News Release Jackson vinyl siding plant–Page 2 of 2
For immediate release:
March 20, 2012
CertainTeed Vinyl Siding Plant in Jackson, Mich., Significantly Reduces Energy Consumption with New Lighting
(Jackson, Mich.) – CertainTeed’s vinyl siding plant in Jackson, Mich., has noticed a significant reduction in energy consumption after replacing 350 of its light bulbs with more energy-efficient T5 fluorescent light bulbs. The T5 bulbs, which typically consume half the energy of standard light bulbs, improved the energy efficiency of the Jackson plant and saved approximately $25,000 in utility costs over the past year.
“We’ve seen a pretty dramatic reduction in our energy consumption since we put T5 fluorescent bulbs in our light fixtures,” says Andy Meyerhofer, plant manager of the CertainTeed vinyl siding plant in Jackson. “Most importantly, it’s helped us to become more energy efficient and further decrease our plant’s impact on the environment. Simple improvements like these can really make a big difference.”
These and many other energy efficiency improvements made at the Jackson plant in recent years are a result of CertainTeed’s overarching commitment to sustainability. This commitment involves the adoption of leaner manufacturing techniques and the continuous search for new ways to reduce the environmental impact of its operations. For the past three years, the Jackson plant has hosted “Energy Kaizen” events, where maintenance personnel form teams to search for sources of energy waste throughout the plant and make updates to improve energy efficiency. The events have been very productive, fostering employee enthusiasm and teamwork.
“Thanks to the teamwork and creative thinking of our employees, each Energy Kaizen event has generated several helpful ideas for energy efficiency improvements,” Meyerhofer says. “Once they understand that they actually can have an impact on improving the environment and how it is beneficial to them and our company, they get involved pretty quickly. They want to be a part of our successes as we continue to work toward more resource-efficient plant operations.”
About CertainTeed
Through the responsible development of innovative and sustainable building products, CertainTeed, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa., has helped shape the building products industry for more than 100 years. Founded in 1904 as General Roofing Manufacturing Company, the firm's slogan "Quality Made Certain, Satisfaction Guaranteed," quickly inspired the name CertainTeed. Today, CertainTeed® is North America’s leading brand of exterior and interior building products, including roofing, siding, fence, decking, railing, trim, foundations, pipe, insulation, gypsum, ceilings and access covers.
A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, the world’s largest building products company, CertainTeed and its affiliates have more than 6,000 employees and more than 65 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. Recognized as a 2009 and 2010 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, CertainTeed earned the 2011 and 2012 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award, the highest level of recognition for outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through energy efficiency. The group had total sales of approximately $3.2 billion in 2011. www.certainteed.com
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