Hartford Business Journal

2015 | Doing Business in Connecticut 111 W hen THEIS Precision Steel of Bristol began struggling to compete with other com- panies from the United States and China that offered similar products at lower costs, the future of the company was becoming uncertain. In order to stay cost-competitive and remain an industry leader, THEIS looked at ways to reduce its operating costs while still maintaining its high production values. In 2012, things started to change when Eversource introduced THEIS to PRIME (Process Reengineering for Improved Manufacturing Efficiency), the only utility-administered program of its kind in the country. PRIME streamlines the operational efficiency objectives of Eversource's manufacturing customers with its own energy efficiency goals. The program looks at a manufacturer's opera- tions holistically and combines "lean manufacturing" training and "Kaizen" events with energy efficiency enhance- ments to deliver the most benefit to the customer. The overall goal is to help customers increase productivity and profits, expand operations, save energy, and operate more efficiently. For two years, THEIS pursued a number of energy efficiency studies and evaluated its equipment to get a better sense of its overall energy use. As part of that process, Eversource helped THEIS implement a cutting- edge energy metering and dashboard system that indicated the static energy use of THEIS' equipment. What the company discovered about its "idle load" was startling. While operations were quiet, THEIS was using energy equivalent to that of a small school. The new metering and dashboard system helped THEIS limit its energy use, while providing the data and means to demonstrate true energy reduction. Additional energy efficiency programs helped THEIS tackle the measures identified from the energy metering. By replacing old, inefficient equipment with new technology, such as steam traps and a compressor, THEIS reduced its overall energy use by 10-15%. As a result of the energy savings, THEIS cut its $1.2M annual energy bill by more than $65,000 per year. But beyond energy savings, PRIME helped THEIS reduce its overall production costs through process changes. As a result of these combined sav- ings, the company has been able to compete with confidence, grow and save jobs — even adding 8 new, local employees. "When we evaluated our energy use and bench-marked equipment, we noticed a major issue — we were using a tremendous amount of energy while production was quiet. We implemented an energy management system and new technology that has directly impacted our bottom line, allowing us to save money, add jobs and remain an industry leader among our competitors across the globe." – Damon Esposito, Vice President of Operations, THEIS Precision Steel CASE STUDY: Business Growth through Energy Efficiency: A PRIME Example SPONSORED REPORT

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