BPM Inc. Produces Big Energy Savings
Thinking outside of the box paid off for BPM Inc. After investing in energy-efficient technologies and modifying some processes, the company is seeing substantial natural gas and electric savings.
BPM Inc. manufactures specialty paper and flexible packaging products at its 300,000 square-foot mill in Peshtigo. The company got a fresh start in 2005 when its assets were sold, and it restarted operations as BPM (formerly Badger Paper Mills).
"This was an ideal time to look for ways to control costs. We needed to stop doing things the same way just because they had always been done that way," said Jim Koronkiewicz, General Manager. "We investigated new options and approaches to find better ways to run our plant more efficiently, manage energy use, save money and keep the company strong."
BPM joined forces with representatives from Focus on Energy and Wisconsin Public Service. This energy team reviewed plant operations, examined equipment and identified projects that would make an impact at the mill.
"It was really a grassroots effort that started with us questioning where we were using energy, how we were doing things and if there was a better way to get the job done," Koronkiewicz said. "We did our homework and felt comfortable moving forward with several major projects."
Over the past two years, BPM has invested more than $1.8 million in energy-saving efforts. The largest project, which wrapped up in 2007, was installing a $1.25 million boiler system. This energy-efficient equipment reduced BPM's natural gas consumption by more than 15%. That translates to about $745,000 in energy savings annually. Additionally, it eliminates more than 5,500 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to taking more than 800 cars off the road.
The boiler has other advantages too:
Excess steam it produces that is not used by BPM's paper machines is captured and used to help heat the mill in winter.
State-of-the-art controls on the boiler allow BPM to retrieve and view data on how the equipment is operating. This information is used to make minor adjustments to the boiler that add up to huge energy savings without sacrificing quality or productivity.
"We expected energy savings from this improvement, but the boiler project turned out to be a greater success than we ever anticipated," Koronkiewicz said.
Other Efforts
BPM also replaced a steam drive with a variable speed electric drive on one of its paper machines. With this upgrade, the machine uses less energy and operates more efficiently.
"This was a $350,000 investment, and we saw payback in less than one year," Koronkiewicz said.
Lighting is another area BPM recently tackled. The company upgraded 70% of the fixtures in the mill. The new lighting system includes motion sensors that turn off lights in unoccupied areas.
"Although the mill is open 24/7, all areas of our building are not occupied around the clock, and the motion sensors really help us conserve energy," Koronkiewicz said. "We have seen a significant drop in our lighting costs since this project was implemented."
Along with these high-profile projects, operators have found ways to run existing equipment with significant energy reductions. This includes lowering temperatures in the Yankee Dryer hood on the #1 paper machine, eliminating the use of steam for pocket ventilation to dry paper on the #2 machine, and reducing the pulping time required for stock preparation.
BPM received funding from Focus on Energy to help finance their energy projects. The company also received an Industrial Program Staffing Grant for 2008, which was done through energy team member Jerry Aue from Focus on Energy. With this grant, Focus on Energy helps cover the salary of a staff person to manage the implementation of energy-efficiency projects.
"We hired an engineer, Steve Peterich, to take on that energy management role," Koronkiewicz said. "He and Randy Cohorst, Paper Mill Superintendent, lead our energy team to move projects along and identify ways we can improve processes internally to conserve energy."
"We needed to stop doing things the same way just because they had always been done that way. We investigated new options and approaches to find better ways to run our plant more efficiently, manage energy use, save money and keep the company strong." Jim Koronkiewicz, BPM General Manager
And, there are more energy projects on the horizon at BPM. From paper machine steam studies to pump studies, the company continues to seek out energy-saving improvements that will impact their bottom line.
For More Information
If you would like more information about how to improve your company's energy efficiency, contact the WPS Business Solutions Center at 877-444-0888, or your account executive.