Marble King Receives National Energy Award

Marble King President and CEO Beri Fox, left, accepts the U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Technologies Program “Save Energy Now” Award from James Quinn, supervisor of the DOE’s Industrial Technologies Program.
Paden City’s Marble King was among four large West Virginia businesses that received national recognition for their efforts to reduce energy consumption
Governor Joe Manchin and the West Virginia Division of Energy made the announcement recently.
Marble King in Paden City, Mittal Steel in Weirton, QuadGraphics in Martinsburg, and Wheeling Nisshin in Follansbee each received the U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Technologies Program “Save Energy Now” Awards, also known as the SEN Award. The award ceremony was held on Nov. 5 in Washington, D.C.
Each of these businesses participated in an onsite energy assessment conducted by the Industrial Assessment Center of West Virginia University, which focused on all energy-using industrial processes. Marble King has been involved with the Industries of the Future-West Virginia for 12 years and through that program they were introduced to the WVU energy assessors. Marble King applied for the assessment which ran for two years. “We had the opportunity to take a serious look at our energy usage,” said Marble King President and CEO Beri Fox. “To be one of only a few companies awarded for our efforts was a real thrill and honor for all of us here.”
By implementing recommendations from these evaluations, Marble King achieved a total annual energy savings of 11.8 percent and was recognized as an Energy Saver Plant for 2009.
The assessors looked at the industry’s budget and resources and helped make a progressive plan to yield the greatest energy- and money-savings. “Simply changing the light bulbs made a substantial difference,” said Fox. “Switching to more energy-efficient bulbs not only reduced our energy usage, but also made for better lighting in the factory.”
Manchin said he applauds their efforts and encourages other West Virginia companies to follow their lead.
“The first step toward energy independence is better energy efficiency, and I appreciate the commitment that our industries are making toward that,” Manchin said. “These investments will help our companies remain competitive and retain their employment base while reducing their environmental impact. These companies have set a good example for all of our industries and I’m pleased the U.S. Department of Energy has recognized their accomplishments.”
“We learned that you can’t control what can’t be measured. But by being able to accurately measure energy usage by putting in controls, we realized we could make positive changes” said Fox. “Putting in adequate controls and monitoring our processes and equipment shift-by-shift helped to reduce emissions and ensure proper ratios of our resources that go into our production.”
Fox added, “This would not have been possible without the dedication and commitment from all of the employees at Marble King. Sometimes it’s the little things that matter most, like turning off the lights when you are leaving an area that doesn’t require lighting all 24 hours. Winning this award is an example of what can be accomplished when you all work together toward a common goal.”
Marble King plans to continue strategizing with other industries to help make businesses run more efficiently and conserve more energy. This coming July will mark the third year of implementations already in progress.
Companies that wish to implement similar energy efficiency programs may contact Kathleen Cullen and the Industries of the Future-West Virginia Program (IOF-WV) at 304-293-7318, extension 5426.