Potters Industries
St. Lawrence County
Potters Industries controls energy and improves profitability
Overview
Potters Industries is a 102-year-old company that operates a manufacturing facility in Potsdam. Potters is world-renowned for its precision engineered glass materials, which are used in a wide variety of applications, from highway safety striping to industrial explosives. With so many customers in different industries depending on its products, Potters’ three priorities have always been safety, quality, and timeliness.
For Potters, energy costs have always been a significant and sometimes volatile expense. NYSERDA invited Potters to participate in a pilot program aimed at helping the State’s industrial sector save energy through strategic energy management (SEM).
Project Spotlight
Company Name:
Potters Industries
Business Type:
Glass manufacturer
Location:
Potsdam, NY
Empowering people, and businesses, to save energy
Jason Bell, Potters’ Energy Manager, learned that practicing strategic energy management opens people’s eyes to opportunities for cost savings. Prior to its participation in the program, Potters’ staff took high energy bills for granted as one of the costs of doing business. Now, everyone at the facility is beginning to see how his or her individual actions can help keep energy use low and profit margins healthy. In fact, much of the progress Potters has made so far has resulted from individuals considering energy use within the scope of what they do and suggesting adjustments.
“SEM helps us build operators rather than maintainers,” said Jason. “People who will help drive the process rather than just sit in a control booth and make sure bells and whistles don’t go off.”
Potters’ SEM-driven improvements include:
- Compressed air reduced by 15%—By repairing leaks and lowering supply pressure.
- Furnace upgrades—Including completely reworking one furnace, replacing the liner on another, and adding a new heat recovery unit to eliminate the need to operate additional drying equipment.
SEM paves the way for a new era of energy efficiency
“This is a fraction of a Level 2 audit cost. And instead of empowering one guy, you’ve empowered your team. The results could be exponential.”
— Jason Bell, Potters’ Energy Manager
SEM has been eye-opening for everyone at Potters. Everyone, from personnel on the shop floor to upper management, is more aware of their roles in saving money for the company through energy efficiency. Employees in Potsdam are currently reaching out to their colleagues at other Potters sites in North America to share their experiences and learn about energy efficiency successes that other teams have had at their sites, that they could implement at Potsdam. If Jason were to say one thing to other businesses about the program, it’s this: “This is a fraction of a Level 2 audit cost. And instead of empowering one guy, you’ve empowered your team. The results could be exponential.”