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Category: Inside The Factory

In the United States, about one-third of our energy is used for industrial purposes. The good news is that today, industrial energy usage is more efficient than ever before. Over the past 30 years, the amount of energy used to produce $1 worth of goods has been cut in half.

Still, there’s room for improvement. And whether you’re a manufacturer who’s looking to save the planet or cut your monthly energy bill, efficiency is worth looking into.

Last fall, a group of PhDs, grad students and professionals from San Diego State University’s Industrial Assessment Center descended on our plastic manufacturing plant in Ontario, California. They spent a day poking around our facility, making observations, and taking measurements and notes. They then left with a stack of data to process.

In February, they delivered a 52-page master report to my inbox, complete with their findings and recommendations for improvements. The bottom line was that even in a relatively efficient facility, they found opportunities to reduce our energy consumption in ways that could save an estimated $17K in annual energy and maintenance costs.

Not every manufacturing facility has access to a team of PhDs from SDSU. So, I thought I’d share our report’s key findings that could be broadly applicable to other manufacturing facilities.

 

A Head Start: Some Ways in Which We Were Already Efficient

Our facility had several efficiency advantages to build on. We’re a heavy-gauge thermoformer that just celebrated our 70th anniversary. When we moved into our current plant in 1995, it was purpose-built for our needs, and we had 46 years of experience to build on.

As a result, we were able to build a plant that was very efficient from the get-go. Our layout is optimized to minimize material transport and distance traveled, as well as maximize venting; it also allows for as much process efficiency as possible. Our more recent investments in automation, robotics and other new technologies have enabled us to further improve that efficiency while adding new services to our plant.

Beyond these base-level efficiencies, our SDSU assessment also called out the efficient use of lighting and reflectors, organization and layout, and focus on safety — which result in process and energy efficiency.

But, even with these efficiencies already in place, we still found plenty of room for efficiency advancements.

 

Lighting: Rapid Advancements in Efficiency

We’re not new to energy-efficient lighting. About a decade ago, we replaced our old HID lighting with (then) state-of-the-art high-efficiency T8 fluorescent lighting. But, LED lighting technology has matured significantly since then. Our SDSU engineers estimated that, by retrofitting our existing fluorescent fixtures with LED lighting, we could move from 175 watts per fixture to 90 watts per fixture.

In their estimation, that retrofit could save our facility nearly $8K per year in combined energy and maintenance savings, and be implemented with a cost of just under $10K.

That’s a deal that I think any facility would take. With our assessment’s math, the upgrade would pay for itself in a little over a year. So, we decided to move ahead with their recommendations.

That’s when we ran into a bit of a challenge. While our SDSU team had believed that we could keep our existing fluorescent fixtures and use a retrofit kit to convert them into LEDs, the lighting contractors whom we talked to found that our specific fixtures weren’t compatible with retrofit kits.

As a result, our upgrade would need to completely replace our existing fixtures, which increased the combined labor and lighting cost by a factor of 3–4x.

This made us change strategy just a bit. We’re still planning to upgrade our fluorescent lighting to more efficient LEDs, but instead of performing the upgrade immediately, we’re going to hold off for a bit. As our fluorescent lighting nears its expected end of life and maintenance costs climb over the coming years, we’ll see a higher ROI from a wholesale replacement. It’s also likely that in that time, LED efficiency will continue to increase while costs come down.

Instead of relamping our fluorescent fixtures when that time comes, we’ll roll those costs into their wholesale LED replacement.

In the meantime, we’ve followed the study’s other lighting-related recommendation: installing occupancy sensors throughout much of our facility. There’s no more efficient light than one that’s turned off, and these sensors will help to ensure that we’re not burning energy to illuminate unoccupied parts of our facility.

Key Lighting Takeaways

Even if you’ve invested in energy-efficient lighting in the past, it’s likely that newer, more efficient lighting technologies and intelligent lighting controls are available today. Work with your utility or a qualified lighting contractor to assess the cost and benefits of a lighting upgrade.

 

Machinery: The Benefits of Premium-Efficiency Motors

Electric motors account for about 40% of all energy consumption in the U.S. In 2016, the Department of Energy launched new “NEMA Premium” efficiency standards for electric motors.

While the savings of a premium-efficiency motor vary with load and operating hours, replacing a single 100-horsepower standard motor with a premium-efficiency motor could generate nearly $3,000 in annual energy savings.

We use a range of electric motors in our manufacturing operations, with ratings of between 3 hp and 100 hp. Our SDSU assessment estimated annual energy savings of about $3,800 if we replace them all with premium efficiency motors.

