BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Cooper-Standard will receive an Environmental Stewardship Award next week Friday, May 24th, following a large-scale lighting project that will dramatically reduce Cooper-Standard’s energy spend while benefiting the environment.

Contemporary Energy Solutions and installation partner Thomann Electric completed the project, which involved replacing 638 hot-burning, energy-draining 400-watt metal halide HID fixtures with 628 Orion Energy Systems fluorescent fixtures. CES also added motion controls onto 70 of the fixtures.

Cooper-Standard is projected to save more than $80,000 a year in lighting electricity costs. In addition, this dramatic reduction in electricity use will translate into 1.1 million kWh savings and 670 tons of carbon dioxide indirectly being removed from the atmosphere.

CES representatives Tony and Romano Vlastelica will present Cooper-Standard officials with the Environmental Stewardship Award. The ESA is given to companies that significantly benefit the environment through significant reductions in energy use.

“The lighting is so much brighter on the floor, it’s unbelievable,” said Robert Huey, plant manager of the 173,000 square foot facility in Bowling Green, Ohio. “For safety reasons, it’s huge. Having lighting that’s so much brighter, you can see every nook and cranny in the place now. Safety will improve as a result.”

Huey added that quality control at Cooper-Standard, which produces automotive parts such as rubber seals and primary door seals, has also improved. He said Tony and Romano Vlastelica used a light meter to show that the new fluorescent fixtures were producing between 39-42 foot-candles – compared to 15-17 with the old HID system. The motion controls will add to the savings and modernize the facility. The controls in that area of the plant will turn off fixtures after 15 minutes when there is no activity in the area. Huey noted that the new fluorescents instantly reach full brightness when re-activated, while the old metal halide HID fixtures required 15-30 minutes of re-strike time and therefore were not controls-compatible.

“I can tell you that employee morale is up,” Huey said. “People are happy about coming into a place that’s this well-lit. They feel good about it. I didn’t realize how big a factor that would be but it really has been.”

The large project was a portrait of collaboration, as Efficiency Smart provided an incentive to Cooper-Standard to replace the inefficient 400-watt HIDs.

“Efficiency Smart was involved with Cooper-Standard’s efficient lighting project early on to provide technical guidance and maximize energy and cost-savings,” said Ryan Fry, Efficiency Smart energy consultant for the project. “We were able to validate the sound recommendations made by Contemporary Energy Solutions, provide technical support, and offer financial incentives to reduce project costs. “

The rebate will help Cooper-Standard achieve payback in about 1.5 years.
“Contemporary Energy Solutions worked with us and helped us get in contact with Efficiency Smart,” Huey said. “I have nothing but good things to say about them. Everybody was so helpful and there was a real ‘let’s get this done’ attitude. The teamwork was fantastic.”

Added Fry: “We worked closely with Cooper-Standard and Contemporary Energy Solutions to perform several technical energy analyses for different lighting options. We were excited to be able to offer a solution with increased energy savings and improved lighting quality.”

About Contemporary Energy Solutions: Contemporary Energy Solutions’ mission is to deliver only the best, industry-leading technologies to its customers, technologies that have been vetted by many of our country’s largest Fortune 500 companies. Contemporary Energy Solutions’ goal is to deliver the best overall value when it comes to integrating energy projects with its knowledge and experience. CES has offices in Naperville, Ill., and Knoxville, Tenn. Learn more at www.ces-na.com or by calling 800-893-2388.

About Cooper-Standard:
Cooper-Standard, headquartered in Novi, Mich., is a leading global supplier of systems and components for the automotive industry. Products include sealing and trim, fuel and brake, fluid transfer, thermal and emissions and anti-vibration systems. Cooper-Standard employs more than 22,000 people globally and operates in 19 countries around the world. For more information, please visit www.cooperstandard.com.