Orion Energy Systems: Power reduction earns environmental award for Badger Packaging firm

For further Information contact:
Dave Cary, Communication Specialist
Orion Energy Systems
dcary@oriones.com
(920)-892-5804

Steve Tiffany
Comptroller
Badger Packaging Inc.
2035 Stonebridge Rd.
West bend WI 53095
(262) 338-4080

Substantial air-quality plus is just one result of Badger’s
change to energy-efficient Orion lighting system

Badger Packaging Corporation of West Bend WI, has been selected to receive an Environmental Stewardship Award from Orion Energy Systems of Plymouth WI for a move that dramatically reduced its electric power consumption.

When Badger changed to an energy-efficient Orion lighting system recently, the company reduced annual energy consumption by some 84,359 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year. This is the environmental equivalent, according to Federal EPA formulas, of saving 6,969 gallons of gas per year, creating a fifteen-acre wood or removing fourteen cars from the road.

Over the 20-year expected life of the new lighting system, EPA formulas indicate the reduction will also mean that 1,645 tons of carbon dioxide, 449 tons of carbon, 7.2 tons of sulfur dioxide and 3.5 tons of nitrogen oxides – pollutant by-products of power generation – will not be released into the atmosphere.

“We’re glad to receive this environmental award for the project,” said Steve Tiffany, Badger comptroller who was instrumental in the project. “We try to do environmentally beneficial things whenever we can.”

The lighting changeover, Tiffany said, “…came about because we had lighting issues with our plant and were looking for options.” he said. “We did a test of Orion lights and determined the cost savings versus what we had – mercury vapor lights.”

“We do a bit of color matching, and Orion was a drastic improvement in this regard from what we had. We also had places where there were bad shadows and other visual problems, and Orion’s pretty much resolved those.”

“We received a lot of positive comments and found plant morale was better, with people saying they weren’t going home as tired as they had been. Less eyestrain — and at the same time we’re saving electricity.”

In the project, Badger replaced 100 metal halide fixtures with the same number of Orion’s patented Illuminator ™ fluorescent fixtures and 26 conventional fluorescent fixtures with 26 fixtures from Orion.

As a result, the power Badger uses for lighting dropped from 163,675 kWh per year to 79,276 – a saving of 84,359 or 52%. Badger’s electric bill dropped correspondingly.

“Costs had been an issue with us,” Tiffany said, “until we went through with our analysis and it showed the energy savings would pay for the lights fairly quick. It was a good solution for us.”

“Badger’s savings in this project are real and permanent,” said Neal Verfuerth, president of Orion Energy Systems, who supplied the new lighting system. “This sustainable savings could serve as a model for other companies, and is especially important for smaller businesses who are actually players in a global energy marketplace.”

“By presenting Badger with our Environmental Stewardship Award, Orion wants to highlight the fact that this energy efficient lighting project was good for everyone — good for Badger’s bottom line, good for employee relations good for the environment, good for our energy future.”

“We like it that Badger didn’t have to sacrifice or do without to accomplish this, by the way – and that’s the way we like to see things work.”

Badger Packaging Corporation is a family owned premier manufacturer of corrugated shipping containers and Point-Of-Purchase displays. The company maintains state-of-the-art creative design and production teams and equipment and is thoroughly equipped to take on a project, including consolidations, at any stage, from initial idea on. Badger’s dynamic order status system ensures product availability before it is needed. Badger can service national needs with the convenience of one stop shopping – request quotes, place orders and handle national packaging needs with a single phone call. Visit the Badger website at http://www.badgerpackaging.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/.