Intertape Polymer Group® (IPG) recently announced that two of its facilities have been recognized for meeting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star Challenge. The program is an initiative for manufacturing plants within the U.S. to demonstrate a commitment to protect the environment by improving energy performance by 10% or more within five years.

Within one year, IPG’s Brighton, CO, facility successfully reduced its energy intensity by 20.2%, and its Columbia, SC, manufacturing plant improved its energy efficiency by 13.8%. The sites join others in Carbondale, IL; Richmond, KY; and Menasha, WI; which were previously acknowledged for successfully reducing energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions.

“We have refined our coating schedule to run supply equipment more efficiently, reduced the boiler cycling frequency, upgraded BOPP lines, reinforced shutoff/turn-down procedures, and improved our compressed air systems,” said Mike Wert, Brighton, CO, maintenance supervisor.

In Columbia, efforts included the addition of ultrasonic monitoring of compressed air systems to locate and repair leaks, improvements to the compressed air system to reduce air usage, installation of additional capacitor banks on transformers to improve their energy efficiency, implementation of shutoff and turn-down procedures, replacement of incandescent light bulbs to fluorescents, and replacement of older air conditioning units with energy-efficient models.

“Both facilities have demonstrated the commitment and capability of their employees by using the Energy Star tools to meet the Energy Star Challenge,” said Michael Jones, Engineering manager and Corporate Energy Team leader. “Energy efficiency is part of the IPG culture and we are continually seeking ways to reduce our consumption.”

For additional details, visit www.intertapepolymer.com.