The SDSU assessment recommended that we wait until the existing motors are due for replacement to perform this upgrade. If we consider the total cost of just going in today, ripping out our functioning standard-efficiency motors and putting in premium-efficiency replacements, it would take a decade or more to pay for that upgrade.

By timing our upgrades to coincide with the timing of motor replacements, the cost of this efficiency upgrade is simply the cost of a premium-efficiency motor, minus the cost of a standard-efficiency motor.

With that plan of action, our assessment estimated that our premium-efficiency motor upgrades would pay for themselves with energy savings in about 2.5 years.

Key Machinery Takeaways

Assess the efficiency of your existing motors. If they’re standard-efficiency or the older “NEMA Energy Efficient” designation, plan to replace them with premium-efficiency models at your normal replacement interval, or when you experience issues with your current equipment.

 

Compressed Air: More Efficient Production, Use and Storage

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that compressed air systems account for 10% of the energy used in this country’s manufacturing. Our facility uses a 100 hp compressor (with another for backup) to power pneumatic drills, sanders, grinders and blow guns used throughout our manufacturing processes.

Our SDSU assessment made four recommendations related to improving the efficiency of our compressed air system. We’ll be following two of those recommendations and bypassing the other two.

 

Leak Reduction

Anyone who’s worked with compressed air systems knows that leaks happen. Even high-quality fittings and bearings degrade over time and need to be sealed, maintained and replaced at regular intervals.

Our SDSU assessment estimated our energy costs for leaked air at a bit over $600 per year. Not a huge amount, but certainly an issue worth addressing.

It’s challenging to detect air leaks in a noisy production environment. So, on a recent Saturday morning, a team of us went into the now-quiet factory, filled up the compressed air lines, and spent a few hours finding and fixing leaks. We’ve also added this as a process on our regular maintenance schedule so that we can keep ahead of compressed air leaks going forward.

 

Reducing Maximum Air Settings

Our air compressor is set to maintain 110 psi, while none of the equipment that it runs requires more than 100 psi. This gives us a little bit of headroom so that if there’s a temporary spike in demand, our system pressure never dips below that 100 psi mark.

In our application, a temporary dip in pressure could result in a failed part. That’s something we work hard to avoid.

However, our SDSU assessment estimated that just dropping the max pressure of our system to 100 psi could save a bit over $1,000 per year in energy costs.

So, we’ve started to look at other solutions to maintain that headroom, with a slightly lower pressure. We haven’t completed the implementation process, but we’re moving toward adding a reserve pressure tank to our system. That will allow us to maintain pressure over spikes in demand, while earning the energy-savings benefits of an overall slightly lower system pressure.

 

Recommendations We Didn’t Take: Switching to Electric Tools and Brooms

Our report gave two recommendations that made sense on paper, but not for our production process.

First, the report recommended that we switch from air-powered to electric tools. Our experience is that electric tools simply can’t keep up with the power and durability of pneumatic tools in our environment. The estimated $2,400 in annual electric savings won’t make up for the loss of performance and durability.

The report also recommended that instead of having our workers clean off products, equipment and work areas with air guns, we provide them with brooms to perform the same task. In our opinion, the $1,300 in estimated savings isn’t worth the decreases in productivity and worker satisfaction.

 

Our Results

In all, our audit from SDSU found just over $17K in potential energy savings, with about $22K in improvement costs. The reality of our lighting options changed that math a bit, but by rolling in some maintenance costs and implementing the auditors’ recommendations over time, we expect that we’ll eventually see about $10K in energy savings, with an improvement cost that’s not too far off their initial estimates.

For a large-scale manufacturing operation like ours, that may not seem like huge savings, but over time — say, a period of three, five or 10 years — I can certainly think of things that I’d rather do with $30,000, $50,000 or $100,000 than just feed it back to the electric company.

 

Tools for Building Efficiency in Your Plant

While not every manufacturing plant has access to the same PhD-level audit that we did, you still have plenty of tools for increasing efficiency.

