HUSKY INJECTION MOLDING SYSTEMS LTD.
New energy technologies support sustainability

Ask Al Fiacco what it takes to implement a major change in energy management processes and he’ll give an unequivocal response: support from the top. “Having the commitment of the president is absolutely essential,” he said. “If the president doesn’t stand by the project and make it a priority for the entire senior management team, it will never trickle down to the plant floor.”

Fiacco is the Facilities Manager for Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd., a Bolton-based manufacturer of injection molding machines and components, hot runners, robotics and integrated systems. Founded in 1953 by Robert Schad, Husky is one of the world’s leading suppliers of injection molding equipment and services to the global plastics industry. Since the late 1990s, Husky has broadened and diversified its offerings to include solutions for the packaging, automotive and telecommunications markets.

With annual electricity costs totalling several million dollars, good energy management practices are an absolute priority. In fact, energy efficiency is entrenched in the company’s Guiding Principles. “We practice proactive environmental responsibility,” the sixth principle reads. “Energy efficient buildings, comprehensive programs to minimize waste and other highly visible practices demonstrate our commitment to the environment.”

This focus on environmental responsibility has earned Husky considerable recognition in Canada, the United States and Europe. The company has also featured in Report on Business Magazine’s “50 Best Companies To Work For In Canada” for five years since 2000 alone.

Husky’s Canadian headquarters are spread across a 54-acre campus with five buildings and a total area of 863,000 square feet. Total demand at the site is seven megawatts (MW), with the three testing and machining buildings consuming the lion’s share of electricity.

Fiacco says Husky has taken a proactive approach to managing its electricity consumption and costs. The company recently purchased and installed an engineered power conditioning system that is showing tremendous results. The system has several important features:

• It improves and stabilizes voltage supplied, which results in improved energy quality, equipment efficiency and longevity, and energy savings.
• It shields against surges, transients and spikes, which protects equipment at the plant.
• It filters broadband harmonics, which reduces line losses, demand and consumption.
• It improves the power factor, which optimizes electricity quality and eliminates charges from the LDC.

Together with lighting and HVAC retrofits, equipment upgrades and control system improvements, the introduction of a power conditioning system has helped Husky shave 13.7 million kWh off its annual energy consumption. With a total investment of less than $2 million in this program, the various energy projects have paid for themselves in less than two years.

While technology is absolutely critical to the new-found energy savings at Husky, there are other factors. Fiacco and Husky’s Global Asset Management team launched a multi-faceted training initiative in late spring to help front-line equipment operators understand energy efficiency opportunities at the plant. One of the products emerging from the training was a detailed checklist of things to do before leaving for the night – including such obvious things as shutting off equipment not required for the next shift, turning off unnecessary lights, and shutting off the exhaust and air conditioning systems.

“We said to our employees, ‘Here’s where you can help,’” Fiacco explained. “The very best way to get buy-in from our operators is to put control of electricity in the hands of those who use it.”

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