For Immediate Release
Contact: Steve Heins, Orion Energy Systems, 920-892-9340, sheins@oriones.com
Milwaukean Mark McBride Chosen as Sales Office Manager
September 9, 2004. Plymouth, WI. Orion Energy Systems announced that it had opened a new sales office at 1234 E. Juneau in downtown Milwaukee. Orion expects to open several other regional sales offices in the U.S over the next year. Orion’s innovative Illuminator, an energy-efficient lighting platform for industrial applications, has been awarded a series of 12 patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Additionally, it has applied for numerous other patents relating to metering and control technologies for lighting
“While Orion has several Milwaukee area customers like Quad/Graphics, Rockwell Automation, Arandell, Associated Bag, INX International, Simplicity, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Regal Ware, Charter Steel, C&H Distributors, KMC, Rexnord, and Strattec Security, we think that a physical presence in Milwaukee is a very important part of our business model for Orion’s energy efficient products and systems,” stated Neal Verfuerth, President of Orion Energy Systems. “We are pleased to have an experienced executive and entrepreneur like Mark McBride to head up our first regional sales office.”
Neal Verfuerth, President of Orion Energy Systems, received one of Wisconsin’s most prestigious awards, Ernst & Young’s 2004 Manufacturing Entrepreneur of the Year. Recently, Orion has received the 2004 Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air Award given by the Wisconsin DNR. In addition, the company won the 2002 Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year Grand Award in the Emerging Growth category, given by the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce Association, the Wisconsin Business Friend of the Environment Award, and was chosen as a “Success Story” for the 2002 Governor’s Summit on Capital.
“Besides giving Orion a retail presence in Milwaukee, we expect to use the Milwaukee office for developing emissions trading, which will allow Orion to assume leadership in the rapidly emerging emission marketplace,” stated Neal Verfuerth. “Also, we hope to use the vast resources of Marquette University, UW-Milwaukee and Milwaukee School of Engineering for business research, student intern programs and management recruitment.”
In the last year alone Orion has helped its business customers save more than 50 Megawatts or 300 million kilowatt hours (kWh). Based on EPA estimates, Orion’s current installations remove 4.5 million tons of greenhouse gas – carbon dioxide – from the atmosphere and will remove 1.23 million tons of carbon. Other savings include the removal of 16,535 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2), which affects acid rain; 38,360 tons of nitrous oxide (NOX), which is another greenhouse gas, and 693.6 pounds of mercury. This reduction in electricity usage is the environmental equivalent of planting 1.1 million acres of trees or removing 849,859 cars from the road or saving 545 million gallons of gas.
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About Orion
Orion is a designer and manufacturer of energy efficient lighting solutions for the school, gymnasium, manufacturing, warehousing, and commercial markets. Orion provides capacity displacement solutions for supply side management, transmission management, and demand side management for the electricity industry. For more information, please contact Stephen Heins, vice President of Corporate Communications, Orion Energy Systems, sheins@oriones.com; 920-892-9340, ext. 226 or visit the web site at www.oriones.com.