Here’s a list of resources that I’d recommend for finding and improving efficiency:

 

Lighting Contractor Association Searches

Our biggest energy-savings opportunity was in improving the efficiency of our lighting. There are two national organizations that focus on certification and training in this area: the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) and the National Association of Lighting Management Companies (NALMCO). NALMCO is smaller but more focused on lighting, while NECA is larger but allows you to search for contractors who specialize in lighting or efficiency.

http://nalmco.org

http://www.necaconnection.org/#/search/

 

Energy Star’s Industrial Energy Management Tools

Energy Star, the government’s energy-efficiency program, offers a range of specific tools targeted at manufacturers. These can range from certifications and recognition to tools, rebates and incentives.

https://www.energystar.gov/buildings/facility-owners-and-managers/industrial-plants

 

Energy.gov Industrial Assessment Centers

Our SDSU audit came out of a government program that funds Industrial Assessment Centers (IACs) at schools across the country. You can check to see if there’s an IAC near you that could perform the same type of audit that we had, and find relevant data from audits like ours performed at a variety of industrial facilities around the country.

https://www.energy.gov/eere/amo/industrial-assessment-centers-iacs

 

Your Utility

Electrical utilities are typically required, by law, to operate energy-efficiency programs. Many times, these rebates can pay for part or even all of the upgrade costs of new efficiency measures. It’s definitely worth reaching out to your utility to see what programs and incentives they offer that might be applicable to your facility.

 

Committed to Smarter Practices

We may have been in business for over 70 years, but that doesn’t make us old-school. Every item Ray Products produces is created in an efficient, state-of-the-art thermoforming facility, and we plan to keep it that way. As technologies progress to make manufacturing plants and equipment more efficient, you can rest assured that we will too. It’s simply good sense.

 

Category: Inside The Factory

On the last Saturday of March, family, friends, and current and past employees of Ontario-based plastics manufacturer Ray Products gathered at a microbrewery in Upland to celebrate the last 70 years.

Brian Ray, current company President and grandson of the company’s founder, was in attendance with his family, trading memories and jokes with employees and friends at the celebration.

“The average life span of a company is about 15 years,” said Ray. “So I think our 70th anniversary is definitely worth celebrating.”

The company was founded by Allen Ray on April 1, 1949, in a 1,000 sq. ft. shop. Today, Ray Products operates a 48,000 sq. ft. facility in Ontario, CA, equipped with the best available thermoforming technology. The high-quality customized plastic parts that Ray Products produces are used in a wide range of industries, including medical equipment, transportation, green energy, automotive, building and construction, and recreational equipment.

In honor of its 70th, the company commissioned a special bottling named “Loyalty Lager” from Upland microbrewery Last Name Brewing. It was a natural fit, then, to host the anniversary party at the brewery.

On Saturday, some guests swapped stories while enjoying signature sandwiches and burgers from the Big Easy Sandwich food truck. Others enjoyed funny-money gambling tables or took tours of the brewery, while the younger set quite literally bounced off the walls of a bouncy castle.

In between bites, Ray offered his theories on the family-owned manufacturer’s longevity.

“It’s a balance of two things,” said Ray. “On the one hand, we regularly invest millions in the latest advanced thermoforming technology so that we can offer our customers the absolute latest and best. On the other hand, we really value the traditional ways of doing business.”

“We want to do business ‘the right way.’ We respect our customers and partners and the skills of our employees. It’s why our employees stay with us for 10, 20, and sometimes even 50 years.”

In an op-ed he penned last summer, Ray defined three key points of doing business the right way: delivering a quality product, operating as a fair employer and being a reliable partner.

At Saturday’s celebration, the results of that philosophy were clearly visible: hundreds of guests with smiles on their faces, celebrating a company with a 70-year history and no signs of slowing down.

 

About Ray Products

Ray Products has been manufacturing high-quality 3D thermoformed plastic parts since 1949. Located in Ontario, California, Ray Products uses the most advanced machinery and materials in the business to create custom plastic pieces used in medical equipment, transportation, green energy, automotive, building and construction, recreational equipment, and more.

Category: Inside The Factory

1968 was an important year in our country. It was a year of triumphant feats: the introduction of the first 747, the installation of the first ATM, the orbiting of the moon – and devastating losses with the assassinations of President Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.

Hector Noriega 1968 - inside Ray ProductsIn 1968, a postage stamp cost 5¢, a gallon of gas cost 34¢, a dozen eggs went for 53¢ and a gallon of milk was $1.07. That year, Ray Products was closing in on 20 years in business, with founder Allen Ray at the helm.

1968 is also the year Hector Noriega arrived at Ray Products for his first day of work on October 30. And 50 years later, on October 30, 2018, Hector retired.

Staying at one company for 50 years is an incredible accomplishment – but we consider ourselves the lucky ones. Our current CEO Brian Ray remembers meeting Hector years ago, long before Brian took over the company.

“I have vivid childhood memories of Hector running machines, forming parts and always being able to fix anything no matter how broken it was.”

Hector’s loyalty and attention to detail – both on and off the factory floor – have made him an excellent employee, colleague and friend.

