Kenworth’s Chillicothe Assembly Plant Earns 2016 AEP Ohio Energy Efficiency Award

The Kenworth assembly plant in Chillicothe, Ohio, was honored recently with the 2016 AEP Ohio Energy Efficiency Award presented by American Electric Power (AEP), one of the largest electric utilities in the United States. The annual award recognizes AEP Ohio’s business customers and partners who have demonstrated a strong commitment to energy efficiency.

Kenworth Chillicothe’s participation in an AEP Ohio Continuous Energy Improvement (CEI) program produced total energy savings of 5 million kilowatt hours (KwH) – 1.56 million kilowatt hours (KwH) in the first 12 months, and 3.44 million KwH in the second 12-month period. Kenworth’s experience in CEI offers a template for sustaining energy savings year-after-year.  

“Kenworth’s Chillicothe assembly plant is committed to protecting the environment and conserving natural resources through effective management of energy used to support the manufacturing process,” said Daryl Simon, Kenworth assistant general manager for operations.

Kenworth Chillicothe’s energy savings were driven by such projects as compressed air set point reductions, machine preventive maintenance and optimization, staggering of air conditioning set points, manually turning off half of the rooftop HVAC systems during weekends, and installing occupancy sensors. The plant also integrated energy efficiency into new employee training.

“Our environmental efforts are of special importance, and the AEP Ohio program offers a significant avenue to contribute to the development of enhanced best practices in manufacturing energy efficiency,” added Judy McTigue, Kenworth-Chillicothe plant manager.

AEP Ohio offers a variety of energy efficiency programs and discounts to help business and residential customers eliminate wasted energy and save money. From 2009 – 2015, AEP Ohio energy efficiency programs have saved over 11,700 billion kilowatt hours, which is enough energy to power 102,270 homes for 10 years. This translates into $1.5 billion in energy cost savings. Through these programs, customers save an estimated $2.2 billion over the life of the measures. For more information visit AEPOhio.com/Solutions.

Kenworth’s plants in Chillicothe, Ohio, and Renton, Wash., both hold the prestigious ISO 14001:2004 certification for effective environmental management systems established to help build Class 8 trucks in an environmentally responsible manner. Kenworth’s medium duty products are produced at the PACCAR manufacturing facility in Ste. Therese, Que., which also holds ISO 14001:2004 status.

Kenworth is the driver’s truck. See what drivers are saying at www.kenworth.com/drivers.

Kenworth Truck Company is the manufacturer of The World’s Best® heavy and medium duty trucks. Kenworth's Internet home page is at www.kenworth.com. Kenworth is a PACCAR company.