For further Information contact:
Dave Cary, Communication Specialist
Orion Energy Systems
920) 892-5804
dcary@oriones.com
Rose Engelke, Business Development Specialist
Kapco Inc.
Grafton WI
(262) 377-6500262) 377-6500
engelke@kjapcoinc.com
Kapco, a Grafton metal stamping company heavily, visibly and uniquely involved with giving to charities involving kids, found itself on the receiving end recently. For squeezing not the metals that are its stock in trade but the amount of power it uses for lighting by 51%, Kapco earned an Environmental Stewardship Award from Orion Energy Services of Plymouth WI..
The reduction was the result of the stamping firm’s change from conventional outmoded metal halide lighting to state-of-the-art Orion T8 fluorescent technology. The 116,953 kilowatt-hours (kWh) Kapco saved annually has a beneficial effect on the environment because this power now no longer has to be generated at all.
The saving is the environmental equivalent, according to Federal EPA formulas, of saving 9,655 gallons of gasoline per year, creating a 21-acre wood or removing 19 cars from the road. Over the 20-year expected life of the new lighting system, EPA formulas indicate the reduction will also mean that 2,280 tons of carbon dioxide, 622 tons of carbon, 9.9 tons of sulfur dioxide and 4.8 tons of nitrogen oxides – pollutant by-products of power generation – will not be released into the atmosphere.
“This award was a bit of a surprise to us, but we’re very glad to receive it,” said Kapco president Tom Kacmarcik, “We’re used to hearing the Kapco name on the air (with charity-related events during Bucks and Brewers broadcasts) but I guess it doesn’t occur to us very often that we’re helping improve what’s actually in the air, as well.”
In eight manufacturing-related areas including pressrooms, tool room and storage areas, KAPCO replaced 105 400-watt metal halide lighting fixtures with 105 Illuminator ® fluorescent fixtures made by Orion Energy Systems of Plymouth, WI. The project was spearheaded by maintenance director Carl Krieger,
“By presenting Kapco with our Environmental Stewardship Award, Orion wants to highlight the fact that this energy efficient lighting project was good for everyone — good for the Kapco’s bottom line, good for their employee relations through better lighting, good for the environment.”
“It’s also good for our energy future,” Verfuerth continued.”Recent developments in energy prices only underscored the importance of this issue, which will be with us for years.”
According to US government data, the business sector of the economy uses 70% of the power generated in the country — and about one third of that goes for lighting.
“Our analysis indicates,” Verfuerth continued, “that if all businesses did as Kapco did, with an energy-efficient lighting retrofit, the total power saved in the country would be equal to the output of sixty typical power plants — sixty we wouldn’t have to build, add transmission lines for or provide fuel to, and that’s just lighting. This is why I feel energy efficiency is vital to our future.”
Kapco Inc., of Grafton, WI, is a metal stamping job shop that prides itself on innovation. Kapco specializes in automated secondary metal stamping operations, heavy stamping projects and has deep draw and quick change die capabilities over a wide range of possible products. An ISO 9001 registered firm, Kapco can provide fabrications, weldments and assembly, and offers engineering and product development assistance as well. For more information, go to http://www.kapcoinc.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/.
