For Immediate release
For further Information contact:
Dave Cary, Communication Specialist
Orion Energy Services
1204 Pilgrim Rd.
Plymouth WI 53073
(920) 892-2935
dcary@oriones.com
Bryan Blanke, Operations Support Manager
Milsco Manufacturing Company
9009 N. 51st St.
Milwaukee WI
414-414-410-3790
bblanke@milsco.com
For reducing the amount of electric power it uses for lighting by changing to an Orion lighting system, Milsco Manufacturing Company of Milwaukee — a leading manufacturer of seating for Harley-Davidson motorcycles, construction, agricultural, marine, lawn and turf care industries — has been selected to receive Orion Energy Services’ Environmental Stewardship Award.
According to federal EPA formulas, Milsco’s per-year 208,031 kilowatt-hour reduction means that some 203 tons of carbon dioxide, 55 tons of carbon, .9 tons of sulfur dioxide and .4 tons of nitrogen oxides — all pollutant by-products of electric power generation — will not go into the local atmosphere each year.
Stated another way, the reduction is the air-scrubbing equivalent of planting a 38-acre forest or removing 34 cars from the road permanently. It is also the conservation equivalent of saving 17,173 gallons of gasoline each year.
“We’re honored to receive this award,” commented Bryan Blanke, Operations Support Manager for Milsco Mfg.. “In whatever we do to try and improve our company we keep an eye on environmental issues and try to be a good neighbor.”
Blanke said that lighting issues had not been a Milsco priority when the change started to be considered. “I had heard of Orion — they had contacted me a year and a half or so earlier and gave me information. Our Orion representative brought in a fixture which we put up in a main traffic aisle in the facility to get employee feedback The feedback was very positive, so we went ahead and started installing the Orion fixtures. We did the eastern half of our facility, about 75,000 square feet in all.”
All told, Milsco installed 240 Orion fixtures, which replaced a similar number of 400-watt metal halide fixtures with 224-watt Orion fixtures. As a result. The amount of power Milsco uses for lighting fell from 401,388 kWh per year to 193,350 — a 52% saving of 208,831 kWh.
Has Milsco been satisfied with the new lighting?
“Absolutely” said Blanke. “We have reduced our total wattage by about 45% and provided up to 2 ½ times more light per fixture. It’s been an excellent investment, and we’re adding more.”
“I’d like to point out that this pro is yet another dimension to the benefits all of us can realize beyond the environmental ones in the Milsco project,” commented Orion president Neal Verfuerth. “They took 208,000 kWh off the power grid, and that will tend to have a stabilizing effect on electric rates — which is an issue we’re all facing.”
“Best of all, Milsco gained from this project — but didn’t have to sacrifice anything. And that’s the way we think things ought to go.”
Founded in 1924 as a maker of horse collars, harnesses, and accessories for farm horses, Milsco Manufacturing Company is a unit of Jason Inc. Milsco is an international company with manufacturing facilities in both the United States and Europe that specializes in the design and manufacture of complete seating solutions for vehicles used in the agricultural, construction, industrial, forestry, recreational, and turf care industries. The company is known for its consistently high quality products, breakthrough developments, and state-of-the-art manufacturing, from manufacturing of components to final assembly including urethane foam molding, thermoforming, sewing, metal fabricating, and upholstery. Few others can equal Milsco’s fully integrated capabilities in the manufacture of world class seating products. Visit the Milsco website at http://www.milsco.com/.
Located in Plymouth, WI, Orion Energy Systems has been innovating in the energy and lighting business since 1996. Orion’s innovative Illuminator ® fixture, an energy-efficient lighting platform for industrial applications, has been awarded a series of 14 patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Additionally, Orion has applied for numerous other patents related to metering and control technologies for lighting.
Neal Verfuerth, Orion President, received one of Wisconsin’s most prestigious awards, the Ernst & Young 2004 Manufacturing Entrepreneur of the Year.
Orion provides capacity displacement solutions for supply side management, transmission management, and demand side management for the electricity industry. Visit the Orion website at http://www.oriones.com/.
