Flexsteel receives Environmental Stewardship Award
Dublin, Ga., plant installs new energy-efficient Orion lighting
Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, November 20, 2009
DUBLIN, Ga. — Flexsteel Inds.'s upholstery plant here has received Orion Energy System's Environmental Stewardship Award for significantly reducing its impact on the environment by reducing electricity and water consumption and waste.
The award recognized the Dubuque, Iowa-based manufacturer for saving enough electricity to power 100 homes, a move that saved the company about $88,000 a year in light-related energy costs.
Flexsteel's President and CEO Ron Klosterman accepted the award in front of more than 300 city and state officials, employees and utility and energy professionals.
By replacing its inefficient, high-intensity discharge lighting with Orion's technology, the Flexsteel facility is expected to reduce its light-related electricity consumption by 53%, from 1.9 million kilowatt-hours to 926,025 kilowatt-hours annually. The energy reduction will displace 682 tons of carbon dioxide annually, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, a result that's comparable to not burning more than 85,500 gallons of gasoline a year.
The effort included replacing more than 1,350 inefficient lighting fixtures with Orion's technology. The company said the replacement saves energy and also benefits employees by providing better lighting and an improved working environment.
Earlier this year, the Dublin facility received the Keep Georgia Beautiful Award for its efforts in waste reduction and recycling.
