A. O. Smith.Veldhoven Plant Earns Company Sustainability Award

A.O.Smith热水器厂的员工在荷兰的Veldhoven，今天被认为是A.O.Smith主席的资源保护董事长奖。

A multiple-year program to upgrade the efficiency of lighting and central heating throughout the facility was instrumental in helping the plant earn the award. Veldhoven is the first plant outside the U.S. to receive the award.

A. O. Smith.Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ajita G. Rajendra presented the 85 employees with the award at a special ceremony today.

“当我们审查您的提名时，我们讨论了什么，是整个工厂发生的综合努力，”他指出。“这不仅仅是一项倡议或一群人在项目上工作的结果;这是一项两年期间的总部努力，占据了百胜数，更有效，更可持续的运作。“

“Overall, we have taken a number of serious steps to reduce energy cost, reduce emissions, improve operational reliability, and deliver better working conditions to our employees,” Ton van der Hamsvoort, general manager of the Veldhoven operation, pointed out in the nomination.

A. O. Smith.created the Chairman’s Green Star Award in 2009 to encourage natural resource conservation efforts throughout the company. The award is earned by the plant that achieves the most year-over-year reductions in natural gas consumption, electricity usage, and water consumption. A total of 18 facilities worldwide competed to receive this year’s award.

Veldhoven排名第一在电力消耗类别中，这是厂家照明系统的重大大修和升级的结果。除了高效照明灯具外，团队还安装了整个工厂的运动传感器和日光传感器。

“The new lighting fixtures require 30 percent less power input with the same luminous efficiency,” Wiljan Thielen, manager-production and material handling, pointed out.“We achieved another 20 percent energy reduction through reduced power consumption during start-up, and the use of the movement sensors and daylight dependent control sensors.”

The team also installed new central heating equipment along with a building management system, improvements that helped reduce natural gas consumption 35 percent. The central heating system is comprised of four high-efficiency condensing A. O. Smith boilers that replaced a single, older boiler.

A team made up of Thielen, van der Hamsvoort, Product Manager Luc van Gemert,Product Manager Ger Helmes, Engineering Manager Herman Michiels, and Production Supervisor Michaël van der Donk designed the building management system. The system enables the staff to maintain more consistent temperatures in the plant during winter and summer while ensuring the boilers run in the high-efficiency condensing mode. Employees can access the BMS via the internet to view status and make any adjustments.

整个建筑物的新型高效窗口，绝缘温度增加以及防晒霜也有助于降低的天然气和电力消耗。

The team also upgraded the scheduling function for heating the stand-alone tank fabrication plant. The new system not only controls the facility’s heating system, it also schedules the start-up time for equipment such as the furnace and degreaser. The improved system has reduced energy consumption in the tank plant by 60 percent.

105,000平方英尺的Veldhoven厂生产住宅和商业天然气和电热水加热器，太阳能加热系统，储罐，间接罐和商业和住宅热泵。它为欧洲和中东市场供应。

About A. O. Smith:
A. O. Smith.Corporation is a leading global manufacturer and marketer of residential and commercial water heaters. A. O. Smith offers its customers an additional competitive advantage in that the company designs, builds, distributes and supports the world’s broadest and deepest line of residential and commercial water heaters, as well as commercial boilers. This single-source concept simplifies ordering, installation and service and is backed by nearly 80 years of research and innovation. For more information, visit m.cncanhe.com. For the most up-to-date industry news, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

A. O. Smith.Veldhoven Plant Earns Company Sustainability Award (PDF)