1. Nick Weis
Director of
Engineering &
Technology
Crystal Cabinet
Works, Inc.

2. Energy Savings $$$$
 Saving Energy… reduces $$$$ of doing
business
 Company background
 Some examples over past 6 years
 Results
 Lessons learned

3. Crystal Cabinet Works, Inc.

4. Crystal Cabinet Works, Inc.
• Established 1947 Crystal, MN 60th Anniversary
• Family owned (3rd generation)
• 3 Mfg. locations 350,000 sqft. (Princeton & Sauk
Rapids)
• Mfg. med.- high end residential and
commercial cabinetry
• 25%Custom (“You can draw it, We can build it”)
• Sell through a nation wide dealer network
• 450 employees

5. Plant Lighting Retrofit

6. Lighting Benefits
 High bay 4.4 kwh/day
 Fluorescent 2.1 kwh/day (T-8)
 Est. 7 mo. payback, Actual 3 mo.
 Investment $110,000 before rebate
 Rebate through Utility Companies
 Side Benefits:
Consistent light spectrum

Increased foot candles

Employees… easy on the eyes


7. Heat Recovery Savings

8. Heat Recovery Savings

9. Heat Recovery Savings
 Investment $75,000 before rebate
 Payback 9 months
 Custom rebate through N. Gas Supplier
 Free heat (wasted before)

10. Sauk Rapids Boiler
• 98 hp wood fired boiler
• Fully automatic stoker system
• In floor radiant heat
• 2 heat exchangers Painting operations
supplemented Nat. Gas
• Silo storage system (summer to winter)

14. Cost Benefit Wood Heat
• Annual savings over $75,000
• Annual N. Gas $.58 /sqft Sauk Rapids
facility
• Annual N. Gas $1.25 /sqft Princeton
facility
• N. Gas $/cab. 50% less Sauk Rapids

15. Air Compressor Savings

16. Air Compressor Savings
 Old Compressor ran full load 22 hrs./day
 New Compressor mod. Based on load
 Payback 1.5 yrs. ($12,732/yr.)
 Replaced old Air Comp. $5,383/yr.
 Outside Air Comp. Consultant…Leaks,
inefficient Air Comp. (utility sponsored)
 Repaired air leaks $2,387/yr. savings
investment $1,118
 Savings on maintenance costs

17. Air Compressor Savings

18. Air Compressor Savings

19. Air Compressor Savings

20. Energy Saving Motor Controls
 High efficient motors
 Soft start controls (reduce peak load)
 Variable Frequency Drives (VFD’s)
 On/off controls
 Glue gun timers
 Photo eyes

21. Energy Saving Motor Controls

22. Photo Eyes

23. Roof Repair

24. Roof Repair

25. Roof Repair
 Leaky roof… damaged some products
 Added R16 insulation value
 Heat loss in winter
 Employee moral
 Cooler in Summer

26. Supply Chain Savings
 Smart Way® Trucking
 Ship product by rail
 Receiving product by rail through
distributor
 Combine shipping/receiving w/local mfg.
 “Last-Mile” delivery process
 Purchasing more local mtls.

27. Materials Recycled
SUMMARY
in lbs. per calendar year
2006 2007 2008
Cardboard/Paper 193,825 222,160 199,785
Scrap Metal 6,552 7,840 22,185
Packaging Plastic 685 587 498

28. Going Green
Wood Products
Forest Certification
Env. Pref. Prod.
Kitchen… ESP
Green Finishes
LEED Products

29. Other Energy Savers $$$$
 Regular PM on HVAC units
 Defect reduction 12-75% through Lean
Mfg. applications….$$$$$
 Heat recovery re-circulate curing ovens
 New Equipment Energy Eff.
 Fuel efficient company vehicles
 Turn off equipment during lunch

30. Lessons Learned
 Accept that cheap fuels won’t be back
 Involve your utility companies
 Don’t tackle all at once…have a plan
 Involve your key employees
 Measurements before/after
 Take action