For further Information contact:
Dave Cary, Communication Specialist
Orion Energy Systems
dcary@oriones.com
Joe Saelens
President, Saelens Corp.
Johnson Creek WI
(920) 699-8880
Switch to Orion lighting system the annual equivalent of
saving 27,490 gallons of gas or taking 54 cars off road
Saelens Corporation, a Johnson Creek WI machining concern, has been chosen to receive Orion’s environmental stewardship award for its recent annual 333,007 kWh lighting power reduction — better than 50 percent — that came as a result of a change in plant lighting.
Environmentally, a power reduction this size means that some 325 tons of carbon dioxide, 89 tons of carbon, 1.4 tons of sulfur dioxide and .7 tons of nitrogen oxides will not be released into the atmosphere each year. It is also the air-scrubbing equivalent of a 61-acre forest removing 54 cars from the road permanently and is also the conservation equivalent of saving 27,490 gallons of gas each year.. The move cut Saelens’ electric bill for lighting by over 50 percent, as well.
“We appreciate the award,” commented Joe Saelens, president of the corporation that bears his family name. “But cutting consumption is its own reward because it will also help reduce our dependency on foreign oil, and we need to do that.”
“Saelens’ savings are real and permanent,” said Neal Verfuerth, president of Orion Energy Systems, who supplied the new lighting system. “This sustainable savings of electrical consumption could serve as a blueprint for other companies, and is especially important for smaller businesses who are actually players in a global energy marketplace.”
According to US government data, the business sector of the economy uses 70% of the power generated in the country — and that about of ne third of that goes for lighting.
“By presenting Saelens with our Environmental Stewardship Award, Orion wants to highlight the fact that this energy efficient lighting project was good for everyone — good for the business’ bottom line, good for employee relations good for the environment, good for our energy future.”
Previously, that Saelens plant had been lit by 384 400-watt metal halide lamps, which were replaced by the same number of Orion Illuminator (R) Fluorescent fixtures. “The general light across the whole plant is much, much better, and it’s much more consistent,” said Joe Saelens, president of the corporation that bears his family name. “We sure wouldn’t go back to the metal halides. Everything about these new lights is good”
A machine shop, Saelens Corporation manufactures two lines of products marketed throughout the United States and Canada. One line consists of cast iron pulleys, flywheels, spindle parts, and other mechanical power transmission products. The other is a line of rod couplings and special nuts. Headquartered in Johnson Creek, WI, the company has a second plant in Adams WI. Both also do custom precision machining. Contact Saelens Corporation at (920) 699-8880.
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/.