“Years ago, large groups of employees would go fishing on the weekends,” Brian recalls. “I have great memories of driving down to San Diego with Hector on a Friday night and being ready to fish early Saturday morning. I was always one of the youngest on the boat, and Hector would always make sure that my hook was tied, bait was on and my line was in the water, and that I didn’t get pushed out of the way. But when the fish were biting, I was on my own, because Hector was there to catch fish! I don’t blame him, because there’s nothing better than returning home Saturday night with a sack full of fish and great fishing stories.”

Hector Noriega and Brian RayWe’ll miss Hector, but we’re excited for him and hope he gets to enjoy his retirement for many years to come  – with plenty of fishing trips, visits to Mexico, and time with family and friends.

Hector is actually our second employee to celebrate 50 years with us, and we feel extremely fortunate to have worked with him for 50 years. The commitment and work ethic of employees like Hector is one of the main reasons behind our evolution from a company that produced plastic baby bassinets to a leading thermoforming expert that makes plastic parts used around the world across a wide range of industries, from retail to medical devices to automotive and aerospace.

Category: Inside The Factory

Let’s be frank. To survive for 66 years in the plastics manufacturing industry, you have to pay close attention to quality. For us, a commitment to quality is nothing new. In fact, it’s a commitment we’ve had that’s pretty much unchanged over the past 66 years.

What has changed are some of the ways we demonstrate that commitment. In 1949, ISO 9001 quality certifications didn’t exist. But in 2009, they did, and that’s when we decided that ISO 9001:2008 certification was one more way we could demonstrate our commitment to quality. (more…)

Category: Inside The Factory

Pressure forming makes sense for medical device enclosures. Lots of sense. It’s something we’ve talked about here in the past.

Recently, Medical Design & Technology ran an article written by our VP of Sales & Development, Jason Middleton. The article is titled, “Making The Case for Pressure Forming Medical Device Enclosures.”

Jason finishes up the article with, “if you don’t consider pressure forming for your next medical device enclosure, you might be leaving your best option on the table.” He couldn’t be more right.

Give the article a read, and let us know if you have any questions.

Category: Inside The Factory

Say you’ve decided that pressure forming is the right process for your next plastic manufacturing project.  How do you choose the right company to pressure form with?

While we’re obviously not a neutral party in this situation, we do have some advice that will help you get on the right track.

Price Matters

It’s not a bad idea to get your first project quoted by multiple pressure formers.  If you’re not familiar with the industry and what things should cost, it can help to make sure that you’re not being taken advantage of.

But it’s important to make sure you’re considering more than just the total at the bottom of the quote sheet.

How much would it cost you if you didn’t meet your deadline?  What about the  cost of changing your mold because of unexpected problems?  Or the costs of production defects?

Look at price, but remember that the cheapest quote you get up front, might not offer the best value in the end.

(more…)

Category: Inside The Factory

After we published the results of our 2014 thermoforming industry survey, Medical Design Briefs asked if we could share the results of the survey that are specific to the medical device industry.

We were more than happy to, and the result is an article in their February, 2015 edition.

Here are a few highlights:

  • Only 7% of Medical Device Manufacturers are Happy with Offshore Manufacturing and Have No Plans to Reshore
  • Medical Device Manufacturers Care About Quality Even More Than Customers In Other Industries
  • Thermoforming Accounts for 28% of Overall Plastics Manufacturing by Medical Device Manufacturers, and is Expected to Grow

Get the full details from the article.

Category: Inside The Factory

Forty-two years ago, flying the friendly skies was a very different experience from what it is today. So you might be surprised to learn that there’s still demand for an aircraft part that was last manufactured in 1972.

This creates a challenge. How do you recreate a part that hasn’t come off a production line in over 40 years? The short answer is, you call Ray Products.

That’s more or less what happened when an aircraft parts manufacturer came to us with a sample part and a full-size drawing from the part’s last production run in 1972. They needed to create more parts, and they needed the replacements to match the original exactly.

We put our engineering team to work, and used a combination of cutting-edge 3D technology and 60+ years of industry experience to create a cost-effective replacement that matches the original part millimeter for millimeter.

Get the full story in our Project Gallery.

Category: Inside The Factory

Ever wonder what goes on inside a thermoforming factory?  No?  Well, we’re going to show you anyway.

A while back, we were playing around with a GoPro and decided someone (even if it’s not you) might like to see the inner workings of Ray Products’ Theromoforming operations.  So, here you go.

Large Part Thermoforming

Thermoforming

Here – a piece of plastic enters our large part thermoforming machine (capable of handling 10′ x 18′ projects, though this one is much smaller), gets heated to a pliable temperature, and is then vacuum formed against the shape its mold.

(more…)

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