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 Nestled in the Pennsylvania woods between a state park and a fish hatchery, Benton Foundry and its owners have long been committed to reducing its impact on the environment. Recognized as a leader in its industry, its foundry has no steam plume, no smokestack and no discharge of process water. Now, after completing a five-year plan of work, it can also boast about reducing dust emissions while dramatically cutting energy costs.
For nearly 100 years, spanning three generations, the family-owned foundry has produced gray iron and ductile iron parts. Today, with a diversified base, the foundry serves more than 400 customers with 8,000 active part numbers. However, creating these products consumes a great deal of electricity, and with energy costs rising, foundry owners began an aggressive plan to cut usage.
They first targeted the foundry’s four furnaces, the largest consumer of electricity in the facility. However, after implementing an energy management strategy and installing specialized software to help prioritize power demand, their attention turned to motors.
The manufacturing vice president for Benton Foundry, Jeff Hall, says that because electric motors were consuming a sizable portion of electricity, they began a search for the most energy efficient motor they could find. At this same time, they were also starting their five-year program of installing dust collectors and wanted to standardize one motor for their entire facility. The motor they chose to specify: the Baldor•Reliance® Super-E®.
“This motor is not the lowest price product available, but it offers so many additional benefits that make it worth the premium,” says Hall. “The Baldor•Reliance Super-E offers the highest efficiency ratings versus others in the marketplace. So when you take a look at the cents per kilowatt and the hours that these motors run, with the improved efficiencies of the Baldor product, the payback can be in as little as 18 months. When you consider how many years these motors will last, choosing the Baldor•Reliance Super-E makes the most sense.”
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