Volvo Group North America’s Hagerstown, Maryland powertrain facility recently hosted a tour as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Better Buildings, Better Plants 2019 Summit.
The July 9 tour highlighted the production facility, as well as the crankshaft grinding machines that helped reduce energy consumption at the plant.
The Volvo Group retrofitted crankshaft grinders with Computer Numerically Controlled grinding machines, replacing 13 machines with three. The new energy-efficient machines process more crankshafts per day while reducing electricity consumption by 56%, water consumption by 53% and coolant chemicals by 60%, the company says. The new grinding machines also generate less waste, enabling the facility to divert 68 tons from the landfill, Volvo added.
The project was completed in 2014 as part of the ISO 50001 EnMS and SEP certification. The achieved savings from this project helped the facility achieve platinum level Superior Energy Performance certification.
The company reports that it met its first Better Buildings, Better Plants goal—a 25% reduction in energy consumption at U.S. facilities—five years ahead of schedule and set a new goal of 25% more in savings by 2024. In the first four years of the new challenge, the Volvo Group says that it is more than halfway to its target, reducing energy consumption by 17.5% compared with a 2014 baseline.
