AFS Corporate Member South Milwaukee Foundry announced completion of several large capital improvement projects. It is part of the Appleton Group owned by global automation company, Emerson. 

To date, the 150,000-sq.-ft. foundry has:

1) Added controls on its HVAC/makeup air units. The $200,000 project this year resulted in an approximate 20% reduction in natural gas consumption.
2) Replaced five, 40-year-old, 35-ton Ajax channel furnaces with four new coreless induction melting furnaces, resulting in about a 37% reduction in kilowatts per ton melted.
3) Replaced over 800 fluorescent lights with Apppleton Industrial LED fixtures, which has reduced 557 Mwh of electricity consumption.
4) Replaced all its large motors––including air compressors and dust collectors–– with variable frequency drive (VFD) motors that operators can slow when full power isn’t needed.
5) Spent $2 million replacing old broken factory windows with new siding with translucent panels, which helped retain heat loss during winter.

The gray and ductile iron foundry in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, reported it has worked with Focus On Energy, a Wisconsin government grant program in conjunction with their local electric and gas utility, WeEnergies, for energy reduction projects. Since 2017, the foundry has received over $323,000 in grants for sustainability projects that have saved 10,017 MWh and 663k mmBtu––equivalent to powering 1,248 homes. The company says it saves over $1 million per year in its spend on gas and electric because of the improvements. 

A captive foundry for Emerson, South Milwaukee Foundry has built up a strong commercial side of its business, specializing in small thin-walled castings and fulfilling low-volume, frequent runs.