Innertech - Nashville
Nashville, Illinois
Intern: Jon Langenfeld
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
Innertech-Nashville is a manufacturing facility that supplies interior car
parts (door panels, headliners, instrument panels, package trays, etc.) to
automotive equipment manufacturers. This facility is part of a worldwide automotive
corporation called Decoma, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Magna International.
The intern worked on several energy efficiency and waste reduction projects.
Results:
The intern made the following recommendations:
- Upgrade lighting fixtures in the warehouse and main building to T8
fluorescent lamps with electronic ballasts. This project has the potential
to save a total of $38,000. Implementation of this project has begun to allow
the facility to take advantage of federal tax credits for lighting upgrades.
- Implement
a project to recycle absorbent pads that are used to soak up oil from the
injection molding machines. This project was initiated in mid-July. It will
eliminate the purchase of new oil absorbent pads. The used pads will be laundered
and reused. The drained oil from the pads will be converted to boiler fuel
and low-grade lube stock. This project will save the company over $30,000
per year.
- Investigate
induction heating system to heat the plastic that is sent to the injection
molding machines. This system would replace the band heaters and has the
potential to reduce power consumption by 30% to 70%. Induction heating also
can reduce the amount of scrap parts due to more uniform heating process.
The facility will consider switching to this system at a later date.
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