STERLING, Ill. -- Frantz Manufacturing, an Illinois-based supplier of steel and sterling balls for automotive wheel and bearing production, has installed a new lighting system that has made the company a more "green" organization.

The new lighting system, recently installed at Frantz's Bearing Division plant, is expected to reduce electricity usage by 96,000 Kwh or 60 percent annually.

The original lighting system, installed during the plant’s construction in 1971, consisted of 400W Twin Mercury and 400W Sodium Vapor lamps along with older style T12 type fluorescent tubes in the office areas. A total of 428 fixtures were replaced with higher technology GE T8 HI LUMEN fluorescent tubes and ULTRA MAX HP ballasts mounted in fixtures from Precision Paragon (www.p-2.com).

In addition to the annual 60 percent electricity cost savings that are being realized, the illumination on the factory floor has been dramatically improved, the company says. This in turn has improved productivity and further promoted quality awareness, according to the company.

The environmental impact of the project is calculated to be 63 tons of CO2 removed from the environment annually. This is the environmental equivalent to 18 acres of planted trees, 16 cars removed from the road, 7,938 gallons of gas saved and 189 barrels of oil saved, based upon PA Government Services Inc. methodology for Focus on Energy programs.

Frantz participated in ComEd’s “Smart Ideas for Your Business” program, which provided incentives for investment in energy saving technology. Partners for consulting and installation included Avent Energy Solutions (www.aventenergy.com) of Roscoe, Ill., and Engel Electric (www.engelelectric.com) of Sterling, Ill.