Volvo honored for energy reduction efforts

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This Volvo VHD pickup was built by NRV employees.This Volvo VHD pickup was built by NRV employees.

Volvo Group North America recently was honored with a 2015 Energy Award from the Industrial Energy Technology Conference (IETC) for its efforts to reduce energy usage at its manufacturing facilities. Since 2009, the Volvo Group has reduced energy consumption by 26.8 percent at eight of its U.S. manufacturing facilities, exceeding its original goal of a 25 percent reduction in energy consumption by the year 2020.

“The 2015 IETC Energy Award is a tremendous recognition of the efforts we have undertaken to not only meet, but exceed our goals to reduce energy usage at our facilities,” said Rick Robinson, director of health, safety and environment for Volvo Group North America. “While the recognition is very much appreciated, we know there is more work to be done as we continue to seek out opportunities to further improve our energy efficiency.”

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory nominated the Volvo Group for its energy management activities that have resulted in a significant reduction in energy use under several programs, including the DOE’s Better Buildings, Better Plants Challenge and the Superior Energy Performance® (SEP) program. Three of the Volvo Group’s manufacturing sites – the Macungie Cab and Vehicle Assembly facility in Macungie, Pennsylvania, where all Mack Trucks for North America and export are assembled, the New River Valley assembly plant in Dublin, Virginia, where all Volvo Trucks for North America are assembled, and the Volvo Group Powertrain facility in Hagerstown, Maryland – are among the top six SEP Platinum-certified facilities.

The IETC Energy Awards are presented annually and recognize individuals, industrial plants or organizations that have successfully applied energy conservation in their operations, or that have provided leadership to the industrial community to promote energy conservation.

Created in 1979, the IETC is hosted by the Energy Systems Laboratory at Texas A&M University and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. The annual conference is designed to present the latest technologies and expertise on smart manufacturing, corporate energy management, energy opportunity analysis and case studies of successful, real-world industrial efficiency projects.