NTN has announced that NTN-Bower Corp., in Macomb, Illinois, was recently presented with a 2017 Illinois Sustainability Award by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center. The Illinois Sustainability Award is one of the nation’s longest-running state awards for excellence in environmental performance. Illinois Sustainability Award winners are an elite group of committed leaders reducing environmental impact and contributing to the growth of a more sustainable Illinois economy.
NTN-Bower manufactures bearing and bearing related sub-assemblies servicing the industrial, agricultural and automotive markets. Its campus in Macomb consists of two manufacturing facilities with a combined square footage of 959,667-square-feet. Through the implementation of 12 separate initiatives in 2016, NTN-Bower made significant efforts to reduce energy and water consumption in its goal toward sustainability.
“At NTN-Bower we are committed to understanding and reducing the environmental impact of our business, both today and for the NTN-Bower of the future. We take a proactive approach at finding sustainable solutions and strive to build partnerships with those who share in our focus, and who can aid us towards these goals,” said Steve Hensley, vice president and treasurer, NTN-Bower Corp.
NTN-Bower redesigned and upgraded its lighting systems to LEDs and installed occupancy sensors throughout the two facilities. As a result the company was were able to reduce annual energy costs and eliminate 40 inefficient high-bay lighting fixtures. It also installed lighting controls that are integrated with it building automation system to automate light scheduling. Other energy saving projects included reducing compressed air usage, and replacing standard drive equipment with more efficient variable frequency drive equipment. Total energy savings from these initiatives equates to approximately 4 million kWh annually – enough to power more than 400 average homes for a year.
NTN-Bower’s production expansion led to reengineering its water usage processes. The addition of a centrifugal separation system allows processed water to be reused. Other upgrades to its facility’s boilers, cooling towers, reverse osmosis filtration and wastewater treatment systems has enabled them to eliminate the storage and use of 280,000 lbs. of hazardous chemicals and eliminate the treatment of more than 463,000 gallons of wastewater. Together, these projects resulted in the annual reduction of 1.4 million gallons of water consumption, enough to do more than 70,000 loads of laundry.
Through employee and community engagement initiatives, it also have installed water bottle filling stations throughout the plant. These stations have eliminated an estimated 38,862 disposable water bottles from the waste stream. NTN-Bower has prioritized sustainability throughout its operations and culture, and serves as a model within the industry and community; the company says this 2017 Illinois Sustainability Award represents a validation of all of NTN-Bower’s efforts.
