3-Day Energy Treasure Hunt Takes Place At Bendix’s Bowling Green, KY, Plant

Bendix was recently awarded the opportunity to host an Energy Treasure Hunt, an in-plant training event through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings, Better Plants Challenge.

Team members from the North American facilities of Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC (Bendix) gathered recently for a treasure hunt at the company’s Bowling Green, KY, manufacturing operation. The treasure? Energy. Specifically, sources of wasted energy in the plant.

Bendix hosted the three-day, in-plant training event — known as an Energy Treasure Hunt — in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Better Buildings, Better Plants Challenge. Seventeen Bendix employees joined, along with one each from two fellow Better Plants partner companies. Participants formed four teams, organized around major plant areas, that walked through the 432,000-square-foot Bowling Green facility searching for opportunities to reduce energy use.

A pair of DOE energy experts facilitated the hunt, training employees on how to conduct assessments, use DOE tools, develop energy management systems, and implement and replicate energy projects. The DOE’s goal is to empower plant personnel to discover energy-saving opportunities while simultaneously building a culture of continuous improvement.

“Our core sustainability goals at Bendix include reducing energy use and improving energy efficiency,” Bill Schubert, Bendix director, environmental and sustainability, said. “The Energy Treasure Hunt gave us a unique opportunity to make further progress toward those goals — in this case by rolling up our sleeves and tackling issues at the plant level. This investment in time, people, and resources was made even more successful by the participation of team members from all Bendix locations, and it helps position us for even more success in the future.”

Luis Quiñones, Bendix corporate sustainability engineer, helped secure the opportunity by leading the DOE application process. Bendix is among a small number of select companies to be awarded the training. Visit bendix.com.