way for the plant to maintain production levels while achieving significant savings in labor, energy costs, and materials amounting to about $250,000 a year. With an equipment investment cost of $288,000, payback could be achieved in only 1.15 years.

"Advanced Energy's Industrial Productivity Assessment is geared toward maximizing the productivity and plant capacity of industry while minimizing cost," says Dan Welch, process engineering consultant for Advanced Energy.

"The IPA is not an energy audit. While promoting energy efficiency continues to be a core concern to Advanced Energy and industry alike, our Industrial Solutions Team has recognized that productivity improvements create much larger benefits in the areas of increased sales revenues and reduced labor cost. Thus, the need for the IPA."

Want to find out more about how Advanced Energy's Industrial Productivity Assessment can expand your capacity and bump up your bottom line? Contact Advanced Energy at (919) 857-9000 or moreinfo@advancedenergy.org.